The fascinating thing about the documentary Matabeleland is how easily it reminds you that, across our continent, regardless of our diverse tribes and culture, Africans share similar experiences. Watching the central figures like Chris, you will see your father, your grandfather, brother or that uncle from a particular generation and, in Dumi, you will see a sister, friend, aunt or even mother.
Filmed across Zimbabwe and Botswana, I appreciated that beyond the sheer rawness of its premise, there's dignity and respect granted to its subjects by the filmmakers. We see many documentaries set in Africa that work overtime to make you pity the people based on their economic standing.
Matabeleland attempts to handle things differently. The filmmakers look at these people simply as human beings facing challenges we all recognise. The director focuses on personalities rather than status, allowing you to experience the people rather than their circumstances.
Directed by Nyasha Kadandara, it follows Chris Nyathi, a 60-year-old Zimbabwean migrant living in Botswana. Haunted by his father's unburied spirit, a victim of the 1983 Gukurahundi massacres, Chris navigates generational trauma, faith, and African manhood in his quest for closure. The 70-minute film blends and balances political history and a personal narrative, using the dark memory of the 1980s genocide, where more than 20,000 Ndebele people were killed, as a backdrop.
Kadandara, along with producer Sam Soko, turns this historical tragedy into an exploration of fatherhood, family dynamics, and the search for love. The visual capture of Southern Africa is exceptional. Kadandara, who also serves as cinematographer, pays attention to the environment, the people, and smaller things like the tones of their skin, and the distinct characteristics of the topography. Southern African landscapes look different from East African terrain, and the film takes care when establishing these scenes.
