Series/Themes: The Black Experience, zCinema without Borders, zLGBTQIA+ Focus
Genre: Drama, International
Accessibility: Subtitles
Film Year: 2017
Locations: South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France
Film Length: 88 min.
Director: John Trengove
Featuring: Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini.
Every year, young men of South Africa’s Xhosa culture venture into the mountains of the country’s Eastern Cape to participate in an ancient ritual bringing them into adulthood. When quiet, sensitive factory worker Xolani is assigned to queer-identifying guide Kwanda, who was sent by his father to be toughened up, he embarks on a rite of passage into manhood. As Kwanda defiantly expresses his queer identity within the hyper-masculine environment, he quickly recognizes the nature of Xolani’s relationship with fellow guide Vija. Born out of a desire to push back against clichéd stereotypes of black masculinity, this narrative fights against these assumptions by exposing new forms of African masculinity.
Supported by Cville Pride
6:45 PM
Downtown Mall : Violet Crown B