This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection

(Lesotho, South Africa, Italy, USA / 2019 / Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese)

Berlin-based Mosotho filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s devastating and hypnotic This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection is already one of the most esteemed African films ever to hit the international festival circuit, earning the Special Jury Prize for visionary filmmaking at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival before taking home Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Cinematography at Africa’s Academy Awards.

The late Mary Twala Mhlongo gives a heartbreaking career-capping performance as Mantoa, an 80-year-old woman who has lived in a small Lesotho village for her entire life. She has already lost her husband, her daughter, and her grandchild, and, as the movie starts, she learns that her son, too, who was employed in the South African gold mines and whose return she was eagerly awaiting, has passed away. Left entirely alone, she has only the respect of her community, the traditions of her ancestors, and the courage of her convictions. When her community must relocate to make way for a nearby dam which would flood her family’s burial ground, Mantoa draws a line in the sand and becomes an unlikely political and spiritual leader.

Cryptic, impressionistic, and informed by magical realist literature, This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection contains some of the most striking visual compositions in contemporary cinema, all the more impressive considering this is the first feature-length film for both cinematographer Pierre de Villiers and production designer Leila Walter. The cumulative power of Mantoa’s sacrificial crusade, Mhlongo’s earthy performance, and Mosese’s visionary artistry announce an unmistakable landmark in African cinema.

“Mhlongo has died, at the age of eighty, since the movie was made. Let is stand as her memorial. It will not be washed away.” – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

Unrated / 2 hrs.
In Southern Lesotho with subtitles.