Sew the Winter to My Skin

Spoken: Afrikaans, isiXhosa, English. Subtitles: English.

One of the most exciting voices in South African filmmaking Jamil X.T. Qubeka looks back to the early days of the repressive apartheid regime and reimagines the capture of John Kepe, the “Samson of the Boschberg Mountains.” For decades, Kepe stole livestock and other goods from white colonist farmers and shared his spoils with the impoverished Indigenous population. On one hand, Sew the Winter to my Skin is a keenly observed epic-adventure drama (and a nod to the western) that captures the horrors of South Africa’s racist colonial regime. Qubeka, however, also subverts the conventions of the period piece by using limited dialogue and an immersive score.

Best Music Fespaco 2019