Based on Sindiwe Magona's novel, this tells the story of the aftermath of the murder of American student Amy Biehl in protests in 1993. The mother of one of the murderers reaches out to Amy's mother in a heartfelt letter.

MOTHER TO MOTHER beautifully dramatises the novel of the same name written by Sindiwe Magona about the murder of Amy Biehl. Featuring South African singer, actress and playwright Thembi Mtshali, MOTHER TO MOTHER is engaging, thought-provoking and deftly constructed cinema.

A filmed account of the stage version of Sindiwe Magona's novel about the tragic killing of Amy Biehl during the pre-election violence of 1993, MOTHER TO MOTHER explores the difficult channels of forgiveness, redemption and reconciliation from the perspective of the mothers of the killer and the victim. Based on the intimate one-woman play staged by singer, actress and playwright, Thembi Mtshali, the film seeks an understanding from the mother as she explains the direct consequences of apartheid, which influenced her son's actions. Interspersed with the filmed theatrical production are personal interviews with Magona and Mtshali, as well as with students from the Western Cape. The result is an engaging and thought-provoking work of cinema that expands our collective humanity.

A film by Sara CF DE GOUVEIA

South Africa, 2020, Documentary, 48min

Country: South Africa
Year: 2019
Running Time: 48 min
Language(s): Xhosa
Tags: Family, History, Political

Director:
Sara Christina Ferreira de Gouveia

Twenty-seven years after American Fulbright Scholar Amy Biehl was brutally murdered in Gugulethu, Cape Town, SAFTA-winning documentarian Sara CF de Gouveia (The Sound of Masks) takes a closer look at South African literary giant Doctor Sindiwe Magona's powerful novel Mother to Mother, and at a society that has lived, and continues to live, with its story.
Magona's fictional lament, one mother to another, gave rise to the acclaimed one-woman stage-play directed by Janice Honeyman and performed internationally by South African singer, actress and playwright Thembi Mtshali, who reprises her performance for the documentary.
With Magona's novel now part of the South African school curriculum, the documentary asks today's youth a pivotal question - has democracy brought meaningful change to their lives?
Magona also engages scholars on the ongoing tragedy of violence and rage in the country, the conditions in which so many of our youth are raised, and specifically, the killing of Amy Biehl in 1993, asking: "Why did this happen? Why does it still happen?" and most crucially, "What conditions must come into existence for this not to happen?"
Fresh from Encounters International South African Documentary Festival, the documentary asks these questions as it moves between the students, the play, archive material and the participants in the stage-play.

Broadcast on Showmax.
https://stories.showmax.com/mother-to-mother-2019/
https://www.showmax.com/eng/movie/nxicrn5h-mother-to-mother


2020 | Encounters South African International Documentary Festival 2020, Cape Town, South Africa
* Officially selected
* World Premiere
* SA Premiere
* Second prize in the Adiaha Award for Best Documentary Film
https://encounters.co.za/film/mother-to-mother/