Documentary series that explores South Africa’s TRC process
As the country celebrates 30 years of democracy, a local filmmaker series delves deep into South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation process through the lens of family members.
Filmmaker Enver Samuel is proud to announce his latest project, Truth Be Told, a six-part series delving into South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process.
As the country celebrates thirty years of democracy, Samuel’s documentary examines the unfinished business of the TRC, focusing on six disturbing cases that continue to haunt the nation.
The first instalment, The Breastfeeding Warrior, tells the heart-wrenching story of Phila Portia Ndwandwe, a 23-year-old Umkhonto we Sizwe soldier tortured and killed by apartheid security police in 1988. Through the eyes of her son, Thabang Mabuza, now a chartered accountant in his 30s, the documentary explores the transgenerational trauma and anguish caused by her death.
Mabuza was just five months old when his mother was murdered, and her loss has left an indelible mark on his life. The documentary follows his journey as he searches for answers, seeking reconciliation and closure. Archival footage from the exhumation of Ndwandwe’s remains and intimate interviews weave together a narrative of trauma, accountability and forgiveness.
Other cases like those of Bheki Mlangeni, Ntombi Kubheka, Topsy Madaka, Richard and Irene Motasi, and Matthews Mabelane will be explored. In each case, the adult children and family members of the murdered activists take centre stage, giving searing accounts of transgenerational trauma and how it has affected their lives.
This series aims to unpack the impact of apartheid-era human rights violations, which continue to affect South Africans individually and collectively. The selected stories provide a tapestry of past events that still resound in the present, raising questions about the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible.
Filmmaker Samuel’s critically acclaimed documentaries like Indians Can’t Fly and Someone To Blame have won multiple awards. Murder in Paris, exploring the assassination of anti-apartheid activist Dulcie September, has won 15 awards, including the Durban International Film Festival Best Documentary Award in 2021. In the same year, Samuel was awarded the festival’s inaugural Human Rights Award for ‘documenting the lives of South African human rights legends and unearthing the need for a thorough investigation into the deaths of assassinated political leaders’.
The series will be broadcast every Sunday on SABC 2 from November 3 at 9:00 for six weeks.
