Independent Cape Town-based filmmaker Weaam Williams has been investigating the history of the Khoe-Khoegowab, an indigenous South African language, since 2007. This language sadly still remains officially unrecognised and is dying out, taking a vital part of South African heritage with it.
Williams’s film A Khoe Story Part 1: Reclaiming the Mother Tongue, will premiere on 15 July at 8pm at the Labia cinema in Cape Town. It is the first of three instalments.
This film has a special focus on present-day legislation and the current status of the Khoe-Khoegowab language – a collective term used for South Africa’s indigenous tongues. The film also explores the undercurrents of a movement in the Khoe-Khoe community to reclaim and relearn the language after centuries of suppression.
“It offers a non-anthropological perspective of the cultural nuances that make this community unique,’ says Williams.
History, culture and heritage of the Khoe-Khoe people of Southern Africa are explored. There is also a special focus on the impact of colonialism, apartheid and subsequently the institutionalisation of English and Afrikaans in the quest to wipe out the “mother tongue’.
A Khoe Story Part 1: Reclaiming the Mother Tongue showcases the tireless efforts of Williams and her partner Nafia Kocks, who works by her side as a director of photography. The working couple started production in 2009 in Namaqualand, Richtersveldt, Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town.
This is the fourth independent documentary that Williams has directed. Her creative credits include working as a writer, director and MC-poet. Previous films include Hip-Hop Revolution, which was awarded Best Edited Film award at the Reel Sisters Festival in New York in 2007. Other SABC commissioned documentary works include Feminine Divine and The Month of Power.
A Khoe Story Part 1: Reclaiming the Mother Tongue is produced by Shamanic Organic Productions and is partially funded by the Foundation for Human Rights.
The premiere screening on 15 July will include live performances by artists Jitsvinger, The Khoe Sonz and Dianne Ferrus.
