The South African documentary Dear Mandela, directed by Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza, won the Grand Chameleon Award for best film and documentary at the closing night ceremony of the festival. The documentary continues to impress audiences after it won best South African Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival last year.

The film focuses on the eviction of shack dwellers, and begins when the South African government promises to “eradicate the slums”. The story centres on three friends who live in Durban’s vast shantytowns and refuse to be moved. Director Dara Kell says of the film that it is “a testament to the hope that still survives among those whose spirits could otherwise have been broken.”

It is encouraging to see the film getting continued coverage and recognition as the protagonists of the film are continuing to struggle, and are still not safe. The Mail and Guardian recently reported that:

Three years later, while Zama [one of the three protagonists] and her family have been able to return to Kennedy Road, she is still not safe. Besides fears of another attack by an ANC-linked mob, shack fires, another violent force plaguing shackdwellers, has now claimed her family’s home three times.

The documentary also won the Movies That Matter’s Golden Butterfly award and was an African Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary.

[Sources: IOL, Mail and Guardian]