‘Winnie’ movie garners top award for director

FRENCH director Pascale Lamche walked away victorious at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival‚ where she won the best director award for her film Winnie , about political stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

Lamche dedicated the award to those “who know history was not made by great men.”

Winnie ‚ which made its world premiere at the festival in Utah‚ is said to give fans a side of Madikizela-Mandela’s life story that hasn’t been told before.

“We are thrilled that the documentary has been recognised at one of the most important film festivals.

“It’s particularly significant because the documentary uncovers an alternative narrative of Winnie MadikizelaMandela to the mainstream media’s version‚” said co-producer of the film, Steven Markovitz.

A short synopsis shared on the Sundance Film Festival’s website described the movie as a nail-biting story of how Madikizela-Mandela fought fiercely in the face of apartheid.

“While her husband served a life sentence‚ paradoxically kept safe and morally uncontaminated‚ Winnie Mandela rode the raw violence of apartheid‚ fighting on the front line and underground.

“This is the untold story of the mysterious forces that combined to take her down‚ labelling him a saint‚ her a sinner.”

The documentary has been co-produced by Paris-based production company Pumpernickel Films‚ Amsterdambased Submarine‚ and Cape Town-based production company Big World Cinema and IV Films in Finland. — TMG