Winnie film wins Sundance award
THE Sundance Film Festival announced at the weekend that Pascale Lamche won Best Director: World Cinema Documentary Competition for Winnie, her film about South African political icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
Accepting the award, Lamche said her film was for those “who know that history was not made by great men”.
“MadikizelaMandela remains one of the most misunderstood and intriguingly powerful female figures in contemporary politics. Her rise and seeming fall from grace bear the hallmarks of epic tragedy.
“While her husband served a life sentence, paradoxically kept safe and morally uncontaminated, MadikizelaMandela 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,” said the film’s co-producer, Steven Markovitz, of Big World Cinema.
Lamche gained unprecedented access to Madikizela-Mandela in making the documentary.
“We are thrilled that the documentary has been recognised at one of the most important film festivals in the world,” said Markovitz.
“It’s particularly significant as it uncovers an alternative narrative of Winnie Mandela to the mainstream media’s version. It is, however, saddening that we have not yet had confirmed financial support from South Africa for the documentary.
“Most of the archive is owned outside of South Africa. It’s a huge deficit we are still trying to cover. We hope there will be more support for our film and other South African films on important subjects like this one.” – Staff Reporter