Winnie Film

Synopsis

Supremely controversial, Winnie Mandela has been labeled a woman condemned for her radical role in the liberation of her South African people under apartheid. While her husband, Nelson Mandela, remained securely jailed for 27 years, Winnie brushed the patriarchy aside to fight on the front line and take uncompromising steps to inspire an uprising. While Nelson was remembered as a hero, Winnie was demonised in the global media.

Filmmaker Pascale Lamche paints a complex portrait of Winnie Mandela: the woman, the paradox, both exalted and villainized in the eyes of history. Using rich, unseen archival footage and interviews with intimate comrades, Lamche unravels the tale of cause and effect by which Winnie was taken down.

This screening will be followed by a discussion with South African anti-apartheid activist and women’s rights campaigner Firdoze Bulbulia.

Supported by the Global Development Academy and Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh.