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  3. Servant of the Ancestors
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Servant of the Ancestors

Year of completion
1998
Content type
Documentary
Format
Short
Genre
History, Religion & Ethics
Duration
52 minutes
Production Status
Completed

Synopsis

Twenty-four years after migrating to Australia in search of a new life, Patricia and Courtney Nunn seem to have found it. The racial tensions and painful memories of living as 'mixed race' in Apartheid South Africa are a thousand miles away...but Africa isn't that easy to leave behind. When her grandparents appear to her in a vision, Patricia decides it is time to go back to Swaziland in Southern Africa: time to face the demons of the past and celebrate the richness of her African heritage. Accompanied by her filmmaker daughter, Patricia returns to Swaziland to perform the 'Gobuyisa' ceremony in honour of her ancestors. In doing so she awakens memories of her own dark childhood and encounters the prejudices of the mixed race community who still consider African ceremonies heathen and backward. Patricia's journey is emotional, unpredictable and finally a joyous celebration of individual strength and courage.
Completion Year
1998
Genres
History, Religion & Ethics
Format
Short
Production Status
Completed

Cast and Crew

Producer

Jo-anne McGowan

Director

Malla Nunn

Writer

Malla Nunn

Cast

Patricia Nunn

Awards

2000 — Pan-African Film Festival

2000 — Silver Images Film Festival

1999 — Zanzibar International Film Festival

Screenings

2000 — Pan-African Film Festival

2000 — Silver Images Film Festival

1999 — Zanzibar International Film Festival

Production Company

Resonance Productions Pty Ltd
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