Nelson Mandela et moi
( A Letter to Nelson Mandela )

Khalo Matabane
2013 - 85 min - DCP - Couleur - Afrique du Sud, Allemagne

South African filmmaker Khalo Matabane was an idealistic teenager with fantastical ideas about a post-apartheid era of freedom and justice when the great icon of liberation Nelson Mandela was released from prison. In a personal odyssey involving an imaginary letter to Mandela and conversations with politicians, world leaders, intellectuals and artists such as Henry Kissinger, Albie Sachs, Ariel Dorfman, Nuruddin Farah, Pumla Gqola and the Dalai Lama, Matabane interrogates the meaning of freedom, reconciliation and forgiveness in a world of conflict and inequality, weighing up equally his discussions with erudite scholars and survivors of apartheid like Charity Kondile who says, "I’m just an ordinary mother, I’m not in parliament, I’m just flesh." In addition to the history of South Africa, topics covered include German reunification, the war in Iraq and the assassination of Salvador Allende. Matabane's letter offers a framework to the film, and the voice-over communicates the man's thoughts and emotions, from euphoria to disappointment. The interviews are interspersed with historic images and portraits of Mandela. Peaceful interludes come in the form of contemplative, sometimes out-of-focus footage of landscapes, street scenes and water, and concrete details such as bolts and fences.