Matabeleland

Nyasha Kadandara / Zimbabwe, Kenya & Botswana / 2025 / Verdenspremiere / 70 min

Chris has always believed his family is cursed, carrying a haunting legacy left by his father’s brutal murder. In 1983, Robert Mugabe orchestrated the massacre of over 20,000 people in Matabeleland.Chris’s father was one of the victims. their bodies were left in unmarked graves scattered across the countryside. Nearly four decades later, Chris, an immigrant in neighbouring Botswana, still feels the weight of this curse as the eldest son, convinced that his father’s spirit remains restless without a proper burial.

Life has not been easy. As he tries to support his sprawling family of 17 children, he grapples with unpaid wages from his job at a gas drilling company, leaving him stretched thin and often absent. His girlfriend, Dumi, loves him but warns that their relationship can only continue if he finally commits to marriage—something he has always resisted. She begins to question his obsession with the curse, wondering if it will overshadow any future they might have together.

Chris finds some solace in a charismatic, cult-like church, where he is told his hardships are the direct result of his father’s unburied spirit. But, everything changes when dictator Robert Mugabe is ousted from power in a historic coup. This political shift brings hope, and Chris finally dares to believe he might break the curse that has plagued him for so long. He connects with Shari, a woman who runs an organisation that conducts exhumations and reburials in Matabeleland. She agrees to help him secure a proper burial for his father.
As Chris embarks on a journey to honour his father’s memory, he faces a profound question: will this reburial grant him the closure he has sought for so long, or will it force him to confront the consequences of his own choices? Matabeleland offers a deeply personal look at one man’s struggle with historical trauma, set against the backdrop of African manhood and resilience. Through Chris’s story, we glimpse the enduring impact of violence on a family, a community, and the generations that follow.

Lær menneskerettighederne at kende på CPH:DOX
Ifølge en ny undersøgelse fra Institut for Menneskerettigheder bakker danskerne i stor stil op om menneskerettighederne og mener, at de er vigtige – men over halvdelen, 53 procent, kan til gengæld ikke nævne et eksempel på en menneskerettighed. Til premierevisningerne af alle film nomineret til Human:Rights Award får du udleveret de 30 artikler i FN’s Menneskerettigheder, trykt af Human Rights Watch. Og herunder kan du se lige præcis de artikler, som denne film berører.

Artikel 8
Enhver har ret til en fyldestgørende oprejsning ved de kompetente nationale domstole for handlinger, der krænker de fundamentale rettigheder, som forfatningen eller loven giver vedkommende.

Artikel 22
Enhver har som medlem af samfundet ret til social tryghed og har krav på, at de økonomiske, sociale og kulturelle rettigheder, der er uundværlige for hans værdighed og hans personligheds frie udvikling, gennemføres ved nationale foranstaltninger og internationalt samarbejde og i overensstemmelse med hver stats organisation og hjælpekilder.