Matabeleland

Nyasha Kadandara / Zimbabwe, Kenya & Botswana / 2025 / World Premiere / 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.

Familiarise yourself with human rights at CPH:DOX
According to a new survey from the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Danes largely support human rights and believe they are important – but more than half, 53 percent, cannot name a single human right. At the premiere screenings of all films nominated for the Human Rights Award, you will receive the 30 articles of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, printed by Human Rights Watch. And below you can see exactly which articles this film addresses.

Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.