THE EMPTY GRAVE (DAS LEERE GRAB)

Credits

Name: THE EMPTY GRAVE (DAS LEERE GRAB)

Country: Deutschland/Tansania

Year of publication: 2024

Format: DCP

Color: color

Language : OmU

Duration: 97 Minuten

Series: 21. Afrika Film Festival Köln

Direction: Mlay, Cece; Wegner, Agnes Lisa

Abstract

Tens of thousands of human remains from former colonies are still stored in German museums. It is still unclear how they can be identified and traced back. THE EMPTY GRAVE follows two families on their arduous search for their ancestors. Both families wrestle with the thicket of German and Tanzanian bureaucracy, but also receive support from activists such as Mnyaka Sururu Mboro and Konradin Kunze, who are creating visibility for the issue in Germany. In their film, the German-Tanzanian directing duo Agnes Lisa Wegner and Cece Mlay tell of the traces and traumas that the former German colonial rule has left behind in Tanzanian families and communities to this day - and of the strength and self-empowerment of those left behind.