Documentary director Teboho Edkins is an explorer of cinematic genres. His ‘controlled’ or ‘directed’ reality is often shot and edited like a feature film, while his camera shows a keen sense for absurd situations. His latest film turns to the barren canyons of the Thaba-Tseka district in sparsely populated eastern Lesotho. Reminiscent of the ‘big country’ of classic US Westerns, this landscape forms the backdrop for a series of conflicts that erupt between the pioneers of a new, capitalist order – ambitious Chinese traders hoping to make a fortune – and the Basotho, traditional cattle breeders who revere cows as ‘gods with wet noses.’ What happens to old rules when new circumstances arise?
Teboho Edkins, France, South Africa, Netherlands, 2020, 78 min. + Q&A
Teboho Edkins
Teboho Edkins
Teboho Edkins
Teboho Edkins studied photography and fine art at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town and film at Le Fresnoy in Tourcoing, France. He then received a directing degree at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. His films have been shown at over 400 festivals and in group and solo exhibitions, including at Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern and Haus der Kulturen der Welt. In 2015, his film COMING OF AGE screened in Generation.