Days of Cannibalism

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?