FILM

Scenes from Days of Cannibalism

Inside the making of Teboho Edkins’s new documentary feature, Days of Cannibalism

High in the mountains of Lesotho lies the remote town of Thaba Tseka – home to a community of proud Basotho herders and businessmen, and, more recently, an increasing number of Chinese settlers. The arrival of these economic migrants upsets the balance of power in Thaba Tseka. The documentary film Days of Cannibalism explores the emerging relationship between these two cultures.

Much like the film, director Teboho Edkins’s upbringing is a blend of diverse cultures and experiences. The son of a German mother and a South African father, he spent most of his early years in Lesotho. “I grew up in Lesotho because my father, a white South African, left his country in the 70s for political reasons and eventually moved to Lesotho with my mother. At the time, Lesotho was an island of resistance located within apartheid South Africa. My naming actually happened when the Queen Mother, Mamohato, met my pregnant mother and told her that her child should be called Teboho. And Teboho is a name for both girls and boys so it was a wise choice.”

Despite moving to other countries, including Germany, South Africa and France, Edkins says that his deep-rooted connection to Lesotho always carries him back home. “It is the place which feels most like home. My fondest memories all blur together to form a blissful rural childhood captured by the Nikon camera and its 80s colour palette – the one my father used to photograph my brother and me,” he shares. Times may have changed since then, but the majority of the Basotho people still remain fixed in their traditional ways of life and business. “The remoteness creates its very own particular universe and atmosphere,” says Edkins. But even this small, sparsely populated and seemingly far-off place is not immune to the forces of globalisation – and that is what he wanted to explore in Days of Cannibalism. As part of his research for the documentary, in 2012 Edkins spent some time exploring the sprawling city of Guangzhou in China and the remote mountainous regions of Lesotho. He returned to both countries, gathering footage between 2015 and 2019. “What really struck me is that although a Chinese megacity and a village in Lesotho couldn’t be more different, there are parallels in the experiences of the African traders in China and the Chinese businesspeople in Lesotho; they both feel misunderstood and disrespected by the other. There is solitude and loneliness in both sides of the (economic) migration,” Edkins expands.

Days of Cannibalism provides an unusual look at how capitalist globalisation is threatening social, cultural

Director Teboho Edkins during the Lesotho shoot of Days of Cannibalism

EQUIPMENT Cameras:

• Sony FS5 • Sony A7 II Lenses: • Zeiss • Nikon TECH CHECK TECH

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“I don’t mention the location specifically in the film, other than when the characters talk about it, because I feel that it is important that the film is universal in that it speaks more broadly about something that is taking place across sub-Saharan Africa, where the Chinese are settling and certain cultural and social problems arise.” – Teboho Edkins

’s new documentary feature,

and ancestral structures. Edkins explores this topic by showing how the arrival of the new settlers ignites social tension within the community, upsetting the existing balance of power. He cleverly highlights the contrasting elements of these two communities – the Chinese and Basotho – with a parallel editing rhythm. “I don’t mention the location specifically in the film, other than when the characters talk about it, because I feel that it is important that the film is universal in that it speaks more broadly about something that is taking place across sub-Saharan Africa, where the Chinese are settling and certain cultural and social problems arise. So the film is a universal commentary on globalisation and capitalism, but at the same time also extremely location-specific and focuses on a very localised culture,” he explains. “There are no central characters or overarching plot; instead, the film observes strained encounters and moments between the newly arrived pioneers and the indigenous communities.”

Days of Cannibalism is filmed in CinemaScope, ensuring that DoP Samuel Lahu captured as much of the vast landscape as possible, while keeping a

good distance from the characters. “We used the Sony FS5 camera and a range of Nikon and Zeiss photography lenses,” Edkins adds. “The camera is light enough to carry about easily, but combined with a good-quality, fast lens, gives a good image in natural light. In China, we used a Sony A7 II camera coupled to an external recorder because it was less conspicuous than the FS5.” Sound designer Jaim Sahuleka worked with silences, wind and small jarring sounds for the film. “For sound I boomed with the classic Sennheiser 416 directional microphone, a sound device recorder, and we used radio mics for a back-up audio signal to the camera,” says Edkins.

The documentary was edited by Laurence Manheimer and Cédric Le Floc’h in France. Sound design, final mix and colour correction were done by Joel and Jaim Sahuleka from FeverFilm – a post-production studio in Amsterdam. Days of Cannibalism had its international premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year where it was well-received by audiences and critics. “The five screenings were all sold out online within 30 seconds,” says Edkins. It was also selected to screen at the 2020 New Directors/New Films Festival, organised by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Film at Lincoln Center in New York. However, the festival has been postponed until further notice as a result of the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“We used the Sony FS5 camera and a range of Nikon and Zeiss photography lenses. The camera is light enough to carry about easily, but combined with a good-quality, fast lens, gives a good image in natural light. In China we used a Sony A7 II camera coupled to an external recorder because it was less conspicuous than the FS5.”

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Director: Teboho Edkins Producer: Janja Kralj DOP: Samuel Lahu Editors: Laurence Manheimer and Cédric Le Floc’h Sound: Jaim Sahuleka