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In a village nestled amongst the pythonic mountains of land-locked Lesotho, an 80-year-old widow awaits the return of her only surviving family member, her son; a migrant worker in a South African coal mine. Sombre messengers deliver tragic news to her. An invisible wall of bewilderment arises and stands between Mantoa and the outside world. Consumed by grief, her yearning for death and reuniting with her family steadily grows. Mantoa winds up her affairs and makes arrangements for her own burial. Her plans are punctuated when she learns that the village is to be forcibly resettled due to the construction of a dam reservoir. The land will be flooded and the cemetery desecrated. Mantoa’s resolve is unwavering, igniting a collective spirit of defiance within the community. In the final dramatic moments of her life, Mantoa’s legend is forged and made eternal.
Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (1980, Lesotho) is a self-taught filmmaker and visual artist based in Berlin. His documentary Mother, I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You. (2019) explored his experiences in his small homeland in Africa. This personal film was selected for the Final Cut workshop at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival, where it won six awards. Lesotho takes centre stage again in his feature film This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection (2019), which was selected for the Biennale College Cinema and premiered in Venice. Previously, Mosese also participated in Berlinale Talents, Focus Features Africa First, Realness African Screenwriting Residency and Cinefondation’s Atelier.
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