Songea Mbano was a Tanzanian resistance fighter killed in 1906 during the Maji Maji Rebellion against the German colonial administration. After his death, imperial forces stole his head and transported it back to Berlin for their collection of skulls.
This film follows descendants John and Cesilia Mbano as they try to locate their ancestor’s missing remains.
As they tell this story, co-directors Agnes Lisa Wenger and Cece Mlay detail the continued presence of this brutal past: in schools, in street names and in the inequality between Germany and its former colonies, we begin to feel how historic crimes remain part of the fabric of our societies.
An essential story for Berlin today. ★★★★★
- The Empty Grave, starts May 23
