Update: uMhlaba Film Festival success!

From 5 to 7 August, the Land and Accountability Research Centre (LARC) hosted the uMhlaba Film Festival in the Law Faculty at the University of Cape Town. The three-day festival aimed to deepen public engagement with critical issues of land, identity, and social justice, with particular attention to the experiences of rural communities in South Africa.

Screenings included a curated selection of films: Mathonga Elizwe: Spirits of the Land (Dr Mnqobi Ngubane), Umhlaba Wokhokho: Land of My Ancestors (Nondumiso Masache), A Piece of Ground (Sesihle Manzini), This Land (Miki Redelinghuys), and Episode 3 of LARC’s podcast uMhlaba Talks, Decolonising Land with Dr Jacob Cloete: The Erasure of the Khoe-Khoe and San People. These works critically examined themes such as land dispossession, ecological preservation, urban housing struggles, and the historical erasure of indigenous communities.

The festival brought together students, academics, and legal practitioners, creating opportunities for direct engagement with filmmakers. Attendees participated in discussions exploring pathways toward land justice, the restoration of dignity, and the creation of sustainable, inclusive approaches to land governance. The event underscored the power of film and storytelling in fostering critical dialogue and raising awareness of pressing social justice issues.