Samanthole Arts Foundation

Johannesburg’s bustling cultural hub, the Market Theatre, played host to the extraordinary Kaza Kamba Pan African Theatre Festival, presented in collaboration with mehlo-maya (eye-to-the-sun). This four-day celebration of Southern African creativity showcased theatre, music, workshops, films, and talks, representing seven Southern African countries. Over the weekend, I attended three remarkable performances that profoundly impacted my understanding of art as a vessel for storytelling and activism. The first was a screening of Vincent Moloi’s film Skulls of My People. This searing documentary confronts the harrowing history of the Herero and Nama genocide by German colonisers. Through striking visuals and deeply emotional narratives, Moloi not only revisits one of Africa’s darkest chapters but also highlights the resilience of these communities in their ongoing quest for recognition and reparations. The film was an eye-opening account of colonial violence that lingers as a s...