Black South African Djadje wants to return to Cape Town for her father's funeral after 12 years of European exile. In Zimbabwe she interrupts her journey. I cannot go back so quickly. The nearness of her homeland, the people, the light and her own history become confusingly present. Her thoughts and memories combine with the familiar smells of Africa, which overpower her and disturb her equilibrium. She has come home to Africa but is unsure about her return to South Africa.
She shares this fate with Lucy, that distant African ancestor who almost four million years ago stopped along her journey, either to rest or because of some threat, turned and then continued in a different direction.
'Djadje' is a film that straddles the line between reality and contemplation, a journey through the South of Africa and into the feelings of an expatriate, her inner conflicts and doubts that, in the end, prevent her from crossing the border into her homeland.
Feature Film, Germany 1991, 77 Minutes
Cast: Bella Enahoro, Ian Roberts, Sello Maake, Aletta Bezuidenhout, Wilma Stockenström, Allen Mhlanga, Sophie Mgcina, Ramolao Makhene
Directed by: Herbert Brödl
Written by: Jobst Grapow
Photography: Axel Block
Editor: Margot Neubert
Sound: Esko Metsol
Set Design: David Guwaza
Production Manager: Tiyane Chitepo
Assistant Director: Cliff Bestall
Produced by: Baumhaus Film Brödl
Festivals
1992 Cape Town, Hof, Leeuwarden
1993 Wels
With the support of HR, BR, Hamburger Filmbüro