"Offers a deeper understanding of how truth and reconciliation matter on a personal level." World Association for Christian Communication
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BETWEEN JOYCE AND REMEMBRANCE is a hard-hitting documentary about truth and reconciliation in South Africa, focusing on the family of the tortured, poisoned and murdered student activist, Siphiwo Mtimkulu.
Producer Mark Kaplan spent seven years documenting the lives of Joyce and Sikhumbuzo Mtimkulu, mother and son of the murdered young man, culminating in a meeting of the family with Siphiwo's killer, Gideon Nieuwoudt, a former colonel in the apartheid government's hated security police.
Kaplan reveals the fragility of South Africa's transition to democracy by exploring the feelings of the Mtimkulu family. The film picks up where the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission left off. It offers a deeper understanding of the difficulty of reconciling with torturers, knowing they will receive no punishment. A burial of the only physical remains of Siphiwo - a handful of his hair - is a pitiful closure. For Siphiwo's son, Sikhumbuzo, this may not be enough.
We begin to understand the magnitude of the sacrifice being attempted by this generation: to set aside the personal healing that might come from justice served now, in order to accelerate a transformation to a just society, free of recrimination, for the next generation.
The film is currently being used in conflict situations all over the world.
Note: This is an updated, and much more detailed, version of an earlier film called Where Truth Lies.
Grade Level: 10-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2005
Copyright Date: 2004
DVD ISBN: 1-59498-271-8
VHS ISBN: 1-59498-270-X
Reviews
"Skillfully combines material from a wide array of sources... A powerful look at the long, difficult process of healing for the Mtimkulu family and for South Africa, this is highly recommended." Video Librarian
"Constructed with honesty and beautifully photographed. But it is history that makes it what it is. These extraordinary circumstances remind one how far we've come and how far we have to go." Matthew Krouse, Mail and Guardian Online
"This film does what the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission did not. It offers a deeper understanding of how truth and reconciliation matter on a personal level, whether reconciliation ever took place, whether it can take place...This film helps us to understand how big a sacrifice is being made by a generation, forgoing not only revenge but the satisfaction of even the most superficial punitive justice." World Association for Christian Communication
"Moving...It explores...the need to bury the past and live in peace with citizens of all races and ethnic backgrounds." Teacher Librarian
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