Last night I screened Winnie, a documentary about South African leader Winnie Mandela.
Though I'd seen countless documentaries and films about her former husband Nelson, I'd never seen a film dedicated to Winnie's story alone, so it's good I began with this one.
Things I learned:
- She was much angrier than her husband, even at the time of his imprisonment.
- She was treated horribly, with repeated arrests and harassment throughout the saga.
- She makes no apologies for her actions, but admits the years of bloodshed should never have happened.
- She is blamed to this day for a murder by activists loyal to her (some claim she ordered it).
- She has no desire to slow her activism, though she is now over 80 years of age.
It was a solid film, though difficult to watch in many places because of the archival footage. I especially appreciated the candid insight from Mandela herself and her daughter.
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Winnie screened at the 43rd annual Seattle International Film Festival.
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