A pair of boots and a bicycle premières next week
The documentary A pair of boots and a bicycle will be shown for the first time in Namibia, remembering the black men who fought in wars while being repressed at home.
On Wednesday, 15 April, AfricAvenir and the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre present the premiere of A pair of boots and a bicycle, directed by emerging South African director Vincent Moloi (2007, South Africa, 80 min).
A pair of boots and a bicycle is a documentary by Vincent Moloi about why black men who are repressed at home valiantly fight in the war of their oppressors, and what did the triumphant victors give them, upon their return?
Hans-Christian Mahnke, Director of Africavenir said that through this screening, the contributions of Namibian World War II veterans, such as Andimba Toivo ya Toiva, the late Simon “Mzee” Kaukungwa, “Uncle Paul” and others is also highlighted, memorized and honoured. “For most of these Namibian World War II veterans, the experiences and promises of the war meant their individual political awakening,” emphasised Mahnke.
A pair of boots and a bicycle journeys from the Soweto sitting rooms of veterans to El Alamien to find the answers, and in doing so unearths the significant contribution of South Africa’s black soldiers to the Allies’ North Africa campaign. The documentary is told with poignancy, the irony of their situation is slowly revealed through the life and actions of one soldier, Job Maseko. Job received the Military Medal for a heroic and ingenious sabotage of a German supply ship while a prisoner of war in Tobruk.
