The Namibian artist Hage Mukwendje grew up in the small, rural and isolated village of Okalongo in his country’s far north. There, as he describes it, people are poor in material wealth but rich in spirit, and creativity is a necessity in everyday life. With stylish direction from the German filmmakers Niklas von Klitzing and Leo Stolz, the short documentary Healing Roots follows Mukwendje’s journey from Okalongo to Windhoek, Namibia’s capital and largest city, and his ultimate decision to return to the happiness of home. In parallel, the film traces how his struggle to connect with European-focused art history led him to his own distinctive African visual art practice, far from a major cultural centre. In chronicling Mukwendje’s winding path towards authenticity in his life and in his work, Healing Roots provides a lively portrait of an artist, a person and a place – and the ways in which the three are inextricably interconnected.
Via Shortverse