This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection

When her village is threatened with forced resettlement due to reservoir construction, an 80-year-old widow finds a new will to live and ignites the spirit of resilience within her community.

In the mountains of Lesotho, an 80-year-old widow named Mantoa eagerly awaits her son’s return from working in the South African mines, only to learn of his demise instead. Yearning for her own death after the loss of her last remaining family member, she puts her affairs in order and makes arrangements to be buried in the local cemetery. Her careful plans are abruptly upset by the news that provincial officials intend to resettle the village, flood the entire area, and build a dam for a reservoir. Mantoa resolves herself to defend the spiritual heritage of the community.

Writer/director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese crafts a vivid and ethereal meditation on life, death, and the power of the human spirit. Veteran actress Mary Twala Mhlongo commands the screen, beautifully portraying a woman fighting her last and most important battle. This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection creates an ode to a way of life perhaps soon to disappear in the name of progress and guides us through a world where the dead co-exist with the living.