Introduced by programmer and curator, Carmen Thompson, and including an audio soundscape response to the film by Edinburgh-based artist Khadea Santi.
A rarely-screened gem of contemporary African Cinema, Flora M’mbugu Shelling’s These Hands bears witness to a day in the life of Mozambican female refugees working repetitive manual labour in a quarry outside Dar es Salaam. Through M’mbugu Shelling’s compassionate gaze, we see women of all ages working the open quarries with hand tools, simultaneously managing childcare and food preparation throughout the working day.
The film eschews commentary or a voice-of-god explanation, instead letting the images, rhythms and sounds convey all meaning. Of the film, M’mbugu Shelling has said: ”Certain things you can say with words and certain things you cannot find words for… I don't want to offend my audience by telling them what they should see or feel." Her approach to making These Hands has been considered ‘womanist’ in its approach to reclaiming representations of women of colour, whilst simultaneously deflecting traditional Western (mis)representations.
“M’mbugu-Schelling, like other womanist directors, seeks not to portray women and femininity as submissive or inferior, but to highlight experiences and the roles they play within the oppressive structures through which a given society operates, as well as to denounce these harmful structures. Although we do see in the film that the women and their work are being exploited, the lack of plot and the choice of songs they sing, coupled with the direct gaze of several of the women into the camera while dancing and doing other activities, allow these women to take up this participatory role and take control of what they want us to see and know.” - Taija Walker, 2018
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Flora M’mbugu-Schelling was born in Tanzania and attended the Tanzanian School of Journalism in Dar es Salaam. She studied and trained in Germany and France. Her documentary films include Kumekucha (From Sun Up – 1987), which won a gold metal at the New York International Film Festival, and Shida and Matatizo (1993); These Hands (1992), deriving its title from a poem she wrote, has received many awards, including the Joris Ivers Award and the Perugia Prize in Italy.
- Year1993
- Runtime49 minutes
- LanguageSwahili
- DirectorFlora M'mbugu-Schelling
Introduced by programmer and curator, Carmen Thompson, and including an audio soundscape response to the film by Edinburgh-based artist Khadea Santi.
A rarely-screened gem of contemporary African Cinema, Flora M’mbugu Shelling’s These Hands bears witness to a day in the life of Mozambican female refugees working repetitive manual labour in a quarry outside Dar es Salaam. Through M’mbugu Shelling’s compassionate gaze, we see women of all ages working the open quarries with hand tools, simultaneously managing childcare and food preparation throughout the working day.
The film eschews commentary or a voice-of-god explanation, instead letting the images, rhythms and sounds convey all meaning. Of the film, M’mbugu Shelling has said: ”Certain things you can say with words and certain things you cannot find words for… I don't want to offend my audience by telling them what they should see or feel." Her approach to making These Hands has been considered ‘womanist’ in its approach to reclaiming representations of women of colour, whilst simultaneously deflecting traditional Western (mis)representations.
“M’mbugu-Schelling, like other womanist directors, seeks not to portray women and femininity as submissive or inferior, but to highlight experiences and the roles they play within the oppressive structures through which a given society operates, as well as to denounce these harmful structures. Although we do see in the film that the women and their work are being exploited, the lack of plot and the choice of songs they sing, coupled with the direct gaze of several of the women into the camera while dancing and doing other activities, allow these women to take up this participatory role and take control of what they want us to see and know.” - Taija Walker, 2018
----------------------------------------------------------
Flora M’mbugu-Schelling was born in Tanzania and attended the Tanzanian School of Journalism in Dar es Salaam. She studied and trained in Germany and France. Her documentary films include Kumekucha (From Sun Up – 1987), which won a gold metal at the New York International Film Festival, and Shida and Matatizo (1993); These Hands (1992), deriving its title from a poem she wrote, has received many awards, including the Joris Ivers Award and the Perugia Prize in Italy.
- Year1993
- Runtime49 minutes
- LanguageSwahili
- DirectorFlora M'mbugu-Schelling
