Nelson Mandela’s words have resonated with people throughout the world, and are often drawn upon as a source of inspiration.
This year, the Nelson Mandela Foundation partnered with the Tribeca Film Institute to celebrate Madiba’s wisdom and commit it to film. Five filmmakers each chose a different quote of Mandela’s and used its central philosophy to tell a story. These five films are now available to view online below.
The project, entitled Power of Words, was first launched in April 2013 when a short film was projected in New York’s Times Square every night shortly before midnight for one month.
An initiative of the Tribeca Film Institute using the teachings and writings of iconic figures as an inspiration for storytelling, this inaugural Power of Words project paired filmmakers with five of the institute’s student Film Fellows, underscoring the importance of connecting Mandela’s legacy to the present-day generation.
The films premiered in Cape Town on 13 November 2014 in front of members of the Mandela family, public dignitaries and young filmmakers, before moving back to New York to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mandela’s passing.
Shot in locations from the United States to Jamaica and Uganda, the Power of Words films explore such themes as overcoming dire poverty by teaching success to children through gameplay; finding a purpose in the twilight of life by helping others; overcoming challenges that mould our character; and embracing the freedom to speak the truth.
Kweku Mandela, grandson of Nelson and co-founder of Out of Africa Entertainment, which aided in the production of the Power of Words series, is proud of the diversity in the films. “We wanted a broad dynamic,” he says. “I want people to watch them and hopefully celebrate with us what my grandfather was able to achieve, but hopefully also take away something they can use in their own lives.”
Check out the five films here:
Captureland by Nabil Elderkin
Director Nabil Elderkin chose Mandela’s “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying” quote. It inspired his grimy yet glorious Jamaica-set narrative Captureland about Tocky, a charming Rastafari set on leaving behind a shifty lifestyle for a pilgrimage with his brothers.
Lift You Up by Ramin Bahrani
"The habit of attending to small things and of appreciating small courtesies is one of the important marks of a good person," was selected by Ramin Bahrani for his piece, Lift You Up. Set in North Carolina, it follows a chicken egg sorter who lives by sayings like, “If you don’t give nothing, you ain’t nothing.”
Truth Booth by Hank Willis Thomas
The quote, “We are not yet free,” spoke to director Hank Willis Thomas, whose Truth Booth invited all-comers in Ireland, Afghanistan and the US to walk into an inflatable room to speak their truths. “Afghan girls, especially in Herat province,” starts one young lady sadly, “have no liberty at all.” “I’m so sick and tired of the violence going on within our communities today,” says another.
A Fork, a Spoon and a Knight by Mira Nair
In A Fork, a Spoon and a Knight (inspired by the quote, “Difficulties break some men, but make others”), director Mira Nair documents Robert Katende’s troubled orphan beginnings in Uganda to becoming a father figure for his community and teaching children life lessons through the game of chess. “How can I use what I have to get what I don’t have?” Katende thoughtfully asks his children to consider.
Of the Unknown by Eva Weber
"While poverty persists, there is not true freedom" inspired this short film set in Hong Kong, where millionaires and the working poor live side-by-side in one of Asia’s wealthiest and most densely populated cities. The film explores how our notions of freedom and happiness are shaped by the place we occupy in society, both literally and metaphorically.