Capturing an important part of South African history in twenty minutes is a rather impossible task.
José Cardoso’s What the soil remembers depicts the story of the forced removal of families from Die Vlakte, a piece of land within central Stellenbosch, to an area now known as Cloetesville. With limited time to showcase a harrowing history, What the soil remembers struggles to fully encapsulate the pain and hardship of an older coloured generation.
Poster for the film titled What the soil remembers, by José Cardoso CREDIT: Woordfees
Cinematic choices
The twenty-minute film, shown on 14 October at the Neelsie cinema at the 2023 SU Woordfees, transitioned between past and present by using archival footage of what Stellenbosch used to look like, and where it stands today.
By incorporating interview conversations with people currently living in Cloetesville and those removed from Die Vlakte, it highlights first-hand experiences of what the forced removals entailed, and follows Josef October, Joseph Polman and Mohammed Rus, on their journey to help restore their community.
However, the director’s stylistic choices inadvertently diminish the profound impact of loss and the enduring pain experienced by this community. Oftentimes, scenes of the University student community in Stellenbosch would linger for too long, or background sounds would distract from the profound stories of relocated community members.
With a limited time, the film would have benefited to rather focus fully on the people within the community and their story, rather than ominous imagery of student nightlife.
Bringing in the Community
At the screening of the film, members of the Cloetesville community were in the audience and were given the opportunity to describe their experiences. Similar queries arose when audience members stated that the film does not depict the true extent of what their families went through.
Director José Cardoso emphasised that the film, which has won awards at the Ammodo Tiger-short film competition and at the Rotterdamse International film festival in 2023, is an ongoing project, intended as a catalyst for discussions regarding forced removals, to bring awareness to the topic.
The original film has a run time of 29 minutes, but what was showcased was a shorter version.