Das leere Grab

In the organizer's words:

• Sun, May 26, 2024 - Wed, May 29, 2024 at 5:00 pm

• DE/TZ, 2024
• 97 min
• Director: Agnes Lisa Wegner, Cece Mlay
• FSK: not specified
• Documentary: Original version with German voiceover and subtitles where applicable

In their film, the German-Tanzanian directing duo Agnes Lisa Wegner and Cece Mlay tell of the traces and traumas that the former German colonial rule has left behind in Tanzanian families and communities to this day.

Tens of thousands of human remains from former colonies are still stored in German museums. It is still unclear how they can be identified and returned. "The Empty Grave" follows two families on their arduous search for their ancestors: In southern Tanzania, young lawyer John Mbano and his wife Cesilia follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, who was executed by the German colonial army over 100 years ago. His ancestor's skull was taken to Germany for racist "research purposes"; the family is still haunted by this pain today. Felix and Ernest Kaaya are in a similar situation: in northern Tanzania, they are fighting for the return of their ancestor's remains and travel to the metropolis of Dar es Salaam to do so. Both families wrestle with the thicket of German and Tanzanian bureaucracy, but also receive support from activists such as Mnyaka Sururu Mboro and Konradin Kunze, who create visibility for the issue in Germany. With their help, the Mbanos are finally received at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, and then even Federal President Steinmeier comes to their hometown to apologize for the suffering inflicted. However, the grave is still empty.