11 March, 2016 - 07:01
A contest against time. N!uu, a 25,000-year-old San language faces extinction. Three surviving elders, all sisters, the youngest being 80 years old, are the remaining speakers of the language in South Africa's Northern Cape province, among the #Khomani San community.
It's unthinkable that this language is about to die. Something has to be done, Helena Steenkamp, a young San woman and the central character of the documentary film, Lost Tongue, says.
Set to premier at New York's Socially Relevant Film Festival on March 17, Lost Tongue is a cultural and spiritual journey to raise consciousness about a language on the verge of extinction. In April, the film will open in about 100 cinemas across the U.S.
Directed by young filmmaker Davison Mudzingwa, and presented by South African-based Mvura Ya Afrika (MYA) Productions, the film is a call to save indigenous languages.
This is a story of hope and revival of the ancient and endangered N!uu language of a marginalized indigenous #Khomani San people in the Kalahari, Mudzingwa tells Okayafrica.
The San are the historic peoples of Southern Africa. Today most live in South Africa and neighbouring Botswana and Namibia. In modern South Africa, the San have largely been absorbed into the so-called Coloured, mixed-race or Griqua population. This absorption has led to a loss of culture and language, says Mudzingwa.
The Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), says languages are vehicles of cultures, collective memory and values: They are an essential component of our identities, and a building block of our diversity and living heritage. Yet, about half of some 6,000 languages spoken today are in danger of disappearing.
This is the quandary N!uu finds itself in.
Lost-Tongue-Davison-Mudzingwa-Documentary-Film-2
Courtesy of Lost Tongue.
Lost Tongue is the collaborative vision of Mudzingwa and three friends. Themba Vilakazi, one of South Africa's foremost cinematographic talents, shot the film. It was funded by MYA Productions and non-profit outfit Entrepreneurship Africa. Francis Yannicq Hweshe of South Africa and U.S.-based MeSun Barnett are producers working to bring the picture to the world's screen.
In the film, a young San lady, Helena Steenkamp, frantically tries to save her ancient language N!uu from extinction.
She teams up with one of three remaining speakers to learn the language and culture. Through this journey, the film explores the marginalisation of the San people and cultural genocide they have gone through.
Born into a world that does not reflect who they are, their names betray their identity, Mudzingwa says.
It's a sad state of affairs, he adds. They are socialised into a lifestyle that is not theirs, they speak Afrikaans, a language that was forced on them, and when they die, they are buried in a manner that is foreign to them.
Mudzingwa says he was inspired to make Lost Tongue after directing the 2012 short film, Bush Trail, which premiered at the Tri-continental International Film Festival in Johannesburg.
When we filmed Bush Trail in Kalahari in the #Khomani San community, it was funny yet sad, local people did not speak their language or follow their traditional culture, Mudzingwa says.
From this observation, another storyline was born, we began to investigate and a new, exciting and surprising journey for Lost Tongue.
Language is an important human rights issue, Barnett says. We hope through this cultural project the global audiences will get to see the remnants of a discriminatory history still alive today.
He tell us that it's a tall order, but that is what drives them to share this authentic story to both uninitiated, and a more knowledgeable audience public.
lost-tongue-photo-still
Courtesy of Lost Tongue.
The film has made the producers realize that they can do something in the #Khomani San community, where about 1,000 people reside and an unknown number of their tribe scattered to reside elsewhere around the Kalahari.
Hweshe says there are plans to start the Lost Tongue Legacy Project in 2017, a social impact program where they aim to form partners for the construction of a multimedia center at the heart of the #Khomani San community.
The centre will become a symbol of hope for the hopeless youth, Hweshe tells Okayafrica. The youth will tell their own unique stories as professionals through film and photography.
Hweshe says multimedia classes will be held with assistance of professionals who will come together from all over the world to work with local staff to teach students the skills to succeed and provide the proper support needed.
In addition to other facilities, we would want the centre to have a facility for the recording of the language as well as a library and recreational sports, he says.
http://www.okayafrica.com
Documentaries
Africa South Africa
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
21/10/2025
Kokusai Denki Electric America will mark the U.S. debut of a new 4K camera at the 2025 NAB New York, Oct. 22-23. Now available, the Z-HD6500-S1 UHD/HD productio...
21/10/2025
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, will showcase its entire NEXTGEN TV ...
21/10/2025
Radio Azzurra FM, longest-running radio station in the province of Novara, northwest Italy, has invested in an DHD SX2 audio routing and mixing console for inte...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
21/10/2025
Visual Data announces the appointment of Maz Al-Jumaili as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Localization, to advance client engagement, strategic partnerships, ...
21/10/2025
As Amazon's Prime Video prepares to launch its coverage of NBA basketball under a major new deal, Grup Mediapro has announced that it is working with the st...
21/10/2025
ATLANTA Good news for consumers using an Atlanta DTH receiver to watch ATSC 3.0: with a new software update, they will be able to blanket their homes with Wi-Fi...
21/10/2025
While recent news has been heavily focused on Hispanic migration into the U.S., The 2025 Hispanic Market Report from Claritas highlights the fact that this gr...
21/10/2025
MAIDENHEAD, UK RWS has hired Michael Wayne as its head of media and entertainment in Los Angeles where he will lead the company's media localization busines...
21/10/2025
Imagine Communications and Rohde & Schwarz today announced a definitive agreement under which Imagine will acquire Pixel Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiar...
21/10/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) today announced a major update that will expand the functionality of its NEXTGEN TV receiver by enabling gateway capabilities allowing viewer...
21/10/2025
Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration, consulting, and expert ATSC 3.0 implementation firm announces that it has partnered wi...
11 March, 2016 - 07:01 
