Donald Molosi
Twelve billion dollars. That is the pledge from Qatar’s Al Mansour Holdings to boost our flagging economy through roads, power systems, and mining infrastructure. Yet if we build outward without reflection, our transformation remains incomplete. Let me explain.
OUR STORIES ARE CURRENCY:
Botswana’s beauty and political grace are obvious. In global cinema, however, our voice remains muted. Fortunately, that is changing. Over the past decade, our film industry has grown despite minimal investment.
In 2016, I created We Are All Blue, a DStv documentary for our 50th independence anniversary that stands as a critical archival testament to who Botswana was and is. It starred Sir Ketumile Masire, Kgosi Tawana Moremi, and Dr. Sethunya Mosime. That same year, Tumi Sejoe’s debut, “The Awakened Spirit,” premiered at Cannes’ Short Film Corner, showcasing Tswana spiritualities to the world.
Meanwhile, A United Kingdom (2016) introduced Botswana’s story to the world in a cinematic spotlight starring Rosamund Pike, Terry Pheto and myself. We opened the London Film Festival and earned widespread acclaim. If that film helped the world understand who Batswana are, we now need an equally powerful legacy film for 2026, our 60th anniversary.
Fast-forward to 2023. “Partly Cloudy & Hot,” starring supermodel Kaone Kario, earned her the Best Actress Award at the Botswana International Film Festival, and the film became Oscar-qualified in the U.S. The same year, the comedy “Zombie Date Night in Tlokweng,” starring William Last KRM and directed by Moreetsi Gabang, won the NEFTI Africa Best Film Award, exporting our humour globally through Botswana’s biggest TikTok comedy star.
In 2024, “Cell 10,” starring Boikhutso Molefhi, boldly tackles Botswana’s ongoing debate about the death penalty, demanding a national dialogue on this critical issue.
Looking ahead, “MOITOBO (2026),” an experimental film by CattlePost Films featuring Molibi Maphanyane and Jolanda Steiner, promises to demystify diaspora Batswana to their host nations and reveal our shared humanity, an especially timely message amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment in the West.
MILESTONES MUST BE WITNESSED/PRESERVED ON FILM
Anniversaries are not just dates. They are living markers of history. Without storytelling, they fade.
“We Are All Blue” captured Botswana’s spirit at 50. We must ensure that as we approach our 60th, a film made by us, about us, will preserve this moment for future generations. Perhaps multiple films, since all we have to show for the 50th is that one unfunded documentary.
Film is infrastructure. It strengthens economies, builds identity, and archives memory.
As AfCFTA opens new economic pathways, Botswana’s stories told through films such as “We Are All Blue,” “The Awakened Spirit,” “A United Kingdom,” “Partly Cloudy & Hot,” “Zombie Date Night in Tlokweng,” “Cell 10,” and “MOITOBO” can be the soul of our narrative, shared regionally across Southern Africa.
The Late Dr. Lydia Nyati‑Ramahobo, a distinguished Yeyi scholar on language policy and cultural rights, emphasizes that “self‑worth and confidence derive from the sentiment that one’s language is important and that one can participate meaningfully in the development of one’s language.” Her insight highlights why supporting Botswana’s cinematic voice is not just cultural: it is foundational to national identity.
HUMBLE PROPOSAL: Investing in Memory
If even 0.1% of the $12 billion investment (about $12 million) were funnelled into a Botswana Film Fund, we as Botswana filmmakers could:
- Launch a Botswana Creative Industries Incubator supporting filmmakers, documentarians, and storytellers
- Produce a nationally reflective documentary like “We Are All Blue,” this time led by a new generation of filmmakers
- Build local production infrastructure and support festival-ready films.
To the Botswana Development Corporation, the Ministry of Culture, and our global partners:
As you build roads and power grids, don’t forget to build our legacy. Our essence exists not in blueprints but in the stories we tell, in Setswana and our other tongues, forever.
*Donald Molosi is Executive Producer at CattlePost Films, which is based in London and Gaborone. He is also the author of “Dear Upright African.”
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