Now available on
The Criterion Collection
Limited Edition 12" Vinyl Soundtrack
This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection
Lesotho, South Africa, Italy • 2019Berlin-based Mosotho filmmaker Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s devastating and hypnotic This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection is already one of the most esteemed African films ever to hit the international festival circuit, earning the Special Jury Prize for Visionary Filmmaking at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, before taking home Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Cinematography at Africa’s Academy Awards.
Deserving comparison with the work of Pedro Costa, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Souleymane Cissé, This Is Not a Burial marks the introduction of a major filmmaker and the final powerhouse performance of a remarkable actress.
The late Mary Twala Mhlongo, recognizable from Beyoncé’s blockbuster musical Black Is King, gives a heartbreaking career-capping performance as Mantoa, an 80-year-old woman who has lived in a small Lesotho village for her entire life. While preparing for her own death, she receives word of an accident that has killed her only son, leaving her entirely alone, with only the respect of her community, the traditions of her ancestors, and the courage of her convictions. When her community must relocate to make way for a nearby dam which would flood her family’s burial ground, Mantoa draws a line in the sand and becomes an unlikely political and spiritual leader.
Cryptic, impressionistic, and informed by magical realist literature, This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection contains some of the most striking visual compositions in contemporary cinema, all the more impressive considering this is the first feature-length film for both cinematographer Pierre de Villiers and production designer Leila Walter. The cumulative power of Mantoa’s sacrificial crusade, Mhlongo’s earthy performance, and Mosese’s visionary artistry announce an unmistakable landmark in African cinema.
Written & Directed by: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese
Starring: Mary Twala Mhlongo, Jerry Mofokeng Wa Makhetha
Run time: 117 minutes
Language: Southern Sotho
Subtitles: English
Color: Color
Format: 1.33:1
Sound: 5.1
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a/perture cinema Winston-Salem, NC • Academy Museum Los Angeles, CA • AFI Silver Theatre & Cultural Center Silver Spring, MD • Alamo Drafthouse Lacenterra Katy, TX • Amherst Cinema Amherst, MA • Austin Film Society Austin, TX • Belcourt Theatre Nashville, TN • Brattle Theatre Cambridge, MA • Brooklyn Academy of Music Brooklyn, NY • Brown University Providence, RI • Bryn Mawr Film Institute Bryn Mawr, PA • Burns Court Cinema Sarasota, FL • BYU International Cinema Provo, UT • Cascade Festival of African Films Portland, OR • Cine Athens Athens, GA • Cinema Art Bethesda Bethesda, MD • Cinema Detroit Detroit, MI • Cinema Lamont Detroit, MI • Cinema Moderne Montreal, QB • Cinemafest San Juan San Juan, PR • cinéSPEAK Philadelphia, PA • Cleveland Cinematheque Cleveland, OH • CMU International Film Festival Pittsburgh, PA • Coral Gables Art Cinema Coral Gables, FL • Dairy Center for the Arts Boulder, CO • Darkside Cinema Corvallis, OR • Denver International Film Festival Denver, CO • Digital Gym Cinema San Diego, CA • Downing Film Center Newburgh, NY • Epsilon Spires Brattleboro, VT • Festival du Nouveau Cinema Montreal, QB • Fifth Avenue Cinema Portland, OR • Film Scene Iowa City, IA • Film Streams Omaha, NE • FIN Atlantic International Film Festival Halifax, NS • Gateway Film Center Columbus, OH • Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL • Gold Town Nickelodeon Juneau, AK • Grand Cinema Tacoma, WA • Guild Cinema Albuquerque, NM • Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival Halifax, NS • Hamptons International Film Festival East Hampton, NY • Jacob Burns Film Center Pleasantville, NY • Laemmle Theatres Los Angeles, CA • Landmark Cinemas Peoria, OH • Lark Theater Larkspur, CA • Lightbox Film Center Philadelphia, PA • Lumiere Cinema Beverly Hills, CA • Maysles Film Center New York, NY • Metrograph New York, NY • Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI • Mill Valley International Film Festival San Rafael, CA • Milwaukee Film Festival Milwaukee, WI • Montclair Film Montclair, NJ • Montclair Film Festival Montclair, NJ • Museum of the Moving Image Queens, NY • Music Box Theatre Chicago, IL • National Gallery of Art Washington D.C. • Neptune Cinema Long Beach, CA • New York African Film Festival New York, NY • Nightlight Cinema Akron, OH • North Bay Film Festival North Bay, ON • North Park Theatre Buffalo, NY • Northwest Film Forum Seattle, WA • O Cinema Miami, FL • Pan African Film Festival Los Angeles, CA • Park Theatre Jaffrey, NH • Parkway Theatre Baltimore, MD • Pickford Film Center Bellingham, WA • Portland International Film Festival Portland,OR • Portland Museum of Art Portland, ME • Regina International Film Festival Regina, SK • Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival Toronto, ON • Roxie Cinema San Francisco, CA • Salem Cinema Salem, OR • Salina Art Center Salina, KS • Screen Slate New York, NY • Sie Film Center Denver, CO • Smith Rafael Film Center San Rafael, CA • Sundance Film Festival Park City, UT • Suns Cinema Washington, D.C. • Syndicated Brooklyn, NY • Tampa Theatre Tampa, FL • The Beverly Theater Las Vegas, NV • The Cinematheque Vancouver, BC • The Flicks Boise, ID • The Grandin Theatre Roanoke, VA • The Loft Cinema Tucson, AZ • The Paris Theater New York, NY • The Screening Room Newburyport, MA • TIFF Bell Lightbox Toronto, ON • Time & Space Ltd Hudson, NY • Tropic Cinema Key West, FL • University of California at Riverside Riverside, CA • University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI • Varsity Theatre Davis, CA • Vermont International Film Festival Burlington, VT • VIFF Centre Vancouver, BC • Wealthy Theatre Grand Rapids, MI • Webster University Film Series Saint Louis, MO • Wesleyan University Middletown, CT • Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH • Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center Arabi, LA
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* Also available, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese's short films Mosonggoa (2014) and Behemoth: Or The Game Of God (2016)