DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
About two years ago, I spent several months traveling through Africa in research of a screenplay I was adapting for a
production company called Niama Film. Apparently they liked the script, because soon after they offered me a chance to shoot a short film in support
of the larger project - and so Protect the Nation was born.
On May 12 2008, a wave of xenophobic attacks began spreading through South Africa like a raging storm. I remember how shocked and incredibly saddened
I was by the news. The images and stories are powerful. A Mozambican man "necklaced" with a petrol-soaked tire and set alight. Foreign-owned
shops looted by mobs. Women raped. Shacks set on fire. 62 murders within three short weeks. In the end 40,000 Zimbabweans, Malawians,
Somalians, and Mozambicans fled the country, with an additional 50,000
displaced from their homes.
This movie is about a young boy named "Sizwe", a very common
first name in Zulu which means "Protect the Nation." But what
exactly does it mean to protect one's nation? To
safeguard its means to prosperity at the expense of the basic humanity of its people? In
my travels through Africa I constantly found myself struck by the incredible openness and
generosity of so many of the people I met. Especially the children. There was such a
beautiful warmth and vulnerability about these kids as they would run up and throw their
arms around you, cry in your lap or beam at you, eyes shining with curiosity and hope.
How is it possible to make that leap from an innocent, open-hearted child to an enraged
adult willing to commit murder against his own neighbor? Who or what is responsible for
this? How can we prevent this from ever happening again? If we care at all about the
future of our world, I think these are questions we need to ask.
It's naive to assume that anyone can make a difference with a short. But what I can at
least say is that this filmm has already made a great difference in my own life. It was
astounding to recreate the xenophobic attacks exactly on the site where they occurred less
than two short years before. The old cliche of art providing a mirror into society came into
glaring relief as local residents reacted with varying degrees of heartfelt support and also
indignation at the sheer gaul of this peculiar little experiment we were engaging in. It was
also a great privilege to have had the opportunity to speak with so many locals and to
spend time in infamous sites such as the Central Methodist Church and the Mandala
Hostel. This was crucial to me, because my goal for this project was to finnd a way to
encourage people to look deeper, ask questions and feel something for this community.
There are no easy answers here, just very many people who are suffering who deserve
their own voice to be heard.
On behalf of myself and my team I want to thank you for the opportunity to share this
experience with you. I feel deeply honored to have been able to participate in this project
and I hope you will enjoy our movie.
Candice Reisser