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Monday, February 5, 2018, 10-11:30 p.m. EST
One of the most misunderstood and captivating of contemporary female political figures, the life trajectory of Winnie Madikizela-Madela depicts a tale of epic proportions. Winnie, for the first time on screen, examines her life and contributions to the anti-apatheid movement, taking accounts from Winnie herself, those closest to her and the enemies who opposed her ideals. Winnie, directed by Pascale Lamche, premieres on Independent Lens on Monday, February 5, 2018, 10-11:30 p.m. on PBS.
While her husband Nelson Mandela was jailed for 27 years, Winnie was not spared of tribulations and lived a tumultous life far from the safety of exile abroad. She came to stand as a symbol for the oppression of her people, and her fearlessness mobilized them during the long years in which the African National Congress (ANC) languished in exile and incarceration.
“I made three films in South Africa and interviewed Nelson Mandela for two of them, but I was always intrigued by Winnie, and felt a little unsettled by the adulation that was poured on her husband, while she was cast as the fallen woman,” says filmmaker Lamche. “Her reputation among people I encountered in Europe and the States was unshakably negative and yet in South Africa, Winnie was loved and respected. I became more and more fascinated by the wide chasm between the two images. Something was amiss. A story needed telling.”
During the long struggle, Winnie remained her husband's closest advisor. Her insistent and often militant stance, however, was not in the favor of those in power. Winnie became the target of a goverment-sponsored smear campaign, had her inner circle infilitrated with spies and was eventually betrayed by many of those most betrusted by her.
“We study the contributions of leaders like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Oliver Tambo who fought to end apartheid in South Africa,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens Executive Producer. “Yet the decades-long impact of Winnie Mandela is often overlooked. Highly provocative and unapologetic, her personal story, like that of many leaders, is flawed. Although deeply controversial throughout her life, the former wife of Africa’s first Black president is seen by many in her country as the mother of the anti-apartheid movement, and Winnie is proof that women cannot be written out of history.”
