EIFF 2022: Black Mambas
Lena Karbe’s documentary explores issues of race, gender and class in South Africa’s all-female anti-poaching unit
The most striking shot in Lena Karbe's documentary Black Mambas is one of its last. Qolile, a Black Mamba, an all-female anti-poaching unit from South Africa, brings her young son to her workplace: Kruger Park, named in honour of the country’s much-celebrated Boer leader, Paul Kruger. As they walk through the park, a white granite monument towers over them. Qolile’s son attempts to pronounce the statue’s namesake. “Tall Kruger?” “Kool Kruger?”
Black Mambas is the debut feature from Lena Karbe. In her previous work, short film Chinese Dream, co-directed with Tristan Coloma, Karbe examined the immigration experience of Africans living in Guangzhou. For Black Mambas, while the intersection of class, history and identity are still assessed, Karbe looks internally. Following the lives of three women, the film looks into the complex relationship between the Mambas, their management and their community.
Black Mambas finds its strength in quiet moments emphasising its empathy towards these women and their neighbourhoods. It works in comparisons and contrasts, highlighting the sinister underbelly where the Mambas are exploited and tokenised by management. When this management’s façade of feminist power is shattered, a more interesting narration rises in its place: one that delves into the disconnection between Kruger Park and the Black community surrounding it where unemployment is overwhelmingly high.
Paul Kruger’s impact on South Africa remains palpable. In recent history, the image of Kruger as a national hero has been brought into question by those spotlighting Kruger’s anti-Black actions. In Black Mambas, Karbe prefers to linger on Kruger Park’s landscape – as if the land keeps the score.
Black Mambas screened at Edinburgh International Film Festival, and plays at Bertha DocHouse, London, 29 Aug to 1 Sep; further release details TBC
Lara Callaghan is a film writer, researcher and video essayist from the West Midlands. She is part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival’s Young Critics Programme 2022 – scroll on to read more from this year's Young Critics...