Troupes of War: Diturupa

Synopsis

Mudzingwa and Ledwaba correctly seek no easy answer to this complicated question. At its narrative core is the Ditrupa, a celebration of military history held in Markapanstad, rural North-West – a filtered-down appropriation of Scottish tradition brought back by black South African troops who served in the Great War. As well as covering black military history, the film provides a telling juxtaposition of black memory against white history. Its portraiture of the craft and history of Diturupa, it needles in on an uncomfortable nostalgia that may be a basis of inquiry for future films on the subject.