And She Didn’t Die

This important documentary provides an account of the extraordinary life of Lauretta Ngcobo, a rural South African storyteller-turned-revolutionary, political exile and celebrated feminist writer. Directed by her daughter, Kethiwe Ngcobo, the film blends its rich collection of archive materials with re-enactments, contemporary interviews and readings from Lauretta’s books. As Kethiwe gathers the various strands of her mother’s life, her own narrative gradually becomes woven into the film, the lives of mother and daughter intertwining in a complex family history. The film follows Lauretta from her role as a courier for the then-banned Pan-African Congress to her time as a mother raising her children in exile, exploring the twin impacts of her consciousness being shaped first by South Africa’s liberation struggle and then by her feminist awakening in the U.K. And She Didn’t Die celebrates the power of storytelling as an act of resistance, resilience, remembrance and defiance.