{"id":24769,"date":"2026-05-04T19:05:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=24769"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:05:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:05:44","slug":"new-tutu-documentary-comes-home-to-encounters-after-berlin-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2026\/05\/04\/new-tutu-documentary-comes-home-to-encounters-after-berlin-win\/","title":{"rendered":"New Tutu Documentary Comes home to Encounters After Berlin Win"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fresh from winning the Peace Film Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, TUTU<\/em> will have its African premiere at Encounters South African International Documentary Festival this June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feature documentary is an intimate portrait of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the rebel cleric and Nobel Peace Prize winner who helped end Apartheid in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you think you know the story, the footage lands with startling power. Tutu intervenes to stop a mob from necklacing a man accused of being an informant. He loses his temper over Ronald Reagan opposing sanctions, telling the media \u201cthe West\u2026 can go to hell.\u201d He weeps while chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He lovingly renews his wedding vows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout, we hear his hyena cackle, even as he speaks truth to power with all the moral weight of being not just an activist but a priest too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted Tutu\u2019s voice to be the heartbeat of the story, to let his humanity,\u202fhumour\u202fand moral conviction lead us through his world,\u201d says director Sam Pollard (MLK\/FBI<\/em>), an Emmy and Peabody Award winner who received the International Documentary Association\u2019s Career Achievement Award in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Central to the film is the remarkable archive filmed over two decades by South African journalist Roger Friedman and photographer Benny Gool, who are both interviewed in the film and credited as consulting producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pairing was something Tutu took particular delight in. \u201cIt was part of our party trick,\u201d says Friedman. \u201cHe enjoyed telling people that we were a Jew and a Muslim, and that he loved us.\u201d\u00a0 The documentary doesn\u2019t end with Apartheid but shows how Tutu\u2019s activism expanded globally, continuing even after his retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often described as \u201cSouth Africa\u2019s conscience,\u201d Tutu closes the film on a characteristically optimistic note: \u201cI hope that the world would realise that there is no situation of which we can say, \u2018This is absolutely devoid of hope.\u2019 God bless you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> praised the documentary\u00a0as \u201ca deeply personal portrait of the man, so much so that by the film\u2019s conclusion you will feel as if you\u2019ve truly come to know him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TUTU <\/em>is produced by HiddenLight and the Universal Pictures Content Group, with Richard Branson and Trevor Noah among the executive producers. Cinetic Media are handling worldwide sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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