FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Ladima Foundation is excited to announce the 7th edition of The Adiaha Award for Best Documentary by an African Woman has been awarded to “Mother City,” a South African film pr directed by Pearlie Joubert and Miki Redelinghuys and produced alongside Khetiwe Ngcobo.
“Mother City” is a deeply human, often heart-breaking and at times humorous look at the global politics of urbanism. Filmed in Cape Town over 6 years, our story starts in 2016 when the government decides to sell a school, earmarked for affordable housing, to a private developer. As an act of resistance, housing activists from Reclaim the City (RTC) occupy two government buildings on prime city land. A narrative documentary, “Mother City” is nail biting cinema as activists take on property power in a city still disfigured by spatial apartheid. RTC organiser and activist, Nkosikhona Swartbooi tells this story with ruthless honesty as they wage a defiant war against government officials and property developers in one of the world’s most unequal cities.
Miki Redelinghuys has this to say on winning the award; “What an incredible honour to receive this award! Birthing a film can be long and painful labour – so when it reaches the hearts of minds of audiences and shifts the way in which they look at the world, we are deeply happy. We believe this award will further spotlight the issues of inequality at the core of Mother City. Thank you Ladima for recognising African women in this way.”
While Pearlie Joubert added, “”This award is dedicated to all those girls, women, and grannies who never accepted to be silenced and cowed by politicians and property developers who never prioritise economically poor and disenfranchised people. Your bravery, guts sense of humour, and generosity of spirit was our privilege to document. Never cede your power! Miki, amandla, sister! (Boys, men, grandpa’s, I thank you another day.)”
The Adiaha Award jury made up of Zippy Kimundu (Kenya), Neo Kgola (South Africa) and Marouan Omara (Egypt), was unanimous in their decision and had this to say about the film:
‘Mother City ‘is a deeply human, often heart-breaking and, at times, disarmingly humorous exploration of one of the most urgent issues facing cities across the globe: who has the right to belong and to live in the heart of our urban landscapes.
Filmed over six years in Cape Town, this powerful narrative documentary captures the unwavering courage of the Reclaim the City movement, as ordinary citizens challenge an extraordinary injustice—fighting for the right to public land in a city still marked by the brutal legacy of spatial apartheid. At its core is activist Nkosikhona Swartbooi, whose relentless, clear-eyed honesty anchors the film in truth and emotional gravity.
With riveting intimacy and cinematic boldness, Mother City illuminates the human cost of policy failure and economic exclusion in one of the world’s most unequal cities. The film gives voice to a vision for a just and equal Cape Town, where the legacy of apartheid is not only acknowledged, but actively redressed. It asks us to reckon with the deep fault lines left unhealed by three decades of democracy—and dares us to imagine a different, more inclusive future.
For its fearless storytelling, its urgent political relevance, and its moving portrait of dignity, resistance, and hope, Mother City is the recipient of the Adiaha Award.
The award will be handed over to the filmmakers at a screening event taking place in August in honour of Women’s Day.
