The Ladima Foundation is excited to announce the 8th edition of The Adiaha Award for Best Documentary by an African Woman, in partnership with Afrikamera Film Festival, has been awarded to And She Didn’t Die, a South African film directed by Kethiwe Ngcobo.
As part of the award, the film will be screened as part of the AFRIKAMERA 2026 edition REFLECT, taking place in Berlin in November 2026 and will be featured in the festival program, celebrating diverse African storytelling in cinema.
And She Didn’t Die follows the extraordinary journey of Lauretta Ngcobo, from rural South Africa to acclaimed feminist writer in exile. Through her daughter, filmmaker Kethiwe Ngcobo, this documentary defies the erasure of Black women like Lauretta from history. The film highlights a five-generation storytelling tradition, emphasising cultural continuity across generations.
The documentary employs a reflexive approach, acknowledging both the film’s construction and Kethiwe’s connection as filmmaker and daughter. This self-awareness becomes integral to the storytelling, as documentation itself becomes part of the narrative
Kethiwe Ngcobo has this to say on winning the award, “”My mother titled her great novel And They Didn’t Die because she refused to let women like her be erased. And She Didn’t Die is my answer to her, a promise that she will not be forgotten. To receive an award whose name means first daughter is the deepest honour of my life. No film is made alone, and I share this with my co-producer Chloe White, with Palesa Sybia, and with the whole team who carried it with me. Most of all, this one was always for her, my mother.”
The Adiaha Award jury, made up of Paula Essam (Cameroon/Germany), Rumbi Katedza (Zimbabwe) and Samira Vera-Cruz (Cape Verde), was unanimous in their decision and had this to say about the winning film:
“And She Didn’t Die is beautifully crafted and emotionally layered, remarkably weaving together archival material, poetry, memory, reenactments, and personal testimony. Its initially measured pacing is one of its true strengths, allowing the story to breathe and fully resonate emotionally. The filmmaker tells this story with great confidence, establishing a profound connection with her subject, Lauretta Ngcobo, by honouring her multifaceted identity as a writer, a resistance fighter, and a mother. It is rare to see such extensive use of personal documentation to highlight one of South Africa’s most prolific female writers. At a time when the stories of women- particularly Black women within apartheid history and liberation movements -continue to be marginalized or forgotten, the film stands as a vital act of both remembrance and reclamation. Themes of heritage, the loss of home, and seeking refuge in a foreign land feel as deeply personal as they do universal.”
In her director’s statement Kethiwe Ngcobo has this to say about the film:
“And She Didn’t Die is a film I have been making for over twenty years, though I didn’t realise it at the time. The journey began with tapes, the originals lost, these were the transcription VHS copies that fell from the ceiling during a plumbing emergency in 2023. I understood I had been unconsciously archiving my mother’s story all along. The lost and found footage finally gave shape to the film that had been gestating for years. The film is deeply personal yet universally resonant. As Lauretta Ngcobo’s daughter, I inherited not just her stories but the responsibility to ensure they survive. My mother’s journey from rural storyteller to revolutionary activist to acclaimed feminist writer in exile represents a life lived as an act of resistance – against apartheid, against patriarchal tradition, and against the erasure of Black women’s voices.
The jury also awarded a Special Mention to the Egyptian Film, 50 Meters, directed by Yomna Khattab, which they describe as:
“A brave, tender, and deeply reflective debut that follows a daughter’s attempt to reconnect with her father through the act of filmmaking itself. The film offers a rare and moving engagement between a young woman and older men in ways that are seldom explored on screen. One of its most compelling achievements lies in the visual dialogue created between past and present: in the archival footage, the father films the daughter, while in the present, the daughter turns the camera back onto him. Through this reversal, the film becomes not only an exploration of family, but also of perspective, authorship, and rediscovery through cinema. While struggling through the first part of the film the daughter is able to answer some of the most difficult questions you could ask a parent – and when her father finally opens up and answers her question, it feels cathartic. Technically, the film is extremely strong and visually polished. An incredible debut feature.”
For more information please contact karla@ladima.africa.
ABOUT THE ADIAHA AWARD
Adiaha means first daughter in the Ibibio language of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria. The Award is a way to recognise and incentivise women from across Africa to tell their stories through the medium of documentary film.
The Adiaha Award for African Female Documentary Filmmakers was launched at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in 2018 and awarded there through 2019. The 2020 through 2024 editions of the Award were presented as part of the Encounters International Documentary Film Festival, South Africa, and has now moved to an online platform. In addition to a cash award, the filmmaker is invited to screen their film at a number of partner festivals throughout Africa and beyond.
Over the years the Adiaha Award has become a prestigious distinction and has seen many of the winners go on to win awards at festivals around the world. Previous winners have included:
- Cyrielle Raingou: Le Spectre de Boko Haram (2023).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5y4e61TSMk
- Zippy Kimundu and Meena Nanji: Our Land, Our Freedom (2024)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sQ16s-EGYI
- Miki Redelinghuys and Pearlie Joubert: Mother City (2025)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHntBFtN1H0
ABOUT THE LADIMA FOUNDATION
The Ladima Foundation is a not for profit organisation, founded in 2018 and registered in South Africa and Tanzania with the aim of contributing to correcting the major imbalances within the film, TV and content industries.
Through a number of initiatives, The Ladima Foundation supports, trains, and mentors women in a variety of roles within the film, TV, and content spaces.
Through partnerships and collaborations in various countries, as well as through Pan-African networks and interventions, the Ladima Foundation is committed to developing training, networking, and related opportunities for women professionals who demonstrate their seriousness and commitment to their craft.
The Ladima Foundation focuses on a number of key initiatives such as training via the Ladima Academy, recognition through the Adiaha Award in Documentary Film, and networking and community via the Women of Influence Panels and the online database and community of the A-List. www.ladima.afric
ABOUT AFRIKAMERA FILM FESTIVAL
The non-profit cultural association toucouleur e.V. has promoted the AFRIKAMERA film festival – Current Cinema from Africa since 2007, fostering intercultural dialogue between Africa and Germany. AFRIKAMERA uses film to showcase Berlin audiences the full diversity of the African continent, beyond the common topics of violence, disease, and natural disasters. By presenting everyday life’s many facets and inner perspectives of filmmakers from the continent, it brings these stories to life on the big screen.
AFRIKAMERA positions itself as a lasting platform for dialogue between African filmmakers and Berlin audiences, and as a hub for exchange among filmmakers, producers, and distributors. To this end, AFRIKAMERA collaborates with major African film festivals, institutions, and initiatives from Marrakesh to Durban.
With annually changing thematic focuses, the festival tackles issues relevant to Africa’s post-independence-generation of young filmmakers. AFRIKAMERA also engages in education and cultural outreach, organizing workshops, panels, and events in Germany and abroad. More information: https://www.afrikamera.de/en/
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