As an Indian South African born in 1998, I am part of a generation referred to as born-frees—those born after apartheid. We have inherited the task of repairing a broken country. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, there has been a false sense of strength and numbness that the previously subjugated population had to bear in order to ensure the transition to democracy was effective. It was important, but over thirty years later it has also meant we have not had a chance to communally grieve.

The veil has begun to peel away and tensions are rising. These wounds of apartheid still bleed. How can we begin to process and grieve the consequences of apartheid if we do not acknowledge them?

This film navigates the space the Indian population occupies in South Africa. It parallels the personal grief of a daughter for her mother with the grief of a nation still burdened by its past. It is a portrait of people and spaces in post-apartheid South Africa, where our lives and histories intersect and become indistinguishable.

The Indian diaspora has been present in Southern Africa for over 160 years. Brought by British colonizers as indentured laborers to work the sugar plantations of Natal, many remained after their contracts ended. I am a product of this lineage.

The film turns toward this history because, like within a family, only the visible can be explored.