'The Burning Man'

Photo courtesy of Halden Krog for The Times

Burning Man
Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave

Running Time: 24 min
A film by: Catherine Muller, Joao Ribeiro, Desiree Markgraaff and Adze Ugah
Production: The Bomb Shelter

This is not a hard hitting story of xenophobia, but the story of an individual whom, tragically, the world presently knows as the 'Burning Man'. Our intention is to create a film that reclaims Ernesto Nhamuave's identity and memory.(FAR member - Desiree Markgraaff, Producer - right)

We hope this documentary will explore who Ernesto really was - what he dreamt of, whom he loved, and who loved him. From the detail of the bed in which he slept, to the last family member who touched him before he passed away, to his favourite drink in the morning when he woke up, to the quirky little things that made him unique: which football team he supported, what the kids in his village remember most about him, who his best friends were. This documentary will be a collection of memories for man who belonged to a community and family. A man who never deserved to die.

The underlying premise of our film is that Ernesto in many ways represents the facelessness of poverty in our country. The tragedy of his story is that it took this most horrific, callous act before South Africans would sit up and take note. Ernesto's story - and the story of so many living below the poverty line - represents the human reality behind the NGO stats, the pop concerts to raise money for the poor, and the well-meaning speeches of civic officials. The fact is, pictures of human suffering still do not move a society to change. But Ernesto's life, and his untimely death, cannot be for nought.(FAR member - Adze Ugah - right)

' The Burning Man', is the story of a real individual who represents the pain and suffering of millions of ordinary citizens who are both the victims, and perpetrators, of this crime. We intend to make this a poignant, beautiful and thought provoking film.