When the missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened our eyes, they had the land and we had the Bible.
Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first elected Prime Minister and President

The connection between Christian evangelism and European colonialism exposed in a documentary about Germany's activities in Namibia, including their first use of concentration camps.

This documentary is a bold exploration of Germany's attempts to colonise parts of Africa through religion and trade. It scrutinises the role of missionaries in laying the groundwork for colonialism in countries like Togo, Cameroon, Namibia and South Africa. Through interviews with German and African experts Teno paints a provocative picture of the relatively short but nevertheless horrific German colonial history in Africa.

A film by Jean-Marie TENO

Cameroon/France/Germany, 2004, Documentary | 1hr18 mins, History

with Nolene Sodom, Dr. Zephania Kameeta, Wolfgang Apelt, Kathrin Roller, Peter Pauli, Dr. Werner A. Wienecke, Clara Himmelheber, Heidie Koch, Isaac Kamta, Prince Kum'a Ndumbe III, Paulin Oloukpona-Yinnon, Fabien Kangué Ewané, Katharina Böttner, Dr. Joachim Zeller, Kouassi Améowoyona Akakpo, Wolfgang Dörscheln, Frigga Tiletschke


Original Title (in French): Le Malentendu colonial,
English Title: The Colonial Misunderstanding,
Country: Cameroon/France/Germany
Duration: 78 minutes
Year: 2004
Type: Documentary

Produced by Jean-Marie Teno and Bärbel Mauch

Director: Jean Marie Teno
Written by Jean Marie Teno
DoP: Dieter Stürmer and Jean-Marie Teno
Sound: Jean-Marie Teno and Paulin Tabou
Sound mix: Christophe Heral
Editing: Christiane Badgley

The film is Afropolitanism at its best...continually makes provocative points.
Robert Gordon, University of Vermont

Teno has been making a series of eloquent documentaries about the African legacy of colonialism. In this most recent work, Teno tells the story of the devastation of a continent with wit, irony and historical passion.
Linda Williams, University of California-Berkeley

This documentary distinguishes itself by taking a definitive point of view. Challenging Europe's'amnesia' surrounding the colonial era, the film interrogates the complex relationship between Europe and Africa.
Le Nouvel Observateur (Paris)

A co-production of Les Films du Raphia, Bärbel Mauch Films and ZDF/ARTE
PAL all zones
French, English and German subtitles

Contact:
Les Films du Raphia, France


FESTIVALS / AWARDS / SCREENINGS

Fribourg Film Festival 2005
* Screening

FESPACO 2005
* Screening

IDFA 2004
* Screening