The Eye of Rre Mutwa

Virtual reality film 

Afrocyborg VR Film Collective

Eye of Rre Mutwa, An Afrocyborg Homage to Credo Vasamazulu Mutwa 1921-2020, draws inspiration from the writing of Credo Mutwa and his African cyborg visions of mythic beings who animate Zulu mythology in Indaba My Children (1965). Ironically, Mutwa, the medicine man, sculptor, painter, prophet and cultural custodian of African orality, passed away just shy of 100 years old when the world went into global lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film attempts to mitigate the fact that he was denied a state funeral considering his enormous contribution to Zulu cultural stewardship outlined in his writing and timeless knowledge of indigenous medicine.

The Eye of Rre Mutwa explores the interconnectedness of human suffering and technological “development”, which equates to the price Africa has had to pay for “progress”. The Afrocyborg characters portrayed by Albert Ibokwe Khoza and Patricia Boyer time travel through the historic socio-political-economic inequalities embedded in the First (1IR), Second (2IR) and Third (3IR) Industrial Revolutions. Building on the work of Robin DiAngelo, I examine my culpability in the process of techno-cultural imperialism via an exploration of “White Fragility” (DiAngelo 2018). This reflexive contemplation examines what it means to be a white South African, in the 21st century by learning to see the “algorithms of oppression” built into Western wealth accumulation strategies in the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Industrial Revolutions, which appear to be repeating into the 4IR. The Eye of Rre Mutwa is an exploration of how an African female gaze in a Virtual Reality film might refuse the techno-cultural imperialism that privileges the Western male gaze of Silicon Valley, which frames Africa as technologically “under-developed” or “lagging behind the rest of the world”. 

Albert “Ibokwe” Khoza is an actor, performance artist, dancer, and flamboyant sangoma.

They are openly queer and best known for their role in the Showmax drama series, Blood Psalms.

Patricia Boyer is an actress best known for her starring role as Sue in the Mzansi Magic prison drama series Lockdown.

Dr Shmerah Passchier is a writer, director and producer, who has worked in ten African countries and directed music, magazine and reality TV and documentaries for MTV Base, SABC 1, 2 and 3, and a feature for Mzansi Magic. Her work includes a documentary on Nelson Mandela and the End of Apartheid for the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. She holds a PhD in Virtual Reality.

Skhumbuzo Dlomo is an immersive storyteller working in XR media. He’s worked as a compositor and editor at companies like Pollen.tv, Spaghetti.tv (Conjunction) and Hey Fever (Oxyg3n). His XR career began at DeepVR where he worked on the Exodus VR documentary for National Geographic.

Samukela Mahlalela is a film score composer and final mix artist. He did the score and mix for the Netflix hit film, Seriously Single. He is a spatial audio engineer, music composer, final mix engineer, and 360 VR camera operator.

Credits

Actors: Albert Ibokwe Khoza and Patricia Boyers

Written, Directed, Produced and Art Directed by: Shmerah Passchier

Costume Design and Makeup by: Andiswa Bokweni

VR Cinematography: Skhumbuzo Dlomo & Shmerah Passchier

Editing and Visual Effects:  Skhumbuzo Dlomo

Ambisonic Sound Design: Samukela Mahlalela