Dive into ‘Imbamba: Uthunyiwe,’ a film by Gabe Letswalo. It explores the complex relationship between Maskandian music and societal decay, examining its impact on politics and culture, and questioning music’s role in liberation from politico-cultural domination.

Imbamba (Uthunyiwe) is an account of black dislocation/sorrow. Through a sound-performance relation in an urban setting, it interrogates the idea of messianic (holy) aesthetics, by way of thinking the Maskandian music form. It makes sense of Maskandian form and its bearing on social decay, its bearing on the contradictory nature of popular culture, politics and the market place. Ultimately, Imbamba (uthunyiwe) is a mode of asking and addressing the seemingly an un-answerable question, ie. whether or not music can condition the possibility or expresses the limits of liberation from politico-cultural domination.

Director: Gabe Letswalo
Country: South Africa
Directed by: Gabe Letswalo
Produced by: Gabe Letswalo
Written by: Sive Mqikela & Gabe Letswalo