Mugabe and the White African

Admiration, indignation, shocked, sad, upset. Just some of the feelings I  experienced on the bus on the way home from the ICA this evening. Mugabe and the White African is a feature length documentary about the ousting of white farmers from Zimabwe by President Robert Mugabe, shot over nine months. Yet it's so much more than that. It's an emotional and gripping story of a courageous man's fight to defend his farm, his family and the livelihood of 500 black workers and their families.

For eight years, elderly white farmer Mike Campbell, helped by his son-in-law Ben Freeth, has been battling  Mugabe's Land Reform programme. Mugabe has said this programme will give the land back to the "black peasants" but as the film shows, the farms are being reclaimed by corrupt officials, asset-stripped and left to go to waste. Mike Campbell doesn't want this to happen to his farm. In an unprecedented move he takes the President to an international court hearing in Namibia on charges of racism and violation of human rights. It's David versus a corrupt Goliath.

Much of the filming was done covertly with the crew sneaking equipment into a country in which they weren't allowed. We get a sense of the brutal violence and intimidation tactics wrought by the farm invaders in the name of Mugabe's government. It isn't pretty viewing.

Although filming was risky, it is beautifully shot and very cleverly edited to create suspense and tension. The dramatic original score emphasises the emotional impact on the family. You never feel that Mike and Ben are in any way pandering to the camera either. They just seem amazingly determined, passionate and genuine. It's no surprise that the film has received rave reviews in Empire and Time Out.

"It seems extraordinary in this day and age that as a global community we still have no means to stand up to a dictator who brutalizes and subjugates his people, both black and white, " say the film's directors Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson. "Concerning ourselves with such a situation, and informing ourselves about it, is the first crucial step towards ultimately seeing it addressed."

I really hope Mugabe and the White African gets a wider distribution. It's a heavyweight film concerning a serious issue but is never dry or boring. It is accessible, enthralling and hopeful of change. Of course the ones who would benefit most from seeing this remarkable documentary, can't. If only ordinary Zimbabwean people were able to feel empowered enough by this film to overthrow Mugabe, the world would be a less scary place.

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The run has completely sold out at the ICA but is screening at the Empire Leicester Square, Odeon Panton Street and The Tricycle Kilburn until Thursday 28th January. Followed by various venues around the UK and Ireland until it returns to London for one night only at Riverside Studios on 3rd March. Check the website for the screening schedule.