CANCELLED: Hendrik Witbooi – Documentary
CANCELLED: Hendrik Witbooi – Documentary
• CANCELLED: Hendrik Witbooi – Documentary •
Please note: On Friday afternoon, 13 March 2026, the Namibia Film Commission confirmed rumours that the screening had been cancelled due to protests by members of Nama communities. No further details were provided.
82-minute film “Hendrik Witbooi: ‘God from Heaven Has Now Broken the Treaty'” by German filmmaker Alexander Honisch
Background information from a report of the New Era newspaper:
“After nearly a decade of research, filming and reflection, filmmaker Alexander Honisch has completed a documentary chronicling the life and resistance of Nama leader Hendrik Witbooi.
Titled Hendrik Witbooi: ‘God from Heaven Has Now Broken the Treaty’, the 82-minute film retraces the spiritual conviction, political foresight and armed resistance of one of Namibia’s foremost anti-colonial figures.
[…]
Selected for 12 international film festivals and recipient of three awards, the documentary was produced without external funding or sponsorship. Honisch said this independence allowed him to work at his own pace, though it extended production to almost 10 years.
[…]
The documentary situates Witbooi within this tightening colonial structure: the arrival of Imperial Commissioner Heinrich Göring, followed by Governor Theodor Leutwein and later Lothar von Trotha, whose command culminated in the genocide of 1904.
At its centre, however, is a portrait of Witbooi as a complex and reflective leader rather than an untouchable hero. Honisch said portraying him with fairness required close reading of historical sources, including Leutwein’s memoirs, alongside the Witbooi Papers.
[…]
A key theme of the film is Witbooi’s spiritual accountability. After signing a protection treaty with Leutwein in 1894, he later felt compelled to renounce it. The documentary’s subtitle is drawn from his reported words: “God from Heaven has now broken the treaty.”
[…]
The production was developed with support from members of the Witbooi family and the Gibeon community. Re-enactments were staged with local riders, adding visual depth to the historical narrative.
Honisch also drew on the expertise of historian Werner Hillebrecht and oral accounts, including those of the late Petrus Moses Kooper.
The film further traces the Khoikhoi’s migration from the Cape into southern Namibia and the subsequent formation of Nama groups, a context that Honisch said reshaped his own understanding of the region’s history.
[…].”
Saturday, 14 March 2026
15:50
at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Auditorium 1 (North), Brahms St, Windhoek West
Further information:
- See full report “Honisch revives Witbooi’s legacy … documentary highlights resistance, heroism” by the New Era newspaper (last checked on 12 March 2026)
- See also the schedule of the Namibia Film Festival, published by the Namibia Film Commission (last checked on 12 March 2026)