South African filmmaker Zamo Mkhwanazi’s new work, Laundry, offers a stark portrayal of racial oppression under apartheid, focusing on a Black family’s resilience in 1968 Johannesburg. The film is in competition at the 2026 Geneva International Film Festival and Human Rights Forum, which runs until 15 March.
Set in a whites-only neighbourhood, Laundry follows protagonist Khutala, whose family runs a laundry business as state policy systematically targets Black-owned enterprises. The narrative is rooted in a personal history; Mkhwanazi based it on events involving his mother’s family in the late 1950s. He deliberately shifted the timeline to the late 1960s, a period he describes as one of suppressed dissent following the imprisonment of anti-apartheid leaders. “This was a moment where there was really no one fighting for Black people,” Mkhwanazi said in an interview with Africanews.
The director emphasised a collaborative process with his cast, particularly his lead actor, who engaged deeply with the character before filming. “I’m quite a collaborative director; I’m always interested to see the ideas that the performers have,” he noted.
Beyond its historical setting, the film engages with contemporary South African socio-economic debates. Mkhwanazi asserts that national discourse on reparations, restitution, and wealth redistribution has stalled. “The conversation … has come to a complete stop,” he stated. “It’s completely ignored, and we just act like everyone must carry on and build their lives, but we’ve been stolen from. Not having that conversation is about entrenching injustice.”
Laundry features in the festival’s official competition, aligning with this year’s theme, “Between Resistance and Revolt: The Power of Images.” The festival programme showcases fiction and documentary films that examine authoritarian abuses and highlight collective struggles worldwide.
By intersecting a specific historical moment with unresolved questions of justice, Mkhwanazi’s film contributes to a global conversation on memory and repair. Its selection in Geneva underscores the ongoing relevance of cinema in documenting suppressed histories and amplifying calls for accountability.
