After watching several films on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and noticing that most of the films did not capture the impact of GBV on children, Zimbabwean film director Ntombi Masuku then set out to capture the struggles of children living in abusive homes.
Her film, In The Morning, takes us inside the mind of Thandi, a teenage girl from an affluent African family who comes face to face with domestic violence when she witnesses her father physically and emotionally abusing her mother.
In one instance, Thandi tries to intervene and she pushes her father who falls to his death.
While still grappling with her loss, her mother wants to keep their secret at bay and live in their newfound freedom but Thandi is trapped by a guilty conscience and her desire for freedom overpowers her need to protect herself from the truth of the past.
Speaking to CITE, Masuku said the increase in cases of violence against women in the media also pushed her to embark on the project.
“At the time there were a lot of cases in the media of violence against women and it sparked a thought in me of how we see the abuse through the lens of the abused, but what about an onlooker who is watching all this unfold,” said Masuku.
“I have watched a lot of films in relation to GBV, and I realised that it hasn’t really been viewed from the child’s point of view. And that is the perfect onlooker to me, what is happening in the mind of the third party involved in all this? Are they really just a third party, most likely not because the abuse affects them as well, be it emotionally or mentally.
“With all that, how does one take the steps to get out of that situation if you are a minor? Chances are you cannot, which puts the reflection on the parents as well, what steps are they taking to help their children once they are out of the situation.”
Masuku added that the film aims to put a reflection on both parents and children, as older kids can have a lot of resentment towards their parents after the fact.
“The movie aims to get people to look into themselves and ask how they can begin the healing process, not only with themselves but with each other as parent and child,” she said.
The film recently made it to the International Images Film Festival (IIFF) for women which was founded in 2002 with a focus to show films that depict women in a positive light as well as films where men are shown advancing the causes/rights of women.
It also featured in the seven African female-centric films to watch.
The film has so far been showcased at International Images Film Festival (Zimbabwe), Boden International Film Festival (Sweden), New Dreams International Film Festival (California), International Moving Film Festival (was a semi-finalist) and Coal City Film Festival.
