Esta Fronteira Não Existe (This Border Does Not Exist)

Abstract

The film Esta Fronteira Não Existe (This Border Does Not Exist) (2011) brings together a collection of testimonies and reflections on the border between Angola and Namibia from discourses by local actors. If, on the one hand, the film speaks of the irrelevance of the border for the strong and active relations between the populations of the borderlands, particularly for the Kwanhama people – divided by the colonial demarcation of the boundary – on the other, it demonstrates how the line shapes and transforms these same relationships over time. The documentary was produced for scientific purposes within the research project Borders and Identities in Africa funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/AFR/098339/2008).