Plett Food & Film is back with a documentary made by brothers Craig Foster (of My Octopus Teacher) and Damon Foster.  The film was made in 2000, a profound and beautiful documentation of the spiritual synergy and symbiosis of natural beings, as lived out by the San in the Kalahari.

It’s called The Great Dance, a Hunter’s Story, and the Amazon page reads: “Through the eyes of a San Bushman hunter who lives in the Kalahari Desert, perceive a world invisible to outsiders, a world where every footprint, every raindrop, and every broken branch tells a story.”

On the night of Kalahari enchantment, a hint of mpepu smudges the air. The stick on the string of the bow beats an ancient rhythm and you track back along the annals of time to rituals of respect and spirituality and simple survival – all senses nourished by food, music, poetry and film. 

Our cooks, performers and magic makers this year are the Nguni girls who conjure a simply delicious meal inspired by the Kalahari and flavoured with wild edibles; Dizu Plaatjies – of Amampondo fame, an exceptional instrumentalist on Kora and traditional percussion and string instruments;  Was Lemeul reading evocative /Xam poetry of Dia!kwain, Kweiten-ta-//ken,  /A!kunta,, /Hanzkass’o and //Kabbo, adapted by Antjie Krog; and Vanessa Brewer who leads a guided tasting of urban-foraged edible roots, leaves and unexpected delectables. And of course the film around which the night of Kalahari enchantment spins, The Great Dance.

DATE: Thursday 6 October 2022 | TIME: 5.30 for 6 pm – 9 pm | BOOK ONLINE

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