And She Didn’t Die sometimes feels all over the place, but it still inevitably returns to the center in a moving and entertaining life portrait.
And She Didn’t Die, playing at BlackStar Film Festival, talks about the struggle for women’s rights and the hazards of patriarchy through the lived experience of a rural South African woman, Lauretta Ngcobo. The documentary charts the journey from storyteller to feminist writer. Using her 1981 book of the same name as the film’s title, the film shows the challenges, resilience, and heartache of her search for freedom and the pang of exile. And She Didn’t Die sometimes feels all over the place, but it still inevitably returns to the center in a moving and entertaining life portrait.
Directed by her daughter, Kethiwe Ngcobo, the movie starts with Lauretta talking about where she started. Then, as a voice-over quotes her book where a man talks about the defiance and danger of Black women as a more pressing issue than any other. The film uses quotes from different books by Lauretta Ngcobo. Through dramatizations, the words of family, including the director/daughter, footage of Lauretta with her family, and Lauretta’s own words, And She Didn’t Die builds a picture, stone by stone, of a life that had a profound impact that reverberated outward to the family and beyond.
And She Didn’t Die Stacks the Journey
The focal point becomes the political struggles. Lauretta and her husband, AB Ngcobo, fight for South Africans against apartheid. Focusing more on the thoughts of Lauretta as she recalls the hardships after her husband’s incarceration, and the increasing dangers for her, the movie strikes a sharply familiar chord right now given the atrocities in multiple countries. Sadly, the threat of incarceration for speaking against inhumanity remains. The journey sometimes jumbles the mix, transitioning too much. Still, the overall essence the documentary seeks to capture remains.
The Toll of Exile on Relationships and Self
The strain on the relationship uniquely builds. After all, at first, the pair fight to be together. Unfortunately, the prison and a corrupt, racist government continue tearing them apart. But then, once reunited after years of on-and-off togetherness and Lauretta raising three children alone, the challenge becomes how to navigate the relationship and family. For all the political fights for equality, sexism still reigns. As the disconnect from the past builds, even the groups struggle to maintain.
And She Didn’t Die also looks at the strain on Lauretta herself as she flees South Africa to avoid incarceration. Those years, bouncing from country to country, take their toll. The desire to fight gives way to exhaustion the further away she is. As she explains in Zulu, her writing was not with publication in mind, but reconciling the bereft feeling within after the displacement. After moving between several countries in Africa—always moving because the government still pursues—she finally settles in London with her children.
Sometimes Bounces Too Much
While the documentary is engrossing, there are some challenges. There is not a proper balance between events and people. It lacks a more structured balance, feeling more based on what the director preferred to show. So, there are emotional disconnects and even moments when it’s unclear if what’s on film is people tied to the story or just footage of the times. And She Didn’t Die takes on a lot with Lauretta Ngcobo’s life, but sometimes comes up short as it bounces too much between times and people.
Her stories and writing reflect the racial, social, and political dangers that Black women face at an intersection of identities, and the need for her to voice those challenges reaches readers. And She Didn’t Die shows the prevalence and tragically inescapable challenges of being a Black woman. While the documentary does not focus on the impact on her children, except briefly, it captures a woman who never gave up fighting. And She Didn’t Die feels haphazard at times, yet captures a story of an amazing woman and hopefully puts her writing on viewers’ radars.
