African Humanities Program Postdoctoral Fellowships 2014
Lecturer
Fine & Performing Arts
University of Dar es Salaam
Unveiling Dreams and Nightmares in Hubert Sauper’s Darwin’s Nightmare, 2004

This study explores the reception of Darwin’s Nightmare (2004), a controversial documentary film set in Tanzania, which the Tanzanian government banned. Through an audience reception study approach, the study investigates how the Tanzanian public received, reacted and interpreted the banned film soon after its release and after the ban. The unrelenting interest of people to watch the film and the means by which they view it instigates the desire to undertake this inquiry. Drawing from archival resources and interviews the study seeks to unveil how the general public code and decode the film and more so how the banning of the film impact their decision to watch or not watch the film.