International Festival Signs of the Night - Paris
Festival internatinal Signes de nuit - Paris
 

24e Festival international Signes de Nuit - Paris / 9-15 Novembre 2026
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Tuesday / Mardi
November 10th, 2026
4 pm /16 h
Maison du Portugal
Cité universitaire
75014 Paris



 

And She Didn’t Die

 

Kethiwe Ngcobo
United Kingdom, South Africa / 2025 / 1:43:00


And She Didn’t Die tells the life story of South African writer and resistance fighter Lauretta Ngcobo, as seen through the eyes of her daughter, film director Kethiwe Ngcobo. Lauretta grew up in KwaZulu-Natal, became involved in the struggle against apartheid through her husband AB Ngcobo, leader of the Pan African Congress, and eventually fled to London. In exile, she found the freedom to write—becoming one of the first Black women to gain a literary voice. The director interweaves home videos, archival material, interviews, passages from books, and re-enacted scenes into a richly layered portrait blending the personal and the political. Kitchen table conversations about hairstyles and cultural traditions counterpoint reflections on the role of rural women in the anti-apartheid struggle. The oral storytelling tradition, in which her mother’s books are also rooted, has a central role. Kethiwe Ngcobo continues this theme through the medium of cinema. The result is a portrait not only of Lauretta, but also of the many other women who co-wrote history. A tribute to the power of stories as a form of resistance, healing, and cultural transmission.

FRENCH PREMIERE