Judith Westerveld

Drawing from the legends of the Dia!kwain in the Southern African San language |xam, the film interprets the tale of three crows sent by |xam women to search for their lost husbands, only to learn they’ve been slain by a Dutch commander.

This film is a response to a unique sound recording that captures a spoken message from a man named Mukalap, recorded around 1936 in South Africa. Mukalap speaks in the now-extinct Khoe language !Ora. He calls on an European audience to listen to his beautiful language just for once, and to him.

Recording a performative action where Judith Westerveld grew up in South Africa, the film captures a first practice session in the Khoe language Khoekhoegowab. Words and phrases commonly used in conversation linger in the landscape, her voice strained by exertion and the difficulty of pronouncing words unknown. (LIMA)