The international film festival FILM WITHOUT BORDERS has gone on tour: with great pleasure, the FOG team, together with film director Lars Kraume, presented his film MEASURING THE WORLD in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office at the invitation of the embassy in Washington, D.C., at the German School Washington, and at the consulate general in Boston. Representatives of the Ovaherero were also present at the screenings. Following the screenings in both cities, there were lively discussions with the audience and the filmmaker.

The controversially discussed THE MEASURE OF A MAN depicts the atrocities committed by German colonial troops between 1904 and 1908 against the Nama and Herero in present-day Namibia, often referred to as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Lars Kraume: „It was particularly important to me that politically active representatives of the Ovaherero and Nama were able to see the film before its theatrical release in Germany. After producer Thomas Kufus organized a trip through Namibia, the FILM OHNE GRENZEN festival made screenings in the USA possible, which allowed us to engage in dialogue with Ovaherero in the diaspora. From Windhoek to Washington, the film found the support of the representatives of the victim groups, and without the backing of political film festivals like the FOG, these encounters in the cinema would hardly be possible.“

The film, which premiered at the Berlinale in February 2023, raises the question of how to deal with these crimes in the present day. It thereby also makes reference to the restitution issues that have arisen from this harrowing part of German history.

Lars Kraume has been a member of the advisory board of FILM OHNE GRENZEN for several years and has become known for award-winning films such as THE PEOPLE VS. FRITZ BAUER and THE SILENT REVOLUTION.

Photo: Axel Dittmann (German Embassy Washington DC), Lars Kraume, Susanne Suermondt, Vapuri Kauaki, Barnabas Kauaki © FILM OHNE GRENZEN