Nkashi: Race for the Okavango
Johann Vorster’s new feature-length documentary for National Geographic Society’s Impact Story Lab (ISL).
“The Okavango Delta is globally known as home to captivating wildlife. But films made in the Okavango Delta have rarely told the stories of its extraordinary people, who have been protecting our water, wildlife, and traditions since the beginning of time,” said Thalefang Charles, a producer of the film and National Geographic Explorer. “It’s incredibly powerful that Nkashi: Race for the Okavango celebrates mokoro polers and their stories, in their own language. I’m delighted that with the platforms of BTV and community screenings, Batswana, especially the people from Okavango, will finally see a film that was made in their own communities.”
The film celebrates the people of Botswana, their cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, and their commitment to preserving the Okavango Delta and its headwaters through the story of the Nkashi Classic race.
The film created in Botswana, in Setswana, follows three mokoro polers as they prepare for the annual Nkashi Classic, a time-trial mekoro race to crown the fastest poler in the Delta! The film highlights the the urgency of preserving the tradition of the mokoro and nkashi for the next generation, and the race to protect the waters that sustain the lives and livelihoods of the people of the Okavango Delta.
The extension of celebrating the Batswana people in this project moved to behind the camera too, where Johann, the Director of Photography on the film, mentored a team of local Batswana filmmakers involved in the project. Together creating a project unique to their region, showcasing traditional craft while carving a way for a more modern craft to emerge, the craft of filmmaking.
Nkashi: Race for the Okavango sees its world premier in Botswana on March 7th, 2023. With international screenings following shortly after.
Nkashi: Race for the Okavango and the annual Nkashi Classic race are made possible by Okavango Eternal.