Das Leer Grab

The Empty Grave follows the emotional journey of two Tanzanian families in search of their stolen ancestors. Their quest leads them to Germany where tens of thousands of human remains from former German colonies are stored in museum depots - a haunting legacy of colonial plunder in the early 20th century, taken for racist research and as macabre trophies.
Set in the present, the film unveils the enduring traces and traumas inflicted by colonial crimes on families and communities. It navigates the obscure maze of German and Tanzanian bureaucracy, revealing the struggle to reckon with this painful history. While the issue has gained politica attention, the film shifts perspectives and highlights the resilience of the families while probing the complexity of identifying an repatriating these human remains.

"Songea, Tanzania. John Mbano is on a mission to find the human remains of his great-grandfather, Songea Mbano, who was executed by the German colonial army. The family’s mourning has been passed down through the generations at Songea’s grave in which his head never found a resting place. Instead, it was shipped to Germany for racist research. John and his wife Cesilia embark on a life-changing journey. Buoyed by their resilience as they research, they finally decide to travel to Berlin to find the remains of John’s ancestor. There, they encounter activists whose voices are fighting Germany’s culture of denial. Along with them, the Mbanos confront those in power with their need to bring their ancestor home. What follows is a rollercoaster ride of new hopes and familiar disappointments. Even the historic visit of the German Federal President to John’s hometown fails to bring the beloved ancestor back home. The family’s search continues.
Das leere Grab offers a personal perspective: behind the global debate about the return of ancestral remains, we find real people. People violated by a colonial past and its aftermath to this day. Their struggle paves a way to a future disentangled from a painful past."
(Berlinale)

Das Leer Grab begleitet zwei Familien aus Tansania auf der Suche nach ihren Vorfahren. Die Suche führt sie nach Deutschland, wo noch immer Zehntausende menschliche Gebeine aus den ehemaligen deutschen Kolonien lagern. Diese wurden zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhundert teils zu Forschungszwecken teils als Trophäen geraubt und nach Deutschland gebracht. Der Film spielt im Hier und Jetzt. Wir zeigen, welche Spuren und Traumata die Kolonialverbrechen bis heute in den Familien und Communities hinterlassen haben und wie sperrig und undurchdringbar der Dschungel deutscher und tansanischer Bürokratie ist. Auch wenn das Thema mittlerweile die politische Ebene erreicht hat, steht weiterhin die Frage im Raum, wie die Schädel identifiziert und zurückgeführt werden können.