The Empty Grave (Cece Mlay/Agnes Lisa Wegner) Germany, Tanzania |

The Empty Grave
Cece Mlay/ Agnes Lisa Wegner
Germany, Tanzania. 2024. 97 min

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 pain.

AGNES LISA WEGNER

Agnes Lisa Wegner studied American Studies as well as Film Sciences in Berlin and African-American Studies at Harvard University. After receiving her M.A. from Freie Universität in Berlin, she worked with German human rights organizations for several years (Pro Asyl e.V., Forum Menschenrechte e.V.). In 2013, she began to work as a freelance writer and filmmaker. Since then, she has written and directed numerous films that were presented at international film festivals, on German public television as well as Netflix Europe. Her award-winning documentaries – among them “King Bansah and his daughter”, “No fucking ice cream”, and “The girl with the long hair” – are characterized by her intense engagement with topics such as discrimination, racism, human rights and solidarity. She lives in Mannheim, Germany.

CECE MLAY

Cece Mlay enjoys the communal work of filmmaking. She is currently at Kijiweni Productions working as an Assistant Director and Creative Supervisor. She has been working through different departments collaborating with artists from various disciplines and backgrounds with the projects being produced by both Tanzanian and international film makers. These stories take a critical and honest exploration into the social, the political and the historical.
Her work ranges from tv series, award winning feature length and short films and documentaries: Siri ya Mtungi (2013-2014), Shoe Shine(2014), Aisha (2016), Vuta N’Kuvute (2021), Apostles of Cinema
(2023).
She lives in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.