AN OPEN FIELD
Teboho Edkins
South Africa, France, Germany | 2025 | 38 min
Credits:
Directing: Teboho Edkins
Cinematography: Jide Akinleminu
Editing: Anne Fabini
Sound: Bertrand Larrieu
Production: Day Zero Films / Don Edkins
Co-production: Survinance / Carine Chichkowsky
Synopsys:
On 10 March 2019, a Boeing 737 MAX airplane crashed just six minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All 157 people on board lost their lives, including Max Thabiso Edkins, the younger brother of director Teboho Edkins. He and his father, film producer Don Edkins, travelled together to the crash site to seek something tangible in their grief. There, they met people who regard mourning as a profound part of their culture. A humanity in stark contrast with what many saw as a calculated stance by the airplane manufacturer Boeing.
Festivals and Awards:
- IDFA / Short Film Competition / Amsterdam, Netherlands / 2025 / Best Short Documentary Film
- Oberhausen Short Film Festival / International Competition / Oberhausen, Germany / 2026
- Full Frame International Documentary Film Festival / Short Film Competition / Durham, USA / 2026
