DEMOCRATS

"Democracies in Africa are a difficult proposition, because always the opposition will want more than it deserves." – President Robert Mugabe

In the aftermath of the violent Zimbabwean elections of 2013, two political rivals are tasked with writing a new democratic constitution for the country, designed to articulate the limits of the president's power. The process is farcical, corrupt and absurd as the two men try to fulfil their duty, but when it goes against Mugabe's own interests, things take a far more dangerous turn for both men.

Directed by Camilla Nielsson (Cities on Speed: Mumbai Disconnected, MIFF 2010), this Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary-winning film is an extraordinary insight into a system democratic in name only. Terrifying, fascinating and funny at times, this is one of the year's must-see documentaries.

"Camilla Nielsson's excellent, richly ironic Democrats avoids policy paper treatment of its subject – the making of Zimbabwe's new constitution in a not-really-quite-post-Mugabe era – to give a breathtakingly candid, on-the-ground view of people in action." – Film Comment