AFRIFF 2025: Joshua Neubert and Victor Muhagachi’s “Majini” Shoulders The Weight of Masculinity and Tradition

Majini, directed by German filmmaker Joshua Neubert and Tanzanian filmmaker Victor Muhagachi, tells the story of Fari, an aquaphobic boy whose ailing father sends him to sea with his older brother, Danford. As the boy confronts his fears and doubts, he is forced to embrace the reality of his unofficial initiation into adulthood and emerging masculinity. Set in Bagamoyo, a historic coastal town in Tanzania that is situated on the western shore of the Indian Ocean, the film explores the intersection between cultural systems and individual identity, reality and superstition, and also challenges traditional notions of masculinity. Majini screened at the recent edition of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF 2025), emerging as the Best International Short Film winner.

The short film opens with an idyllic scene, briefly highlighting the sea’s vast beauty as a group of boys playfully swim in it. Through this sequence, the filmmakers pay homage to the natural environment, drawing on the universal appeal of water. In many African societies, water is a harbinger, a spiritual and cultural totem, serving communal needs in profound ways.

In coastal regions, the sea becomes a source of food, income and recreation. Fish can be consumed at home or sold for profit, and boats transport humans and goods. From a young age, many boys learn to swim and fish for survival, often bonding through activities at sea while contributing to the finances of their families. However, while water is believed to be friend to all, it can become dangerous. Many people have drowned after fishing boats capsized due to bad weather, reckless steering or other factors. Rooted in spiritual belief systems, some communities attribute such mishaps to the interference of malevolent water spirits. In reaction, they may offer rituals and sacrifices to appease the water deities. This belief in supernatural influence, a salient fragment of African religion, is captured in Majini.

Through the portrayal of the Swahili-speaking brothers, Neubert and Muhagachi interrogate the sustainability of tradition and the belief in spirituality, reflecting how individual desires and perceptions of the world may clash with age-old mass-minded conventional practices. On the eve of their sea expedition, when Fari becomes apprehensive, he questions the depth of the sea and existence of water spirits, and even while on the boat, he expresses doubts over the ritual of placating the spirit with blood. Fari’s skepticism is more than just a boy’s inner battle with the abrupt crossover from boyhood innocence to the pressing responsibilities of adulthood. It is also a metaphor for every young person’s fear of taking up a new venture. It also reinforces the need for audacity and optimism in confronting new challenges, especially just as we observe in Fari eventually braving the sea to save his brother when it matters.

The representation of water-related myth, mystery, and cultural tension in Majini is not entirely unprecedented. Zoey Martinson’s The Fisherman, a Ghanaian film which also screened at AFRIFF 2025, vividly portrays the clash of traditional and modern values through the experiences of a local fisherman that aspires to be boat chief. Similarly, Nnamdi Kanaga’s Water Girl, a supernatural drama film based on the Igbo belief in reincarnation, acknowledges the metaphysical potential of water and the mysterious nature of water spirits even in a diasporan environment. Yet, unlike the broader thematic scope of these feature-length films, Majini offers a quieter but symbolically resonant reflection on tradition, presented in a poetic style that relies on the non-verbal cues of its two characters and immersive visuals shaped by the sea and surrounding environment.

With Majini, Neubert and Muhagachi present a compact narrative, harnessing ideas that speak to the complexity of the modern African experience. Adopting a minimalist cast, setting, and dialogue, the short film encourages audiences to reassess the weaponization of masculinity and tradition, succinctly reflected in the experiences of its young protagonist subjected to child labour.