Little One

Little Vuyelwa was found by chance in a field bordering a township by children playing. The girl's face was disfigured – she had been raped. The children got help and Pauline, who is raising a son of her own, decided to take Vuyelwa to the hospital. To make the girl's life a little easier, Pauline made a mask to hide the disfigured child's face. Slowly, Vuyelwa gains the courage to go outside and face life again. When Pauline decides to take in and adopt the seemingly parentless girl, she finds that there are numerous bureaucratic hurdles in her way. South Africa's official entry for the 2013 “Oscar” in the category “Best Foreign Language Film”: Based on true events, Darrell James Roodt (“Dangerous Ground”) shot a stirring drama with Lindiwe Ndlovu, who received the SAFTA Award for her portrayal of Pauline. In 2014, the feature film received the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the Africa Film Festival “Beyond Europe” in Cologne. African films usually don't stand a chance in the mainstream German cinema program, and so “Little One” is also a very special discovery off the beaten track.