Buddha in Africa

The six year-old orphan Enock is sent to a Chinese orphanage in Malawi, one of many such Chinese-run institutions in Africa. Under strong discipline, Enock must learn Buddhist philosophy, kung fu fighting, as well as how to speak Chinese, and the contrast between the rigid routines at the orphanage and the outside world is evident when he is allowed to visit his grandmother and cousins from time to time.

This documentary follows Enock over a period of several years, until he must make an important choice: Should he move home to his grandmother, or accept an offer to study in Taiwan? In the latter case, he cannot return home before having completed a five year course. Buddha in Africa draws a fascinating picture of China's influence on the African continent, culturally as well as economically.

Nicole Schafer (b. 1980) is a journalist, director, and producer from South Africa. She is the founder of the production company Thinking String Media, and has made a number of stories for news outlets such as Reuters, SABC and Africa Journal. Buddha in Africa, her first feature film, premired at the Hot Docs festival in Canada in april, and has since garnered a lot of awards.