In My Country

Set during the 1995-1996 Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, Anna Malan starts reporting from Cape Town and travels with the process across the country. Her work places her at the center of South Africa's reckoning with the past. The reporting strains her relations with her parents and brother as post-Apartheid realities press in.

At a Cape Town press conference, Anna meets her Black colleague Dumi Mkhalipi and American journalist Langston Whitfield. They form a working relationship to cover the TRC hearings. Whitfield's initial hostility toward White South Africans is confronted as he begins to collaborate with them.

Anna, Dumi, and Langston travel across South Africa to cover the hearings, witnessing victims testifying and perpetrators confessing under the framework of restorative justice and Ubuntu. The trio's reporting becomes a narrative thread through the nation’s healing process. Their perspectives begin to intertwine as the hearings progress.

Their car breaks down in Gramadoelas, forcing them to spend the night at the home of an Afrikaner farmer. The unexpected stay highlights cultural and ideological tensions, but also moments of shared humanity and uneasy hospitality. The episode deepens the characters' understanding of each other.

Langston interviews De Jager, a former South African Army colonel accused of human rights violations. De Jager insists he was following orders and casts himself as a scapegoat for higher-ups. The interview foreshadows the strategic revelations that follow.

Whitfield writes a sensationalist piece for the Washington Post, published on the front page. The article heightens tension between the international press and South African audiences. Anna confronts him about the piece’s impact on perceptions of justice and reconciliation.

The two later reconcile after Anna convinces him that not all whites are guilty and by introducing him to her parents, who help him reevaluate his views. Trust begins to replace earlier tensions as shared humanity takes precedence. Their professional bond deepens into a complicated personal rapport.

Using De Jager's information, Langston and Anna locate a farm near Anna's family homestead used by the SA military to torture and kill guerrillas. De Jager incriminates his superiors, providing a crucial link in the chain of accountability. The discovery intensifies the moral stakes of the amnesty process.

De Jager's amnesty application is rejected on the grounds that his actions were disproportionate to the objective sought. The decision underscores the limits of amnesty and the moral complexity of the TRC's restorative justice model. The case continues to ripple through the hearings.

When Anna confronts Boetie about his complicity in the tortures, Boetie commits suicide. The tragedy devastates the family and forces a reckoning with personal and national guilt. The funeral becomes a somber pivot point in the narrative.

During the funeral, Anna's mother confesses to an extramarital affair with a Chilean poet, triggering a broader airing of secrets. Anna reveals her own affair with Langston to her husband, and they move toward forgiveness. The family and couple begin to heal, even as the past continues to surface.

Langston drives with Dumi toward his family, but Dumi is killed by a gang seeking revenge for past betrayals. Langston is forced to confront forgiveness anew as he contemplates the costs of the truth. Anna contemplates the wider sins of her people and pleads for the land to forgive them.

The postscript notes that 21,800 victims testified to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and that 1,165 perpetrators received amnesty under the peace process. The figures underscore the scale of the nation’s transition and the ongoing struggle for reconciliation. The film closes on a reflective note about memory, accountability, and forgiveness.