When independent filmmaker Carl Houston Mc Millan was growing up in the tiny southern African country of Lesotho he saw firsthand the effects of China’s surging engagement in Africa. Even in this remote country, embedded within South Africa, far away from the major hubs of Chinese immigration in Johannesburg and Nairobi he could feel his community was undergoing a profound change.
Unlike larger countries where the Chinese are building massive infrastructure projects and attracting thousands of PRC workers and expatriates, in Lesotho the Chinese are largely economic migrants in search of a foothold to open a small business where many work tirelessly to earn enough extra money to send back to their families in China. These migrants are often poor, uneducated and totally unfamiliar with the local language, Sesotho.
These new foreigners, Carl explained, were not warmly welcome in Lesotho where they encountered widespread prejudice. Sure, the new ‘China shops’ offered lower prices and were conveniently open seven days a week, but they also put enormous strain on local competitors who were often unaccustomed to facing this new competitive pressure. Then there were the constant language and cultural barriers that sparked countless micro-tensions between the Chinese and locals. While this phenomenon of new immigrants struggling to adapt to their adopted country is typical in every country, it was very new and unfamiliar in Lesotho.
Within this struggle for acceptance and assimilation between Chinese and Lesotho, Carl saw the opportunity to tell a bigger story about human dimension of the China-Africa relationship that is largely overlooked in the mainstream press and academic scholarship.
His new short-film, Laisuotuo (the romanization of the word Lesotho in Chinese) tells the story of two migrants, an African doctor living in China and a Chinese shop owner in Lesotho, who both struggle to overcome painful stereotypes and racial profiling. The film was shot on location in both China and Lesotho all on a miniscule, self-funded budget by Carl and his friends.
Watch the full version of Laisuotuo below:
This beautifully shot short-film featured a cast of amateur actors who shared Carl’s passion to tell a different, more human side of the China-Africa story. Carl joins Eric and Cobus to discuss the challenges he had to overcome to make this film and what he hopes the audience will take away from the film’s core message.
Show Notes:
- The Christian Science Monitor: In tiny Lesotho, Chinese immigrants set up shop by Mothusi Turner
- German Institute of Global Area Studies: At the Margins of the Economy? Chinese Migrants in Lesotho’s Wholesale and Retail Sector by Sarah Hanisch
Carl Houston Mc Millan is a filmmaker who grew up in Lesotho of Irish decent. His work is narrative driven with a global outlook and cultural sensitivity. Carl has directed short films, commercials and documentaries.
Working with local and international brands and organisations such as Vodafone, UNICEF and P&G. Carl is also a keen learner of Chinese and an adventure sports lover.
