The film True Missionaries are divided in two parallel stories, shown next to each other in an projection. The left part consists of quotes from the book The pearl of Africa (1949).
It is an travelog from east Africa, written by Lewi Pethrus
(1884-1974). He was a preacher and a prominent men in the swedish
pentecostal movement during several decades in the middle of the
1900´s, and he had an important impact on the christianity in
Sweden.
The visual material that complement the quotes, are pictures from other
books about mission. There are also images from the fictional serie of
books written in 1950´s, about a doctor in the jungle – Jungle Doctor written by Paul White.
In both the travelog from Lewi Pethrus and Jungle Doctor,
the missionizing are described from a very exotic perspective. Both of
being a missionary and the idea about being chosen, but also about the
traveling in itself.
The right part of the film consists of material from Debora
Elgeholm´s parents time as missionaries. There are some
connections between their and Lewi Pethrus descriptions – as the
trouble during car journeys. But instead of safari stories and Gods
Calling to save souls, the missionaries daily life deals with broken
refrigerator and longing for the children who studies far away on a
boarding school.
Besides two travelogs, the film becomes an documentation over a
specific time. Through putting the personal story in dialog with the
historical and romantic picture of the true missionaries, the Christian
heritage, that include the colonial aspect, becomes visible.
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