A Memory of Princess Mumbi

The year is 2093. Umata is a futuristic African nation where past conflict has awakened ancient kingdoms. Young filmmaker Kuve arrives to document the aftermath of war, but instead of the devastation he expected, he discovers a world that has forged its own way of life despite tragic history. He meets Mumbi - a woman who will fundamentally change how he sees the world and filmmaking itself.

Mumbi challenges Kuve to make his film without artificial intelligence. In an age when technology can create images and stories, his journey becomes a search for his own filmmaking voice and a return to what is real and spontaneous. In this broken world, he discovers beauty hidden in conversations, relationships, laughter, and ordinary moments.

Director Damien Hauser weaves together afrofuturism, romance, and a film about filmmaking with reflections on memory, technology, and humanity. The film shows that while great history is preserved through wars and catastrophes, our own lives remain in memory chiefly through small, personal moments - and that even in the future, rare human closeness can matter more than technology.

The film had its world premiere in August 2025 at the 22nd Giornate degli Autori during the Venice International Film Festival, and subsequently screened at festivals in Toronto, Zurich, London, San Francisco, and Istanbul.