Paper short abstract:

Orania is a remote village in South Africa, constituting an intentional community where only white Afrikaans people live. Its aim is the installation of a nation state as a cultural homeland for Afrikaners. The film examines the personal stories of its protagonists and the societal implications.

Paper long abstract:

Orania is situated in South Africa's barren Northern Cape province. All of its 800 inhabitants are white Afrikaans people, also referred to as Boers. They live here on private property which was bought in 1991. People of other cultural or ethnical descent may not live or work here.

The people of Orania refuse to take part in the post-apartheid transformation process leading to a "Rainbow Nation". Crime, unemployment and social pressure make the inhabitants feel that their culture is under threat in the new South Africa. Consequently, they strive to stay ethnically exclusive, creating a "cultural homeland" to preserve their heritage. Yet, the individual motivations seem to range widely from idealism to opportunism to desperation.

The film observes its protagonists on a personal level to explore the mechanisms behind this societal experiment.