Dr. Asira travels to Tanzania for a residency at a psychiatric hospital where she meets Samehe, a patient whose complete silence and withdrawal troubles everyone she encounters.

Through Asira’s healing methods, the women forge a connection that breaches the confines of time, history, and faith.

Collaboratively adapted by Martin Mhando and Ron Mulvihill from a story by Queenae Mulvihill, Maangamizi: The Ancient One explores the breadth of African consciousness and spiritual heritage and serves as a powerful meditation on the toll of displaced history.

An essential work of Tanzanian cinema, the film went virtually undistributed across Tanzania in the 2000's due to red tape around distribution, but is now seeing a second life upon its 20th anniversary through recent efforts by a local collective to circulate the film through informal and creative means.

---