South Africa / 2008 / 64mins / Documentary / English and Caribbean Patois

The Prodigal Son retraces the lost history of the Orderson family. The filmmaker’s great grandfather, Joseph Orderson was of the generation of newly emancipated slaves, who with fellow West Indians left Barbados to settle all over the world, including Cape Town’s District Six. These men came as sailors and were part of the pioneering Black Atlantic Communication Network, inspired by the UNIA.

Kurt Orderson

Kurt Otabenga Orderson is an award-winning filmmaker from South Africa. He has worked in over 6 continents and has directed and produced over 11 feature documentaries that have screened at international film festivals and on various broadcast outlets. Kurt is the founder of Azania Rizing Productions, a company that aims to inspire young people through creative storytelling about Africa and African Diasporas. Kurt’s 2018 award-winning documentary film Not in My Neighbourhood has thus far screened at over 18 film festivals in 5 continents including, winning best documentary and the HBO American Black Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Encounters International Documentary Film Festival and the Jury Award for Outstanding Film at the African International Film Festival. Kurt also guest lectures at various universities including; University of Cape Town, University of Pennsylvania, University of São Paulo, Brown University, University of West Indies, University of Toronto, to name a few. Learn More