'Survival of Kindness' star Hussein's inspiring road to the red carpet
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[February 23, 2023]
BERLIN (Reuters) - Mwajemi Hussein had never been in a cinema or
acted before her leading role in "The Survival of Kindness", a film that
stands a chance of winning the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
Hussein, in her early 50s, plays BlackWoman in the dystopian racial
allegory by director Rolf de Heer, that opens with her walking across a
hot desert barefoot, having escaped from a cage where she had been left
for dead by white men who wore gas masks.
The actor and case worker from the Democratic Republic of Congo draws on
her unique personal experience growing up to transform the largely
non-speaking role into a study of resilience, persistence, despair and
kindness.
"I lived surviving everyday every day because my family was poor. It was
not easy to find even food, shoes. People are not sure how I made it
walking barefoot, but it was part of my life because I grew up without
shoes," Hussein told Reuters in an interview.
"I grew up without my parent, my biological parent, so I had to learn
how to communicate with people around the villages to try and survive",
she said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/23/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
Hussein fled Congo in 1996 after war broke out, living in a refugee camp
in Tanzania for eight years before migrating with her husband and six
children to Australia on a refugee visa in 2005.
She auditioned for the role despite having no acting experience, after
being encouraged by members of her community.
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![](../images/022323PIX/ent_b.55.jpg)
Cast member Mwajemi Hussein arrives for
the screening of the movie 'The Survival of Kindness' at the 73rd
Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February
17, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/23/images/ads/current/longviewbank_lda_020723.png) Hussein, who said she was nervous at
first about performing, now advocates for and encourages others,
especially those who are marginalized.
"We should (be kind) if we see something valuable in someone.
Because sometimes people don't know themselves, but another person
can see something in you," she said.
"So if you see something in someone, encourage it. That's how we can
make our world better".
The decision to cast Hussein as BlackWoman over someone with more
experience was somewhat of a risk, de Heer told Reuters. "With
Mwajemi, it could perhaps be bad, but it could be great", he said.
"There's no pool of actors in South Australia that includes choices
about, you know, black women of that age. They just aren't there
because the parts aren't there for them."
(Reporting by Swantje Stein; Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by
Friederike Heine and Bernadette Baum)
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