
ËsáasiEweera,oneofthelastkingsoftheBubipeopleoftheislandofBioko,EquatorialGuinea,andathorninthesideoftheSpanishcolonialpowers,diedin1904inmysteriouscircumstances.Thisunsolvedcaseisnowreopenedacenturylater,startingwithEweera’sascenttothethroneandstretchingallthewaytotheaftermathofhisdeathtoday.Archivaldocumentsformthebasisofhisinvestigation,butnotalldocumentsaremadeequalandgapsareinevitable,anaxiomwhichisalsotranslatedintovisualform.Historicalphotosofsalientlocationsandsectionsoftextfadeinandouttowhite,asdomovingimagesofthesameplacestoday;crispdigitalimagesrubupagainstfuzzyfilmstock.TheflowerywrittenrecordsoftheSpanisharereadoutbyactorsandsetagainstthesoberoraltestimoniesoftheBubi,whoremainoff-camerainkeepingwiththeircustoms;thephotosoftheirancestorsalsoneverappearformorethanafleetinginstant.Afilmasheterogeneousasthedocumentsitdrawson:adetectivestory,anindictmentofcolonialismandastudyofitsrepresentation,aswansongtoawaningculture,madeupofcountlesschafingtextures,likehistoryitself.