<em>Truck Mama</em>

The film begins with a long truck snaking its way onto a highway, laden with goods. Steering the ship is the most unlikely captain, Evaline, a heavily pregnant truck driver. We ride shotgun with her and experience her routine on the road. We watch her sleep in awkward positions and engage with other truckers on the road as she narrates to us what life is like for a trucker and the decisions that led her there.

The long haul

Time lurches forward two years later, and Evaline is now a mother of two. We are now in her house in Mombasa, Kenya’s coastal town. Derrick, whom we first met still in his mother’s belly, is now a curious toddler. Evaline is preparing for her next assignment, a long-haul trip to South Sudan. She has a laundry list of things to do before she is set. She visits her older son, Denis, and later on, her mother. With Denis, they share a tender moment in which she emphasises the importance of focusing on his schoolwork so that he can have a chance at a prestigious career in medicine or even aviation. Thereafter, she visits her mother, with whom she shares her domestic frustrations. Evaline gets back and makes her way to the gas depot to pick up her goods for delivery. She checks her truck for necessary documents and safety materials. Together with her convoy of fellow truckers, they set off from Mombasa on their way inland.

All is well, and in a week, they will arrive at Uganda’s border with South Sudan, where long border checks add another two days before they are cleared to enter the country. A little into Sudanese territory, right in the middle of the bush, Evaline encounters a major drawback. This throws a wrench into their timeline, forcing them to stop and make camp at a mechanical yard to fix the issue. A simple delivery in and out of the country turns into a week-long nightmare. Evaline and her fellow truckers are instructed to turn back and head to Mombasa without making a delivery. This is a huge disappointment for Evaline and a blow to her earnings. They, however, make it back safe and sound, in time for Derrick’s birthday.

One cannot help but wonder what other milestones that she may have missed while on the road.

Verité

Zipporah’s artistic choice to shoot in the Verité style is fitting. Watching Truck Mama felt like reading journal entries about the life of a single mother. The smooth bits, where she engages in gainful employment, create lasting friendships and allow her to travel to different countries. We also see the bumpy bits where not only is she torn from her maternal duties, but also exposed to the dangers associated with the trucker life. Thematically, it becomes evident that this is not a simple story about the anomaly of a female truck driver, but rather about the sacrifice and hidden labour women experience in the workforce. Parental love is also a recurring statement from Evaline. Whether brought up in conversation or her constantly calling in to check up on her youngest son.

Witnessing Evaline’s guilt as she leaves behind her young son to take a long-haul trip is heartbreaking. She constantly phones home to check up on her young son so he remains familiar with her even after long periods away. Her nanny finds this onerous and is a constant source of friction between them. It is especially heartbreaking when she nonchalantly tells her mother how he calls everyone «mum», not just her, and it takes about a day after she is back before he can recognise her. One cannot help but wonder what other milestones that she may have missed while on the road.

Another stirring part of the documentary I found was the way she related to her fellow truckers. They are all men, as one would expect. This means Evaline has to play by their rules, and I was particularly triggered by the invisible physical and emotional labour she performed as a consequence of her gender. We see Evaline being a good sport about their lewd jokes and even engaging in domesticity by doing some of their chores. While my immediate reaction to this scene was to fly into a fit of righteous anger, I quickly understood that she cannot isolate herself, especially when taking long and dangerous trips like the one to South Sudan. Entering a country experiencing conflict, I was glad she had her convoy when her truck broke down. They waited up, gave her tools to fix her vehicle and kept her company throughout.

Culture of consumption

Lastly, Truck Mama made me think critically about consumption culture. Oftentimes, when I am growing impatient over a delayed delivery, I have never thought about the true cost of it. Her truck breaking down in hostile territory was a sobering moment about the reality of her work. To say I was relieved when she safely crossed the border back into Kenya would be an understatement. All this could have been avoided had she been given a better truck properly fitted with tools. This all trickles down to how consumerism dehumanises the workers behind our convenience. While I cannot say anything about the supplier’s motives, I am left with deep empathy for truck drivers and a renewed appreciation for how goods reach the last mile.

Over a decade in the making, Zipporah has given her audience a nuanced view of life on the road. I liked that Zipporah chose to document Evaline’s story, as it bears a special cultural significance. Given that she is from the Akamba community, whose precolonial history includes long-distance trade, it is a wonderful nod to her community. In conclusion, Truck Mama is a balanced portrayal of a female trucker’s experience, while inviting its audience to better appreciate the sacrifice of single motherhood.

This review emanates from the Talent Press programme, an initiative of Talents Durban in collaboration with the Durban FilmMart Institute and FIPRESCI. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author (Michelle Abuti) and cannot be considered as constituting an official position of the organisers.