In a remote stretch of Patagonia, Argentina, there is a 100-year-old community that speaks Afrikaans – a language only spoken in South Africa.
The Boers at the End of the World is a hauntingly beautiful documentary that explores a nearly forgotten community of Afrikaans-speaking Boers living in remote Patagonia, Argentina. Directed and written by Richard Finn Gregory. Read more about his documentary The Radical below.
Richard Finn Gregory is a South African filmmaker known for crafting emotionally resonant documentaries that spotlight marginalised communities and cultural memory. He’s the director and screenwriter of The Boers at the End of the World (2015), which won multiple South African Film & Television Awards (SAFTAs) and a Medal of Honour from the South African Academy of Sciences and Arts.
It follows descendants of South African settlers who fled the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer War in the early 1900s and built a life in a land that reminded them of the Karoo, unraveling the facts behind this geographical anomaly reveals a story of pioneers who ventured far from home
In a remote stretch of Patagonia, Argentina, there is a 100-year-old community that speaks Afrikaans – a language only spoken in South Africa. It’s such an incongruous language in this area that it would be like finding a community of Icelanders in the Australian outback.
In southern Africa, after the destruction of their farms caused by a war with the British, the Boers (“farmers”) – descendants of Dutch settlers from the 1600’s – sailed across the Atlantic to start a new life in freedom in 1902. The Boers headed into the arid heart of Patagonia where they found a land that reminded them of their distant home.
Today, their children and grandchildren still endure in this harsh place. They speak archaic Afrikaans, cook traditional foods and sing the old folk songs. But despite their fierce pride in their roots, their culture has been eroded over time and only a few dozen of the oldest individuals still speak their mother tongue. They struggle to keep their culture alive but are resigned to the knowledge that they are the last generation to speak the language in the region, and they will be gone in a decade or two. It is a parallel world of contemporary Afrikaans society, separate from the Apartheid policies that intervened in South Africa, giving a unique glimpse into what might have been.
The film focuses on a family, the Dickasons, who long to reconnect with their relatives. They travel back to Africa for the first time, exploring their sense of identity and connection with their roots, and experiencing emotional reunions with family from whom they have been separated by decades and oceans. Their ideas of home, culture and belonging will never be the same.
The story builds toward a deeply emotional journey: some members of the community finally travel to South Africa, confronting both longing and disillusionment. It’s not just about going home—it’s about discovering what “home” means after generations of distance.
Identity and cultural preservation are central, as the film captures the community’s struggle to keep their language and traditions alive.
There’s a quiet melancholy throughout, as many of the elders have never visited South Africa and speak an archaic form of Afrikaans untouched by modern influence or political association.
The cinematography is striking—Patagonian landscapes, horseback scenes, and intimate portraits lend it a Western-like atmosphere.
The Radical is a powerful documentary directed by Richard Finn Gregory
It follows Imam Muhsin Hendricks, widely recognised as the world’s first openly gay imam. The film offers an intimate portrait of his life, his theology, and his activism across Africa, where LGBTQ+ identities are often criminalised.
The documentary spans four years, capturing Imam Muhsin’s work in South Africa and East Africa, where he supports queer Muslim activists in countries where their existence is outlawed. The documentary spans four years, capturing Imam Muhsin’s work in South Africa and East Africa, where he supports queer Muslim activists in countries where their existence is outlawed.
Richard Finn Gregory describes the film as a collaborative effort, giving voice to the community in their own words. He was invited by Imam Muhsin to witness and document his life, theology, and “gentle way of trying to change Islam from within”
