Miss Landmine | Witness

Filmmaker: Fiona Stourton

The search for beauty takes many forms. The traditional beauty pageant might be thought to be one of the less acceptable, concentrating as it does on conventional ideas of female perfection.

Miss Landmine is a challenge to normal concepts of beauty.

It is a beauty pageant held in Angola, a country ravaged by war and its aftermath, for women who have lost limbs from landmines.

The event is organised by Morten Traavik, a Norwegian, backed by the Angolan government.

While the idea seems shocking, the contest was devised by an artist not only to question standard aesthetic concepts but also the image of Africans as victims.

In addition to finding pride and beauty despite imperfections, the pageant also hopes to raise awareness towards mine victims and mobilise resources for their reintegration into society.

We follow three contestants on their journey to the beauty contest, as they experience a world far removed from their everyday existence, and explore just what the experience means to them and how they hope it will change their lives.

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