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Sarah Baartmann was an African slave woman lured into working as a freakshow attraction by the brother of her master during the 17th and 18th century. She was paraded around naked as the Hottentot Venus and gawked at because of her prominent backside. She died at age 25 in 1815 and her genitals, brain and skeleton were put on display in the Paris’ Musée de l’Homme until 1974. A mold of her remains was shown for two more years and in 2002 Nelson Mandela was able to have her finally sent home to South Africa and buried. Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche directed the film about this repugnant moment in history that was shown at the Venice International Film festival and nominated for the Golden Lion award. So far there are only plans for the film to be shown at the New York Film Festival next month.
