In 1904, a European expedition traveled to Uganda to investigate whether the country, then a British protectorate, might be suitable for establishing a Jewish state. The thinking at the time was that this could kill two birds with one stone: colonized East Africa could be populated by white Europeans, while Jews could have the opportunity to leave a Europe that was hostile to them. This cynical history lies at the heart of The Recce.
The title refers to the British military term for reconnaissance, but “recce” is also used in filmmaking for a location-scouting trip. Visually, the film consists entirely of location-scouting footage shot by a local cameraman. Images of lush wilderness are combined with excerpts from an email exchange in which the filmmaker explains his intentions to the local scout. This distancing effect lays bare the absurdity of the colonial project. The film thus becomes an urgent meta-documentary about imperialism, antisemitism, Zionism, and the colonial myth of an “empty land.”
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