Southern African Films and Documentaries bib 2ndOctober2024.xlsx

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1	Southern African Films and Documentaries Bibliography as of October 2, 2024 (subject to change)
2	© Coherent Digital LLC
3	Film Title	Summary	Year	Type	Coherent exclusive	locations	Recently added 30 Aug 2024	Time of film (min)	Notes

4	A Close Up on Bintu	A Close-up on Bintou portrays the self-elevation – against all odds – of a downtrodden housewife into a dynamic businesswoman whose ultimate symbol of success is a motorbike. This film is part of a series called Mama Africa, a groundbreaking short film initiative that brought together the incredible talents of six female directors spanning the vast and diverse continent of Africa. The six selected directors were from Burkina Faso, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. The six short films challenge the stereotypical perception of women and the people surrounding them in Africa. Crossing language and regional barriers, each story presents an entirely different perspective and continental reality. Yet a common thread portraying the comic, tragic, and passionate side of modern life in Africa unites the whole.	2002	documentary	x	South Africa		30
5	A Search for Answers	In this film, a South African HIV activist travels to Cuba to see how that country deals with its AIDS crisis.	2000	Documentary	x	South Africa		55
6	A Sizwe Bansi Workshop	Filmed in New York in 1981, Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona discuss a coming production of the play Sizwe Bansi is Dead. Drawing on the personal experience of the actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona as black men living in apartheid South Africa, Sizwe Bansi is the result of the collaboration between these great figures of the South African theatre and the white South African playwright Athol Fugard. The acting troupe they formed, the Serpent Players, was a deliberate attempt to break apartheid’s race barriers. The play was first performed in 1972.	1981	Documentary		South Africa		43
7	A Spirit Here Today	This lively, haunting and bittersweet memoir was shot July 1973 in Mozambique before 20 years of civil war and severe drought almost entirely devastated Chopi culture. The film, a scrapbook of sorts, is one of the few remaining records of Chopi life before the horrors, and is attended at its conclusion by footage of what remained of Chopi life 20 years later.For the Chopi, music is an integral part of every stage of one's life. “A Spirit Here Today” explores the Chopi’s interwoven matrix of music and personal development, from youth into adulthood, where one graduates from “smaller musics” to the ultimate Chopi expression: the timbila xylophone orchestra. Throughout the movie, the path of personal development is paralleled with stages of musical education. Song text is explained to illuminate Chopi values, humor and identity. Chopi master musician Venancio Mbande collaborated with the filmmakers in production and post-production. He provided new translations to old songs, verified the contexts of the performances, and thus ensured an exact presentation of a way of life that has forever changed. Although this documentary film preserves cultural traditions that otherwise would have all but disappeared, it also is a celebration of the enduring Chopi spirit of “persevering in the face of adversity.”	1973	Documentary		Mozambique	x	43
8	A Travelling Song	The past is A TRAVELLING SONG which cannot easily be suppressed or silenced. It travels with us and shapes our future. For South Africans to create a new ‘song’ after endless years of oppression much needs to be re-interpreted re-discovered and re-born. Two actors, GCINA MHLOPE and PATRICK SHAI, meet on the stage-set of Athol Fugard’s “Playland”, and consider this task. They perform and improvise on the stage but realise that the theatre is too confined a space for the stories they seek and that they are bound to go out into the real world. Patrick descends two kilometres underground in a metal cage to meet the men who dig gold in mines worked for 100 years. Gcina meets their wives. All of this creates a very unusual, very different documentary film, which they find themselves making. Indeed, they realise they will have to make several films. In fact, they will need a whole new TV channel.	1993	Documentary	x	South Africa	x	54
9	African Jim	African Jim is South Africa's first feature film aimed largely at a black audience, starring township musicians, and introducing the incomparable Dolly Rathebe. Using musicians from the townships, the film was a sensation for black audiences, who had never before seen their own heroes on screen. Its value as a historical document cannot be overstated; these images from the past reflect a vibrant township culture that was soon to be destroyed by apartheid.	1949	Feature Film		South Africa		50
10	African Powerhouse	This propaganda film presents South Africa as the major industrial power of Africa, highlighting its nuclear power capabilities and industrial development.	1950s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		14
11	Alan Paton’s Beloved Country	Biography of the South African writer and politician, a South African author and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels Cry, the Beloved Country and Too Late the Phalarope.	1996	Documentary		South Africa	x	54
12	André Brink - Unedited Interview	André Brink was a South African novelist, essayist, and poet. He was a key figure in the significant Afrikaans literary movement known as Die Sestigers ("The Sixty-ers"). These writers sought to use Afrikaans as a language to speak against the apartheid government, and also to bring into Afrikaans literature the influence of contemporary English and French trends. While Brink's early novels were especially concerned with apartheid, his later work engaged the new range of issues posed by life in a democratic South Africa. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1990	Interview	x	South Africa		36
13	Andre Coetzee - Unedited Interview	Andre Coetzee was part of the United Democratic Front which existed from 1983 to 1991. The UDF comprised more than 400 public organizations including trade unions, students' unions, women's and parachurch organizations. The UDF's goal was to establish a "non-racial, united South Africa in which segregation is abolished and in which society is freed from institutional and systematic racism."Unedited Interviews with South African (and some American) writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		30
14	Anthony Thomas - Unedited Interview	Anthony Thomas, the critically acclaimed filmmaker depicts the life-changing events that led to his award-winning documentaries and dramatic programmes.	1989	Interview	x	South Africa		28
15	Apartheid: Voices In Black & White	A group of independent documentary filmmakers set out across South Africa in search of what is understood about Apartheid and its legacy. This journey captures personal experiences from the country widely known as the "rainbow nation", and a vivid story is revealed that reflects both separation and reconciliation following the fall of one of the most extreme racialised and discriminating regimes of the 20th century.	2010	Documentary	x	South Africa		52
16	Arthur Maimane - Unedited Interview	Arthur Maimane (5 October 1932 – 28 June 2005) was a South African novelist and journalist for DRUM magazine. The South African journalist is interviewed about his experiences with segregation and censorship, especially during the time of apartheid.	1989	Interview	x	South Africa		46
17	Ask Me, I'm Positive	Documentary about a myoung urban Basotho men travelling around Lesotho with a mobile cinema unit to very remote communities.	2004	Documentary	x	South Africa, Lesotho	x	48
18	Assegai To Javelin	Assegai to Javelin is a propaganda film with a narrative that suggests how the Bantu people of South Africa took part in a variety of sports in order to maintain the physical fitness which was so important to them as “warrior nations”. Essentially, the process of “taming of warlike tribes through benevolent white rule”.	1950s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		11
19	Ballroom Fever	This charming documentary from Jurgen Schadeberg covers the annual ballroom dancing competition in Sun City, South Africa. In a country still suffering the injustice of apartheid, this colourful, escapist pleasure provides a worthy, enjoyable distraction - a way for South Africa's youth to quickstep, waltz and samba their way to a new life.	1994	Documentary		South Africa		26
20	Bantu Education	Bantu Education is a propaganda film that focuses on the “positives” of the Bantu Education Act of 1953. The Bantu Education Act of 1953 a South African segregation law. The act required Black children to attend the government schools. Teaching was to take place in the students’ native tongue. The education was aimed at training the children for the manual labour and menial jobs that the government deemed suitable for those of their race, and it was explicitly intended to inculcate the idea that Black people were to accept being subservient to white South Africans. Funding for the schools was to come from taxes paid by the communities that they served, so Black schools received only a small fraction of the amount of money that was available to their white counterparts.	1950s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		8
21	Bantu Tribes Of Southern Africa	A propaganda film that focuses on the history, homelands and kraals of the principal Bantu tribes of Southern Africa.	1950s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		20
22	Battle Of Cuito Canavale	This film is about the decisive battle against South African invaders in Angola, with Cuban military assistance. The battle of Cuito Cuanavale and the Cuban intervention in Angola is one of the turning points in Southern African History. It led to the movement of powerful Cuban armed force, into the west, towards the Namibian border. The fighting in the south western part of Angola led to the withdrawal of the South African, ANC and Cuban presence in Angola, and to the Independence of Namibia.	1988	Documentary	x	South Africa		171
23	Beyond The Plains Where Man Was Born	This film reviews the changes in Maasai life during the 1970's. The Maasai tribe are an indigenous ethnic group in Africa of semi-nomadic people settled in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinct traditions, customs and dress and their residence near the many national game parks of East Africa, the Maasai are among the foremost African ethnic groups and are known internationally because of their links to the national parks and reserves.	1970	Documentary	x	Kenya, Tanzania		55
24	Bhambata	Documentary about the 1906 Zulu uprising against oppressive rule.	2007	Documentary		Southern Africa	x	74
25	Biopiracy: Who Owns Life?	When rich countries use WTO patent agreements to exploit the knowledge and work of peasant farmers in India and traditional healers in Zimbabwe, they find they have a fight on their hands. Finalist Wildscreen October 2002; World conference Sustainable Development Johannesburg; Environmental conferences & festivals worldwide.	2002	Documentary		Zimbabwe	x	27
26	Bird From Another World	Zimbabwe means ‘house of stones’, and it is a land of sculptors. The work of Tapfuma Gutsa and Nicholas Mukomberanwa is exquisite, powerful and tender. Set in the stunning landscapes of Zimbabwe, their sculptures express a life where spiritual belief is still a unifying force connecting history, politics and daily routine around a central reality – the land. FR3 France; NBC, Namibia; ZBC, Zimbabwe Winner: Milan African Film Festival	1992	Documentary		Zimbabwe	x	54
27	Black Beulahs	Beulah' is a South African gay slang term that means "Beautiful / attractive man or boy". The documentary explores the lives of three friends living within the largely unexplored Soweto gay sub-culture.	2006	Documentary	x	South Africa		46
28	Bopha!	Percy Mtwa and other actors discuss the making of their play Bopha! which is about family strife and loyalties during the 1970-1980 troubles. It tells the story of a son, whose father is a policeman working for the oppressors, while he is an activist involved in the anti-apartheid struggle.	1987	Feature Film		South Africa		57
29	Botswana: Where Manna Rains From Heaven	Botswana: Where Manna Rains From Heaven looks at Africa, food and poverty.	1988	Documentary	x	Botswana		59
30	Building A Nation	This feature film is the history of the Afrikanerdom according to Afrikaner Nationalists. It traces the arrival of the Dutch in Southern Africa, through the Great Trek and the defeat of the Zulu nation at the Battle of Blood River, the founding of the independent republics, the Ango-Boer War, to the establishment of the Union of South Africa. As an expression of Afrikaner chauvinism, this epic was for several decades used as a propaganda tool by the architects of apartheid to support their racist ideology.	1938	Feature Film		South Africa		120
31	Bushman's Secrets	Bio-prospecting by the powerful pharmaceutical companies leads to conflict with the indigenous San, who are trying to protect their traditional plants and medicines Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa.	2006	Documentary	x	Southern Africa	x	64
32	Carlos Cardoso	Cardoso, one of Southern Africa’s leading investigative journalists, was gunned down in Maputo in November 2000. This is a portrait of Cardoso’s isolated voice of opposition to the growing tide of corruption in Mozambique.	2001	Documentary	x	South Africa, Mozambique	x	33
33	Caroline Hamilton - Unedited Interview	Carolyn Hamilton is a South African anthropologist and historian. She was a professor of anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand. She was a member of the board of the South African History Archive and the inaugural Council of Robben Island. She is a former speech-writer for Nelson Mandela and joined the Nelson Mandela Foundation's board of trustees in 2015. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1990	Interview	x	South Africa		75
34	Children: The PR Pawns Of Terrorism	American Christian missionary Rick Schmidt presents two films, both suggesting that the African National Congress (ANC) is a “marxist terrorist” group and a “duplicitous, communist-inspired corrupter of Black youth” in South Africa. Amongst shocking and graphic scenes of extrajudicial killing is footage of anti-apartheid activist and patron of the United Democratic Front (UDF) Rev. Alan Boesak; anti-apartheid and human rights activist Desmond Tutu; prime minister of South Africa and apartheid advocate P.W. Botha; former South African police major and convicted spy Craig Williamson.	1980s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		40
35	Civilisation On Trial	Made in 1948, this is the first ever anti-apartheid documentary, created by anti-apartheid crusader, Rev. Michael Scott. Guthrie Michael Scott (30 July 1907 – 14 September 1983) was an Anglican priest and anti-apartheid activist, who joined in the defiance of the apartheid system in South Africa in the 1940s and was also an early advocate of nuclear disarmament.	1948	Documentary		South Africa		23
36	Colonial Cinema 1	Collection of films mostly made by government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, during 40s, 50s, 60s. Mary's Lucky Day (Lux toilet soap commercial); The Box (comedy); The New Acres (government propaganda).	1940s-1960s	Propaganda	x	Zimbabwe		47
37	Colonial Cinema 2	Collection of films mostly made by government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, during 40s, 50s, 60s. Includes We Were Primitive and The Five Messengers (government propaganda).	1940s-1960s	Propaganda	x	Zimbabwe		50
38	Colonial Cinema 3	Collection of films mostly made by government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, during 40s, 50s, 60s. Mattaka Buys a Car (comedy); Rhodesia & Nyasaland Newsreels; Freedom from Fear (government propaganda)	1940s-1960s	Propaganda	x	Zimbabwe		65
39	Coming Of Age	Coming Of Age is a film that follows four teenagers over the course of two years as they grow up deep in the southern African mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Very little happens in the village of Ha Sekake, but from their perspective, a lot is at stake.	2015	Documentary	x	South Africa	x	60
40	Congress Of The People, 25 June 1953	Congress Of The People, 25 June 1955. Home Movies Shot On These Historic Occasions. The Congress of the People was a gathering organised by the National Action Council, a multi-racial organisation which later became known as the Congress Alliance, and held in Kliptown on 26 June 1955 to lay out the vision of the South African people. The Freedom Charter was drawn up at the gathering, which was statement of core principles of the Alliance and a symbol of internal resistance against apartheid.	1955	Documentary		South Africa		6
41	Corridors Of Freedom	South Africa is bent on destroying the independence of the Frontline States through invasion or through sabotage. But the Frontline States fight back to maintain their transport corridors. An intimate portrait of the hopes and fears of leaders in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Botswana, in their struggle to preserve their independence and economic autonomy. We experience the drama of the truck drive keeping supplies going through war zones, the miracle of regional co-operation in plant breading bringing resistant varieties to peasant farmers. This film concretises why the Southern African Development Council was formed and its early achievements. This is a must see movie to model ways for Africa to engage in autonomous development and escape being a reservoir of raw materials.	1986	Documentary		Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana	x	50
42	Crossroads	CROSSROADS, an informal black settlement near Cape Town, was a site of resistance when husbands, wives & children refused to be separated by apartheid’s pass laws forcing them to live thousands of miles apart. They built houses and a remarkable community there and upheld family life threatened with destruction.	1978	Documentary	x	South Africa	x	33
43	Cultural Identity	This propaganda film was made by the South African government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Information. In it are claims that state acknowledges the cultural identity of not just the Bantu peoples, but the African population as a whole.	1960s	Propaganda		South Africa		12
44	Dambatsoko an Old Cult Centre	Spirit possession, mediums dressed in black, blood sacrifices, ritual beer and snuff: these are elements of Shona religious ritual as depicted in this evocative film. It focuses on the traditional cult center of Dambatsoko and its leader, Muchatera Mujuru, who is the medium of Chaminuka, one of the most revered and powerful ancestor spirits of the Shona. Muchatera is seen leading several ceremonies including a spirit possession at the banya ritual house; prayers for peace at the mutoro prayer house; a blood sacrifice to placate the spirit of a wronged brother; and a commemorative ritual at the rushanga tree shrine. These ceremonies are accompanied by Mbira players including Muchatera’s celebrated grandson, Ephat Mujuru. The sequences at the mutoro and the rushanga were filmed at sunset, the luminous so-called “magic hour,” giving the scenes of Shona spirituality a dreamlike quality. Not long after the making of this film, Muchatera was assassinated by nationalist freedom fighters for his perceived passivity to colonial rule. Muchatera’s cult subsequently fell into sharp decline, leaving this movie as a vestigial glimpse of a once vibrant traditional practice.	1999	Documentary		Zimbabwe	x	52
45	Dance For Peace	On the eve of the first elections in Mozambique the Mozambican National Song and Dance Company tour the country with their new work, “Ode to Peace.” Using archive to detail the horrors of the apartheid fueled civil war just ended, the documentary moves between daily reality in Mozambique, the demobilisation of thousands of troops. The story is told through dance. Travelling on roads that have only just been de-mined this film combines war with dance drama. Dance for Peace is based upon a dance choreography called Ode a Paz created by the Mozambican National Dance Company. Ode a Paz was part of the voter education programme for the first elections that Mozambique ever held - 1994. Mozambique had been at war effectively since the anticolonial struggle started in the 60's.The dance company argued that dance is a national form of communication that everyone understands since there is no effective national language; not everyone speaks Portuguese, and there are 18 indigenous languages,. So they told the story of the war, the ceasefire, and gave training in the forthcoming election through their choreography: Ode a Paz. The dance and this film were shown and used for voter education throughout Mozambique. This was the first ever democratic election held in Mozambique.	1994	Documentary		Mozambique	x	54
46	Dance Got Me	Bawren Tavaziva and Tavaziva Dance will move your soul. A story of talent and determination as a young dancer journeys from unemployment on the township streets of Harare to the glossy heights of Sadlers Wells and The Place, London’s premier contemporary dance venues.	2003	Documentary		Zimbabwe	x	52
47	Dances Of Southern Africa	Dances from South Africa, Malawi, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Interview with Andrew Tracey, a South African musicologist	1967	Documentary	x	South Africa		50
48	Dances of Southern Africa	Filmed in 1966 in mine arenas and villages of South Africa, Malawi and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), this film captures a series of electrifying traditional, and now largely extinct, dance performances. It captures dramatic traditional presentations and enactments by Zulu, Karanga, Ndau, Xhosa, Valley Tonga, and Barotse, among others. Most importantly, these mine dances were some of the last occasions at which traditional dance could be viewed by the general public. This film is an open window into an irretrievable past. Stamping, shaking and tumbling are some of the styles of Southern African dancing that were showcased at mine dances. For recreation, migrant mine workers from various indigenous tribes would perform dances from their home villages in traditional dress. This practice evolved into an important venue that was open to the public. The writer and narrator of the film, Dr. Hugh Tracey, is one of the principal vanguards of the study of African music and was instrumental in developing the mine dance venues. In several vignettes, his son Dr. Andrew Tracey, offers insights into the nature and aesthetics of African music.	1966	Documentary		South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe	x	50
49	Dark Childhood	A day in the life of a family in Alexandra Township, South Africa, in 1957. A rare look at black life in that period.	1957	Documentary	x	South Africa		28
50	David Webster - Unedited Interview	David Webster was an academic and anti-apartheid activist. He worked as an anthropologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he was a senior lecturer at the time of his assassination. Webster was a founding member of the Detainees' Parents' Support Committee (DPSC) in 1981, a founder member of the Five Freedoms Forum, and a committed comrade in the United Democratic Front. Webster was also an active member of the Orlando Pirates supporters' club and he assisted in the mobilisation and organisation of South African musicians during the Struggle in the 1980s. Webster was assassinated by apartheid security forces outside his home on 1 May 1989. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		33
51	De Voortrekkers (Winning A Continent)	Dramatic feature of the Great Trek and Battle of Blood River. This feature film from 1916 tells the story of South Africa’s Boer pioneers in their epic trek across southern Africa in search of new land. It concentrates on the struggle aginst the Zulu inhabitants, which the Boers eventually won atthe Battle of Blood River in 1938. But it is of course history told from the point of view of the conqueror, and shows us a a Zulu enemy heathen, treacherous, and barbaric. This is ‘history’ just as mythologized as the American conquest of the West, concealing brutal conquest and theft of land.	1916	Feature Film		South Africa		51
52	Deep Blue Middle C	Films in Elands Bay, north of Cape Town, this surf film brings together musicians, sculptors and underwater wildlife filmmakers as they surf, create art and work with the local community in a surreal dreamscape. A celebration of the coastline and the ocean that takes a surreal meander through consciousness, fiction and reality. With themes of the ocean, spirit, biology, identity, and our natural place in the world, Deep Blue / Middle C is an interwoven story where fiction and non-fiction co-exist; as do memory and dreams.	2017	Documentary		South Africa		54
53	District Six Removals And Father Basil Van Rensburg	Unedited footage. Father Basil van Rensburg was a Catholic priest who gained international recognition for his fight against forced removals from Cape Town's District Six. District Six (Afrikaans Distrik Ses) is a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. Over 60,000 of its inhabitants were forcibly removed during the 1970s by the apartheid regime.	1970s	Documentary	x	South Africa		9
54	Dolly and the Inkspots	Formed in the early fifties, the Inkspots were the most dynamic singing combination of their time. They became hugely popular for their unique sound - African rather than American. With a string of hit records to their name, and appearances in films such as the famous 'Jim Comes to Jo'burg' they became one of the most formidable groups of their time. But as this film shows, strict racial laws meant that performances were restricted to a black-only audience. Apartheid robbed them of the artistic recognition they all deserved. Dolly and the Inkspots were not only one of the best groups of their time, but their experiences reveal the repressive dynamics of the age in which they lived. Looking back, the remaining members tell all.This is a great tribute to the talent of a living Jazz legends.	1994	Documentary		South Africa		28
55	Don Mattera - Unedited Interview	Don Mattera was a South African poet and author. He was a founding member of the Black Consciousness movement and joined the ANC Youth League. He helped form the Union of Black Journalists as well as the Congress of South African Writers. He also joined the National Forum, which was against what it referred to as the "racial exclusivity" of the United Democratic Front. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		19
56	Drumbeats	s the abolition of apartheid negotiations comes to a head, last ditch attempts of extreme violence are made in an attempt to restore white order. Follow the Drumsbeats news team in this dramatisation of the Soweto train massacres as they struggle against invisible powers, and even the law itself, to investigate the latest killings.	2011	Documentary		South Africa		58
57	Earnest Cole	The story of photographer Ernest Cole, who's work inspired a generation of anti-apartheid activism. Cole may have been one of a generation of lost black achievers that history overlooked for a while, but no more. This film reveals how he acted as a shining symbol of anti-apartheid activism through art. Weaving rare video footage of Cole with contemporary interviews of his family and associates, this film tells the story of a courageous artist who helped changed societies view of itself.	2006	Documentary		South Africa		53
58	Erica Rutherford - Unedited Interview	Erica Rutherford was a British-Canadian artist, filmmaker and writer. She produced African Jim.	1990	documentary	x	South Africa, Namibia		58
59	Father Paul Singleton - Unedited Interview	Father Paul Singleton fought against the controversial forced Sophiatown removals in the 1950's. Singleton was a keen photographer and captured many images of the Sophiatown removals. His photographs were used in court to challenge the removals.	2000s	Interview	x	South Africa		39
60	Flame	First feature by Ingrid Sinclair and Simon Bright, and first to be set during the country’s liberation struggle. Shot in Zimbabwe with an entirely Zimbabwean cast, the film is based on the accounts of women who joined the liberation war. Festivals: Cannes, Mannheim, Milan, Mill Valley, Rotterdam, New York, and many more.	1997	Documentary		Zimbabwe	x	90
61	Fokofpolisiekar: Forgive Them for They Know Not What They Do	They were born in a square-dancing suburb of Cape Town - too young to have experienced apartheid, but old enough to feel the guilt - and they took teenage angst to a whole new level. This is the story of the punk band who would change Afrikaner culture forever. “Captures the way the controversial band gave voice to a generation of young Afrikaners disillusioned with the church, the state and their Apartheid heritage.” The Callsheet	2009	documentary		South Africa		108
62	From The Shade into The Sun	Three great wildlife parks on the borders of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique unite to form the largest game park in Africa. Exciting for wild life protection, but threatening to families living in the area. How do you enable indigenous farmers to participate in and benefit from environmental developments which often use their land? IUCN conference Geneva 2004; selected for Green Oscar at Wildscreen Natural History Festival 2004	2004	Documentary		South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique	x		Coming Soon
63	From Underground to the Corridors of Freedom	From Underground to the corridors of power offers a critical look into the formation of the Nation Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1982, with materials sourced from extensive archives. This documentary centers on the miners struggle for living wages and better working conditions.	2021	Documentary		South Africa		50
64	From Underground to the Corridors of Power	From Underground to the corridors of power offers a critical look into the formation of the Nation Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1982, with materials sourced from extensive archives. This documentary centers on the miners struggle for living wages and better working conditions.	2021	Documentary	x	South Africa	x	90
65	Gabu Tugwana - Unedited Interview	Gabu Tugwana was editor of New Nation in the early nineties. He worked for the Rand Daily Mail in 1976 as a reporter covering the unrest. He was arrested and jailed for three months without trial or charge under the Internal Security Act. Six months later he was again detained for 17 months, 13 of which were in solitary confinement. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		37
66	Gazankulu	A propaganda film aiming to extol the virtue of the apartheid policy of separate development, championing the progress made in the area’s industrial and public sectors. The film focuses on the bantustan of Gazankulu, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Tsonga people. Created in the 1960s in the northern part of the former Transvaal province, Gazankulu was granted self governing status in 1973.	1970s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		25
67	Generations Of Resistance	From the moment that white colonizers stepped onto the shore of Southern Africa, there was black resistance. This resistance continued unabated until apartheid was defeated. But the story of this resistance was suppressed and distorted because whites controlled the history books. This documentary was an attempt to give back to the black people of South Africa their lost history, a history of heroic struggle.	1980	Documentary		South Africa		52
68	Gibson Kente - Unedited Interview	Gibson Kente was a South African playwright, composer, director and producer based in Soweto. He was known as the Father of Black Theatre in South Africa, and was one of the first writers to deal with life in the South African black townships. He produced 23 plays and television dramas between 1963 and 1992. He is also responsible for producing some of South Africa's leading musicians. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1990	Interview	x	South Africa		13
69	Gilbert Marcus - Unedited Interview	Gilbert Marcus is a leading South African advocate. He served at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, and on the Human Rights Committee, amongst others. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		35
70	Give Us Peace	The story of a dancer who leaves his home in the townships saying farewell to his daughter and warns her to sit tight and not open their door. He has to struggle his way through a “bread riot” on his way the rehearsal. On arrival he is admonished by the choreographer for being late. Then he does this magical dance with a young girl. The vicious power of the Zimbabwean state contrasting with the gentle power of the dancer and his young partner. He returns home that night to find his daughter safe.	2003	Documentary		Zimbabwe	x	8
71	Hands Across The Border	This propaganda film aims to offer an explanation for white immigrants about the ‘problem’ of Bantu migration to the cities, with emphasis on the state’s establishment of black ‘homelands’ to raise the Bantu peoples standard of living.	1950s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		17
72	Hang-Time	Hang Time centres its focus on a young, poor, but talented West African basketball player whose desperation to wear the right shoes to impress an American basketball scout ends in tragedy. This film is part of a series called Mama Africa, a groundbreaking short film initiative that brought together the incredible talents of six female directors spanning the vast and diverse continent of Africa. The six selected directors were from Burkina Faso, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe. The six short films challenge the stereotypical perception of women and the people surrounding them in Africa. Crossing language and regional barriers, each story presents an entirely different perspective and continental reality. Yet a common thread portraying the comic, tragic, and passionate side of modern life in Africa unites the whole.	2002	Documentary	x	South Africa		31
73	Harvey Tyson - Unedited Interview	Harvey Tyson spent more than 40 years in journalism on nine newspapers including serving as editor of The Star. He was famous for saying “‘It’s the easiest thing in the world to get closed down,’ but the trick was to get away with publishing things the government didn’t want.” This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		59
74	Have you Seen Drum Recently?	The story of a black magazine in a white world. Drum Magazine pulsated with music, life and culture; eye-popping images of black models jumped off its covers. It was a rallying point for black sophisticates as the anti-apartheid movement took shape. And it changed the face of black culture forever.	1988	Documentary		South Africa		74
75	Heart Of Whiteness	An exploration of white racial fears in a segregated community in South Africa.	2006	Documentary		South Africa	x	48
76	Henry Cele - Unedited Interview	Henry Cele was a South African actor noted for his portrayal of the great Zulu Warrior King Shaka kaSenzangakhona in the South African television miniseries Shaka Zulu as well as in the television movie Shaka Zulu: The Last Great Warrior 15 years later. This interview is part of a Villon Films collection of unedited interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1990	Interview	x	South Africa		28
77	History of Women Politicians of Zimbabwe	This documentary film explores the significant contributions of Zimbabwean women to the nation's political landscape throughout various historical periods. It covers the Pre-colonial era, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953-1963), the UDI era (1965-1979), and the post-colonial era, highlighting women's involvement and influence in each era's political evolution. The film features prominent figures such as Nehanda, Queen Lozikeyi, Ruth Chinamano, Muriel Rosin, Betty Mutero, Jane Ngwenya, Eileen Haddon, Thenjiwe Lesabe, Diana Mitchell, Eunice Nomthandazo Sandi Moyo, Angeline Masuku, Maina Mandava, Agnes Dete, Helen Mnagwende, Ayema Musodzi, Tsitsi Munyati, Joice Mujuru, Margaret Dongo, Beater Nyamupinga, Patricia Ndlovhu, and Thokozani Khupe. The "History of Women Politicians in Zimbabwe" documentary underscores the crucial role of women in shaping the nation's destiny. It emphasizes their contributions to promoting peace, security, and social justice, and fostering a democratic society where human rights are upheld for all.	2024	Documentary	x	Zimbabwe			Coming soon
78	Home Movies Against Apartheid	This unique footage includes: Muizenberg Cape Youth Festival, 1954 (all-race) Modern Youth Society, Cape Town Modern Youth Society, Simonstown Cape Town events Congress of People Bus Boycott Mass Meeting Women's anti-pass protests Dadoo Trial (showing Michael Scott) Asian Relations Conference.	1950	Documentary	x	South Africa		64
79	I Am Sheriff	Follows a young man as he travels the mountain kingdom of Lesotho showing his film in remote villages, schools and communities.	2017	Documentary	x	South Africa, Lesotho	x	29
80	Images Of South Africa	This propaganda film presents South Africa as the major industrial power of Africa, highlighting its nuclear power capabilities and industrial development.	1950s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		17
81	In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid, Part 1	This two-part series examines the role of cinema in both supporting and attacking apartheid. It questions Hollywood’s commitment to racial stereo types and reluctance to depict black heroes. Almost from the beginning of cinema, filmmakers have looked at the continent of Africa with a mixture of fear and fascination, prejudice and contempt. South Africa, with its fabulous mineral wealth, exotic locations, and white settlers, attracted scores of movie makers. Now, when the era of white rule has ended, IN DARKEST HOLLYWOOD asks, What was the role of cinema during the 45 year reign of apartheid? Through a mosaic of feature, documentary, and propaganda films, with commentary by writers, directors, and actors, some of whom supported apartheid, and others who fought to destroy it, IN DARKEST HOLLYWOOD turns the lens towards the filmmakers and the society they so often misunderstood and misrepresented. Among those appearing are: Lewis Nkosi, Zakes Mokae, Sir Richard Attenborough, Lonel Rogosin, Thomas Mogotlane, Andre Brink, Euzhan Palcy. First Prize, Big Muddy Film Festival Gold Plaque Award, Chicago International Film Festival, London Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Amsterdam Film Festival.	1993	Documentary		South Africa		56
82	In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid, Part 2	This two-part series examines the role of cinema in both supporting and attacking apartheid. It questions Hollywood’s commitment to racial stereo types and reluctance to depict black heroes. Almost from the beginning of cinema, filmmakers have looked at the continent of Africa with a mixture of fear and fascination, prejudice and contempt. South Africa, with its fabulous mineral wealth, exotic locations, and white settlers, attracted scores of movie makers. Now, when the era of white rule has ended, IN DARKEST HOLLYWOOD asks, What was the role of cinema during the 45 year reign of apartheid? Through a mosaic of feature, documentary, and propaganda films, with commentary by writers, directors, and actors, some of whom supported apartheid, and others who fought to destroy it, IN DARKEST HOLLYWOOD turns the lens towards the filmmakers and the society they so often misunderstood and misrepresented. Among those appearing are: Lewis Nkosi, Zakes Mokae, Sir Richard Attenborough, Lonel Rogosin, Thomas Mogotlane, Andre Brink, Euzhan Palcy. First Prize, Big Muddy Film Festival Gold Plaque Award, Chicago International Film Festival, London Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Amsterdam Film Festival.	1994	Documentary		South Africa		57
83	International Women's Year	A United Nations concerned with women's rights and economic progress, held an international forum in New York on the role of women and population and development.	1977	Documentary	x	Tunisia		43
84	Interview With Lord Bethell	1985, Lord Bethell meeting Nelson Mandela At Pollsmoor Prison, South Africa	1985	Interview	x	South Africa		8
85	Interview With Mary Benson	Mary Benson was a South Africa civil rights campaigner and author. She assisted Nelson Mandela's escape from South Africa in 1962.	1985	Interview	x	South Africa		22
86	Interview With Oliver Tambo	Oliver Tambo was a South African anti-apartheid politician and activist who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967-1991. In this interview, Tambo discusses his relationship with Nelson Mandela and the ANC Together at Harlem Baptist Church, after naming of New York street after Nelson & Winnie	1984	Interview	x	Zambia		31
87	Interview With Zenani Mandela	is a South African diplomat and traditional aristocrat. She is the sister-in-law of the King of eSwatini, Mswati III, and the daughter of Nelson Mandela and his second wife, Winnie Mandela.	1985	Interview	x	South Africa		8
88	Jamie Uys - Unedited Interview	Jamie Uys was a South African filmmaker, best known for directing the comedy, 'The Gods Must Be Crazy'. In this interview, he talks about the desire to entertain and found that comedy was his best outlet to do so.	1990	documentary	x	South Africa		87
89	Jo'burg Cocktail	Johannesburg is a thriving melting pot of nationalities: African, German, Indian, and is home to a multitude of different arts and cultures. 'Joh'Burg Cocktail' takes in Johannesburg's thriving economy and its eclectic mix of street performance, music, poetry, dance and night life, as well as its mix of people: rich and poor, black and white - from the business district to the Soweto outskirts. This unique city - a vibrant fusion of languages, foods and traditions - is celebrated through the lens of eminent South African filmmaker Jurgen Schadeberg.	1995	Documentary		South Africa		46
90	Joe Latakgomo - Unedited interview	Joe Latakgomo is a veteran journalist with more than fifty years’ experience. He has worked on newspapers like the banned The World and Weekend World, Post and Sunday Post as Assistant Editor, was founding editor of The Sowetan, Senior Assistant Editor of The Star, Assistant Editor of the Argus Africa News Service, former Public Editor of Times Media and is currently Public Advocate on the Press Council of South Africa. This interview is part of a series of unedited Interviews with South African writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		35
91	Joe Thloloe /Thami Mazwai	Joseph Nong “Joe” Thloloe was born in 1942 in Orlando East, Soweto. A highly experienced journalist, Thloloe is a widely known and respected newsman who has contributed to the promotion of ethical journalism in South Africa. Thami Mazwai is a former journalist and anti-apartheid activist who shared a cell (and hard labour) with former South African President Jacob Zuma. This interview is part of a series of unedited Interviews with South African (and some American) writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, mostly on the subject of censorship and films	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		98
92	John Kani - Unedited Interview	John Kani is a South African actor. In this interview, he talks about black actors on the screen and how uncommon it was when he was growing up.	1990	documentary	x	South Africa		45
93	John Marshall - Unedited Interview	John Kennedy Marshall was an American anthropologist and acclaimed documentary filmmaker best known for his work in Namibia recording the lives of the Juǀʼhoansi (also called the !Kung Bushmen). This interview is part of a series of unedited interviews with South African (and some American) writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1992	Interview	x	South Africa		72
94	John Matshikiza - Unedited Interview	John Matshikiza was a South African actor, theatre director, poet and journalist. This interview is part of a series of unedited interviews with South African (and some American) writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films	1992	Interview	x	South Africa		40
95	John Mattison - Unedited Interview	John Mattison was a political journalist, foreign correspondent, and NPR's former South Africa correspondent. He worked for Nelson Mandela, helping the leader improve his media savvy after he was released from prison on Robben Island. This interview is part of a series of unedited interviews with South African (and some American) writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1988	Interview	x	South Africa		27
96	Journey to Nyae Nyae	This film is a story of the life and death of Africa’s most famous actor, N!Xau, the “Bushman” of The God’s Must Be Crazy.	2003	documentary	x	South Africa		25
97	Karanga Songs in Christian Ceremonies	This film is essentially an impressionistic portrait of Njari player Simon Mashoko, a deeply religious man who adapted Mbira music for use in Christian ceremonies. The Njari is a less common type of Mbira with more keys, and the Karanga are an ethnic group related to the Shona. “Karanga Songs in Christian Ceremonies” contrasts Mashoko’s role as a performer of traditional shave, i. e. wandering spirits, songs for Karanga beer parties and dances with his role as a rural Catholic deacon who holds catechism classes and Sunday services. Mashoko reconciled his traditional beliefs with Christianity, feeling it was his calling to bring the Mbira into the Church. Karanga beer parties serve to placate the wandering spirits of the dead who have not received a proper burial. In the film, Mashoko performs a shave song that uses the Shona language version of the New Testament as its text. His adaptation of spirit songs into hymns shows not only the blending of differing traditions, but also the compatibility of Mbira music in another religious context. The movie and the Mbira film series conclude with a lyrical montage celebrating Zimbabwe and the Shona spirit, scored by a duet of an Njari, played by Mashoko, and an Mbira Dza Vadzimu, played by his son.	1991	Documentary		Zimbabwe	x	25
98	Ken Gampu - Unedited Interview	During the darkest days of apartheid, Ken Gampu, who died in 2003, became the first black South African film star, and an inspiration to a generation of black South African actors by appearing in several international productions. There was a price to be paid, however, because most of the roles he was called upon to play were those of stereotypical noble savages. This interview is part of a series of unedited interviews with South African (and some American) writers, journalists and activists made in the late ‘80s, 90s mostly on the subject of censorship and films.	1990	interview	x	South Africa		31
99	KwaNdebele	Propaganda film made by the South African government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Information that suggests a positive future for the former bantustan, KwaNdebele. Intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Ndebele people, but never granted full independence and re-integrated into South Africa.	1970s	Propaganda	x	South Africa		13
100	Last Supper in Hortsley Street	As in Nazi Germany, race-laws in South Africa under apartheid forcibly removed people from their long-standing homes. 60 000 people were removed from District Six in the heart of Cape Town, their homes razed to the ground, after it was declared to be for ‘white’ South Africans only. It took nearly 20 years to achieve, finally destroying the centuries’ old District. This film, the only one of its kind, records one of the last families, the Hendrickses, to leave in 1982. A Moslem family, they resisted until the very end when almost everything around them had been bulldozed into rubble. The film records the day of their final removal and their subsequent dislocation to a remote new township miles from their place of work, their Mosque and the children’s schools. It captures their philosophy, their faith in God, their hopes and fears and their subsequent hardships in the new place.	1983	Documentary	x	South Africa	x	48