Dir. Oliver Schmitz
1988 | 103 mins | South Africa
Zulu, Sotho, Afrikaans, English Subtitles
Thomas Mogotlane, Marcel van Heerden, Thembi Mtshali

“South Africa from a Black perspective… it’s about time.” Spike Lee

A true classic of guerrilla filmmaking, Mapantsula is now available to watch in stunning 4K after years of suppression, marking the 30th anniversary of South African Freedom Day in April 2024.

Director Oliver Schmitz worked closely with co-writer and lead actor Thomas Mogotlane to produce a film under extreme censorship, and while evading the authorities, they bravely created a radical and rare anti-apartheid feature film. Mapantsula tells the story of Panic, a small-time hood who believes he sees all the angles. But he is soon in the web of the authorities, pushed to betray the revolutionaries fighting for change.

More than a gripping crime story, Mapantsula is an almost miraculous opportunity to understand South Africa from within during its struggle for freedom, centred on the choices offered to Panic by a system set out to dehumanise him. Vital, humane and unvarnished, this is the time to reckon with Mapantsula.

Presented in partnership with Africa Writes – Exeter, brought to you by the Royal African Society and Saseni! working in collaboration with the University of Exeter, local independent bookshop Bookbag and creative hub Roots Resistance. See here for the full festival programme.

Presented by Mosa Mpetha of Cinema Africa! and Tatenda Jamera of Maona Art

Supported by Independent Cinema Office and What The Hero Wants

Funded by BFI Audience Projects Fund

∆ BBFC Rating Details:

Rated 15