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Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony (2002)

Director: Lee Hirsch

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From Time Out Film Guide

There's a chilling moment in this remarkable documentary when one of the architects of apartheid, Hendrik Verwoerd, says: 'We like to think of apartheid as a policy of good neighbourliness.' It would take another 30 years for South Africa's racial mass policy to be torn apart. Most scholars agree that the true catalyst for change was the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre. Nevertheless, it wasn't until 1976, when the government started to insist that non-whites learn school subjects in Afrikaans, that the apartheid system really began to crumble. White rulers were forced to backtrack, Nelson Mandela was released, the rest is history.What isn't so widely known, perhaps, is just how profound an effect song was to have on those black South Africans who otherwise held out little hope for the future. Unknown poets tweaked traditional songs into a political stance the people could identify with. 'The song became the organiser,' as one young African exile puts it. The authorities, however, were often oblivious to the lyrical content of this music, which gradually became ever more warlike. Using exclusive interviews with various expats and some rare, illuminating archive footage, this edifying documentary unfolds like a potted history of South Africa. It's tragic, uplifting, even funny; and the music stirs the soul.

Author: DA 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Lee Hirsch

Producer: Lee Hirsch, Sherry Simpson Dean

Cast: African Devoted Artists, The ANC National Choir, Gerhard Botes, Audrey Brown, Jeremy Cronin, The Community of Diepkloof Soweto, Peter 'Commissar' Dimba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Ronnie Kasrils, Peter Khumalo, Sibongile Khumalo, Big Voice Jack Lerole, Sibusiso Lerole, Andile Magengefele, Itumeleng Mahabane, Vusi Mahlasela, Mirian Makeba, Peter Makurube, Hugh Masekela, Lydia Mashaba, Sophie Mgcina, The Mini Family, Themba Mkhize, Paul 'Rude Boy' Mnisi, Thandi Modise, Duma Ka Ndlovu, Golden Neswiswi, Sifiso Ntuli, Sibusiso Nxumalo, Dolly Rathebe, General Adrianne de la Rosa, Gail Smith, Johan Steinberg, Vincent Vena, Nkosana Xulu, Lindiwe Zulu full cast

Genre(s): Documentaries

Duration: 103 mins


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