This event is kindly supported by the Leverhulme Trust. 

Mapantsula is on a national tour for South Africa’s 30^th Freedom Day, curated 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.

6PM - COMMUNITY KITCHEN POP-UP 
Come and join us for a free hot vegan meal, inspired by South African flavours and ingredients, ahead of the screening of Mapantsula!

It will be a relaxed, child-friendly environment, and a chance to meet other members of your local community. All welcome! 


7.30PM - MAPANTSULA FILM:
(Please note, there will be a short 10minute introduction to give some context to the history this film represents)

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. 
 

Why This Film Now? 
This year, April 2024 marks 30 years of liberation for South Africans. On 27 April 1994, the first non-racialized democratic elections took place, marking a turning point following over 300 years of colonisation and oppression.

As a new dawn ushered in this day, […], few of us could suppress the welling of emotion, as we were reminded of the terrible past from which we come as a nation; the great possibilities that we now have; and the bright future that beckons us. And so we assemble here today, and in other parts of the country, to mark a historic day in the life of our nation. Wherever South Africans are across the globe, our hearts beat as one, as we renew our common loyalty to our country and our commitment to its future - Nelson Mandela

Freedom Day is already an event annually marked with national holidays in South Africa, but this important anniversary is a time to celebrate and reflect on the past and the possibility of change. We are touring Mapantsula to cinemas across the UK to raise awareness of the anniversary, to connect with South Africans across the country in celebration, and to enjoy this seminal and iconic film.

Mapantsula is a cult classic, and the first anti-apartheid film about the black experience in South Africa. The film has been beautifully restored in 4K resolution after many years of either censorship or barriers to access. To see this film on the big screen, refreshed and just as impactful as when it was released is a perfect way to celebrate this anniversary.