This South African-made film is about Solomon Mahlangu (Thabo Rametsi), a young man who struggles with his political identity in 1970s South Africa. A loving son, brother, and boyfriend, he attempts to avoid the political conflicts that surround him until he suffers a brutal police beating for an imagined crime. The beating sends him into exile, where he joins the South African Liberation movement. When he is linked with a friend who commits a murder, Mahlangu must take the stand to defend his life against death by hanging. A hero of the struggle against apartheid, Mahlangu would become an international icon of South Africa’s liberation.
Discussion moderated by Professor Teresa Barnes, History and Gender/Women’s Studies at UIUC and Director of the Center for African Studies. Professor Barnes studies the political, gender, and institutional histories of South African universities; the political history of Zimbabwe; and gender, memoir, and autobiography. She has published widely on pan-African politics and anti-apartheid movements.
Directed by Manilla Dube (South Africa, 2016). Languages: English, Afrikaans, and Tsotsi-taal with English subtitles. 110 minutes. Official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htfRF-vp0i4
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