Thomas Mogotlane

A documentary overview and ideological critique of the South African film industry and cinema's historical relationship with apartheid.

Kwagga Robertse owns a farm shop in the fictional Southern African country of Nambabwe and usually cons foreign tourists by pretending to kill a lion, thus earning him the nickname 'Urumbo' (Lion Killer) from the country's natives. Kwagga is upset when the UN sends a platoon of incompetent soldiers with the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (U.N.T.A.G.), to monitor the peace process, and ensure free and fair elections after the Nambabwean War for Independence. The U.N.T.A.G's American leader, Major Bradick D. Mackay and his second-in-command, Captain Zapman are offered a diamond worth a lot of money in the U.S., and they must pay 200,000 USD to Duan Robertse, Kwagga's competitive brother trying to buy a farm left to them by their dead father.

Mapantsula tells the story of Panic, a petty gangster who inevitably becomes caught up in the growing anti-apartheid struggle and has to choose between individual gain and a united stand against the system.

Mapantsula tells the story of Panic, a petty gangster who inevitably becomes caught up in the growing anti-apartheid struggle and has to choose between individual gain and a united stand against the system.