herself
Little Bird's first South African production, SOPHIATOWN has won the award for Best Documentary at the Cape Town World Cinema Festival 2003. SOPHIATOWN celebrates the great popular jazz music of the 1950's in South Africa; a rich tradition deserving international attention. Director Pascale Lamche, traces the music, uncovers the artists who created it and the unique culture in which it thrived, concentrated in Sophiatown, Johannesburg's own Harlem, which fuelled by liberation politics until its destruction by the Apartheid regime. The film features Nelson Mandela and such household names from the jazz world as Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jonas Gwangwa and Caiphus Semenya.
Herself
The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances.
Post-apartheid South Africa is the setting for this drama about a mismatched twosome who end up together on a life-altering journey to Cape Town. Polar opposites Kobus (Ian Roberts), a white ex-soldier who struggles with demons from his past, and Wonderboy (Kagiso Mtetwa), a young black street kid who clings to memories of his family, come together to take on the society that has cast them aside and eventually build a friendship for the ages.
Mrs. Kumalo
남아프리카 공화국의 작은 마을 도체니에서 스테판 쿠말로(Rev Stephen Kumalo: 제임스 얼 존스 분) 신부는 소식이 끊긴 아들 압솔롬(Absolom Kumalo: 에릭 미엔니 분)의 편지를 기다리던 중, 요하네스버그로 부터 여동생 거트루드의 소식이 담긴 편지 한 통을 받는다. 그리고 편지를 읽은 그는 범죄가 가득한 도시 요하네스버그로 떠난다. 남편을 찾아 요하네스 버그로 떠났던 여동생 거트루드는 남편은 찾지도 못했고, 아이를 데리고 더 이상 가난과 배고픔을 견딜 수 없어 창녀가 되어 있었다. 시망구 사제의 안내로 동생을 찾은 쿠말로 신부는 아들이 요하네스버그에 있었다는 말을 듣고 아들을 행방을 찾아 다닌다. 한편 백인 청년 아더 자비스가 인종차별 문제에 각별히 관심을 갖고 차별받는 흑인들의 입장을 이해하며 지내오던 중 살해당하는 사건이 발생한다. 아들 사건의 해결을 위해 법정에 나온 제임스 자비스(James Jarvis: 리차드 해리스 분)는 그곳에서 스테판 쿠말로 신부를 만나고, 아들을 찾고 있던 쿠말로 신부는 그곳에서 살해 용의자의 신분이 된 아들을 발견하게 되는데...
Gogo
This controversial political thriller, which provoked mass demonstrations and nine deaths in South Africa when it was first shown, gives dramatic form to the African National Congress's basic program of reconcilliation within a non-racialist, democratic society. A train massacre by an Inkatha militant causes the sole witness to the crime to flee the Soweto townships to take refuge in Johannesburg; but the violence follows him when his ANC comrades try to buy guns for a retaliatory raid against Inkatha supporters.
Innocentia
The beginning of the end of the apartheid era in South Africa is seen through the perspectives of three female friends: Sophie, who is of English descent; Aninka, who is an Afrikaner; and Thoko, who is black.
Gladys
The story is inspired by the assassination of Chris Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party.
Ma Mobise
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.
Lili Shabulala
In a black township in South Africa, a stolen treasure chest passes from hand to hand until it is finally returned to its original owner.
Judy
Jim decides to leave his tribal area to seek his fortune in Johannesburg. As soon as he arrives, three gangsters mug him. When he regains consciousness, a friendly night watchman takes care of him. With the watchman's help, Jim gets a job in a nightclub as a waiter.
