Mapantsula
Cannes Film Festival
•
Crime, Drama
During demonstrations in apartheid-era South Africa, the police arrest Panic (Thomas Mogotlane), a “mapantsula” or petty gangster, while rounding up activists. His interrogation reveals the motivation for his involvement in the township riots. Once only concerned with partying, alcohol and his own interests, Panic finds himself being irreversibly pulled into the fray. Now, he is forced to choose between his personal freedom and taking a stand in the fight against the oppressive apartheid government.
Directed by Oliver Schmitz and written by Schmitz and lead actor Thomas Mogotlane, MAPANTSULA has been hailed as the “first South African film to truly represent apartheid onscreen” (Okayafrica). Banned in its homeland and made while evading the local authorities, the film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes and went on to be selected as the South African entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. Widely considered one of the most influential African motion pictures of all time,
MAPANTSULA has been newly restored in 4K from the original 35MM negative.
DIRECTED BY OLIVER SCHMITZ
SOUTH AFRICA | 1988 | ENGLISH, ZULU, AFRIKAANS, WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Up Next in Cannes Film Festival
-
Farewell My Concubine
Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two b...
-
The Wind Journeys
For most of his life, Ignacio traveled the villages of Colombia, playing songs on his accordion, a legendary instrument said to have once belonged to the devil. He eventually married and settled in a small town, leaving his nomadic life behind. But after the death of his wife, he vows to never pl...
-
After Sex
Diane (Brigitte Roüan) loves her husband Philippe (Patrick Chesnais) dearly. She is a tender and caring mother to her two children and has a fulfilling job working for a publishing house in Paris. Then one day she meets Emilio (Boris Terral), a young and handsome hydraulic engineer twenty years h...
