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 Night of the 12th
Every police precinct has a case that defies explanation and evades solution. Recently promoted Captain Yohan Vivès (Bastien Bouillon) faces such an elusive mystery when he investigates the gruesome murder of a young woman named Clara in the French town of Grenoble. It is clear that the attack wa...
-
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...
