South Africa: The White Laager

2 or 3 Things I Know About Him

April 2005 •German

What would your family reminiscences about dad sound like if he had been an early supporter of Hitler’s, a leader of the notorious SA and the Third Reich’s minister in charge of Slovakia, including its Final Solution? Executed as a war criminal in 1947, Hanns Ludin left behind a grieving widow and six young children, the youngest of whom became a filmmaker. It's a fascinating, maddening, sometimes even humorous look at what the director calls "a typical German story." (Film Forum)

Valley of a Thousand Hills

June 2016 •English

The halcyon days of skateboarding are alive in rural South Africa. Indigo Skate Camp is home to the village's very first generation of skaters, who are growing up with a different outlook on life from their elders.

Penguins Under Siege

January 2004 •English

The untold story of South Africa's blackfoot Penguins.

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

September 2002 •English

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.

Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage

Invalid date •English

Explores the deep bond between Nelson and Winnie and their marriage in the struggle against apartheid. An intimate portrait of their connection from the early years through to the dismantling of apartheid and Mandela's historic presidency.

Milisuthando

October 2024 •English

Set in past, present, and future South Africa — an invitation into a poetic, memory-driven exploration of love, intimacy, race, and belonging by the filmmaker, who grew up during apartheid but didn't know it was happening until it was over.

London Recruits

November 2024 •English

The story of the Londoners recruited to be freedom fighters during the South African apartheid during the 1960s.

Mission Gombessa - Die Jagd nach dem Methusalem der Meere

December 2010 •German

On Her Shoulders

December 2018 •English

Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi, survived genocide and sexual slavery committed by ISIS. Repeating her story to politicians and media, this ordinary girl finds herself thrust onto the world stage as the voice of her people. Away from the podium, she must navigate bureaucracy, fame and people's good intentions.

Science Breakthroughs: Homo Naledi

December 2017 •English

Science Breakthroughs: Homo Naledi Discovered in 2013, new and puzzling finding of small-skulled fossils of Homo Naledi has scientists trying to understand whether Homo Sapiens lived at the same time as Homo Naledi, and how Homo Naledi communities may have lived.

Specimen

January 2006 •English

My Octopus Teacher

September 2020 •English

After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.

Africa Light / Gray Zone

January 2010 •English

"Africa Light" - as white local citizens call Namibia. The name suggests romance, the beauty of nature and promises a life without any problems in a country where the difference between rich and poor could hardly be greater. Namibia does not give that impression of it. If you look at its surface it seems like Africa in its most innocent and civilized form. It is a country that is so inviting to dream by its spectacular landscape, stunning scenery and fascinating wildlife. It has a very strong tourism structure and the government gets a lot of money with its magical attraction. But despite its grandiose splendor it is an endless gray zone as well. It oscillates between tradition and modernity, between the cattle in the country and the slums in the city. It shuttles from colonial times, land property reform to minimum wage for everyone. It fluctuates between socialism and cold calculated market economy.

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire

May 2005 •English

The story of Canadian Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire and his controversial command of the United Nations mission to Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. The documentary was inspired by the book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda which was published in 2003.

A Normal Daughter: The Life and Times of Kewpie of District Six

May 2000 •Afrikaans

Before South Africa’s apartheid government in the 1970’s destroyed District Six, being gay, or “moffie,” was an accepted part of this racially and religiously diverse community in Cape Town. Kewpie's hairdressing salon was the epicenter of this culture, a meeting place where the “girls” organized drag balls and cabaret performances, all of which are captured through her amazing collection of snapshots.

ZEF - The Story of Die Antwoord

March 2024 •English

South African producer / director JON DAY spent the last 5 years making a documentary about the mysterious rap-rave group, DIE ANTWOORD. Art directed by surrealist photographer, ROGER BALLEN. Narrated by NINJA & ¥O-LANDI'S daughter, 16 JONES.

Plaasmoorde: The Killing Fields

September 2018 •English

Included in this groundbreaking work are interviews with active farm attackers and serving police officers who confirm corrupt police are complicit in the mass‐slaughter of South Africa’s whites. Their truths are horrifying—a man and woman branded with hot irons and left to die. A husband killed in front of his wife and children. An elderly woman raped, another with half her face blown off from a shotgun. And they all share a common thread: revenge. This is a disturbing documentary—it wrought both an emotional and physical toll on all involved. What’s more, Katie was detained at the airport in South Africa on the orders of the African National Congress (ANC) for her work on this project because Plaasmoorde is the story—the truth—they don’t want you to see. We owe it to the victims—to our fellow man—to listen and to open our eyes to the truth.

Salam Neighbor

June 2015 •English

Two Americans deliberately head to the edge of war, just seven miles from the Syrian border, to live among 80,000 uprooted refugees in Jordan's Za'atari refugee camp.

Mandela

October 1996 •English

A documentary that chronicles the life of South African leader Nelson Mandela. Mandela is probably best known for his 27 years of imprisonment, and for bringing an end to apartheid. But this film also sheds light on the little-known early period of Mandela's life.

Death of Apartheid

July 1995 •English

The secret history of the negotiations that led to Mandela's release from prison, the ANC becoming the government of South Africa, and the end of apartheid.