South African Film Festival

THE UMBRELLA MEN
115 MINS – FEATURE – 2022

When musician Jerome Adams flies into Cape Town for his estranged father’s funeral, he finds his dad has bequeathed him his beloved Goema Club, as well as the care of The Umbrella Men minstrel troupe. Unfortunately, the Club comes with a huge overdraft, due in two weeks for repayment to the bank on penalty of repossession engineered in a shady deal by Tariq Cupido, a long-time family rival. Jerome decides to rob the bank itself under cover of the annual carnival parade when thousands of troupes will invade the streets, amongst them Tariq’s troupe, The Maulers, who are competing against Jerome’s Umbrella Men. And as Jerome reconnects with friends, and community, he learns about himself and why he must stay in this special place.

Director
John Barker

Screenwriter
John Barker, Philip Roberts, Lev David

Executive Producer
Werner Barkhuizen

Cast
Jacques da Silva, Keenan Arrison, Shamilla Miller

GEORGE BIZOS ICON
90 MINS – DOCO – 2023

A young Greek refugee from Nazi Greece ends up in South Africa and becomes an internationally renowned human rights lawyer. Through his remarkable legal work he defends prominent South African revolutionaries during the brutal and racist system of apartheid, fighting for justice until the end.

Director
Peter Goldsmid, Jane Thandi Lipman

MAPANTSULA
104 MINS – FEATURE – 1988

During demonstrations in apartheid-era South Africa, police arrest not only activists but also Panic, a “mapantsula” or petty gangster. While a cop tries to get him to make incriminating statements, we learn in flashbacks how Panic got caught up in the township riots. Panic is only interested in partying, alcohol, and his girlfriend Pat, and stays away from the protests against exorbitant rents. But then Pat, who loses her job as a house maid because of him, cuts Panic loose, and his landlady’s son is taken away by the police … During the state of emergency imposed in South Africa in 1985, Mapantsula could only be made after a “bowdlerised” screenplay was submitted to the authorities. Grassroots opposition had reached a climax when the film was released and then promptly banned. Within a matter-of-fact crime story, it examines racial discrimination and day-to-day acts of resistance to the regime.

Director
Oliver Schmitz

Screenwriter
Oliver Schmitz & Thomas Mogotlane

Cinematographer
Rod Stewart

Cast
Thomas Mogotlane, Thembi Mtshali, Dolly Rathebe