Screening South Africa, Past and Present

Lionel Rogosin, COME BACK, AFRICA (1959, 95 min. shown on 35mm)
Part documentary, part narrative film, COME BACK, AFRICA the life of real people living in South Africa’s segregated townships during the late 1950s, a decade into the government’s consolidated and implemented apartheid laws that restricted the freedoms and movement of Black South Africans and other multiethnic groups who fell under the category of “coloured.” People not trained as actors live out real-life events in a scripted yet improvised way, highlighting the cruelties and injustices of apartheid in everyday moments. The scripted narrative tells the story of Zachariah, a young Zulu farmer who arrives in Johannesburg from his rural village to find work in the gold mines. State-mandated “pass laws” heavily restrict Zachariah’s ability to find work and housing, forcing him to contend with the cruel reality of apartheid while still trying to provide for his family.

Screening South Africa, Past and Present is offered in conjunction with Yale University Art Gallery’s exhibition David Goldblatt: No Ulterior Motive. Expanding upon the documentary genre in distinct ways, these three films share the common motive of exposing the rippling effects of apartheid in South Africa, from the 1950s to the present day.

Generously sponsored by Jane P. Watkins, M.P.H. 1979. Cosponsored by the Yale University Art Gallery and the Whitney Humanities Center