Portland Public Library

Come back, Africa, produced and directed by Lionel Rogosin ; written by Lionel Rogosin with Lewis Nkosi and William Modisane ; Lionel Rogosin Films

eng

videorecording

Not rated

Come back, Africa

869015991

produced and directed by Lionel Rogosin ; written by Lionel Rogosin with Lewis Nkosi and William Modisane ; Lionel Rogosin Films

341

The Milestone CinemathequeThe Films of Lionel Rogosin, volume II

In 1957, Rogosin travelled to South Africa and created a powerfully, moving drama exposing the harsh reality of life under the system apartheid. Filmed secretly under the noses of the feared South African police, Rogosin, his crew, and cast risked arrest and deportation. Miriam Makeba was banned from her country after travelling to Venice for the movie's premiere. The scenes shot in the vibrant black ghetto of Sophiatown are precious images of a lost world. Rogosin took the fight for equality to his homeland with Black roots, his documentary on African American life. The extraordinary cast, including Reverend Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, attorney and feminist activist Florynce "Flo" Kennedy, musicians Jim Collier, Wende [i.e. Wendy] Smith, Larry Johnson and Reverend Gary Davis, tell stories of heartbreak and despair while their songs blow the roof off the rafters. The film combines tales of oppression with hauntingly beautiful images of the faces of black men, women and childrenHave you seen Drum recently?: First published in South Africa during the 1950s, Drum magazine became a rallying point for black people as the anti-apartheid movement took shape. The publication, which featured liberal articles by such intellectuals as Lewis Nkosi, Can Themba, and Henry Nxumalo, gave voice to the movement, helping Nelson Mandela and his compatriots. Drum was more than a magazine--it was an expression of a new way of life. Among the highlights of this documentary is footage of the young Mandela and Oliver Tambo as they conduct political meetings and confrontations. The apartheid regime eventually closed the magazine down, but its legacy lives on to this day

live action