Come Back, Africa
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| Come Back, Africa | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Lionel Rogosin |
| Produced by | Lionel Rogosin |
| Written by | Bloke Modisane Lewis Nkosi Lionel Rogosin |
| Starring | Miriam Makeba Vinah Makeba Zachria Makeba Molly Parkin |
| Music by | Lucy Brown |
| Cinematography | Ernest Artaria Emil Knebel |
| Editing by | Carl Lerner |
| Distributed by | Rogosin Films |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | U.S.A./South Africa |
| Language | English/Afrikaans/Zulu/Fanakalo |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Come Back, Africa is a 1959 film created by Lionel Rogosin working with the staff of the legendary Drum magazine in South Africa in the 1950's. It was shot in and around Johannesburg but it was mainly filmed in Sophiatown. It has historical interest because these are some of the last images of Sophiatown before it was bulldozed.
Rogosin tried to portray township life and migrant labour under the apartheid regime. The writing was shared with Lewis Nkosi and Bloke Modisane, two of the rising journalists of Drum.
Rogosin shot this film under false pretences and was constantly hindered by the restrictions of apartheid. It was filmed with hidden cameras and the footage was smuggled out of South Africa. [1] Rogosin obtained permission to film by pretending to make a film about street music. [2] There are scenes with gumboot dancers, penny-whistle musicians, a group sings Elvis's hit Teddy Bear and a young Miriam Makeba sings during the shebeen scene. [3]
It was filmed using amateur actors, limited equipment and a very tight schedule. The reason was that filming had to be complete before Rogosin's tourist visa expired.
It is the story of Zacharia, a migrant worker who does not have a work permit and as such is open to exploitation, arbitrary dismissal and sudden arrest.
Fanakalo is used for the mine scenes (it is the mining lingua franca), Afrikaans is used by the policeman who arrests Zacharia for a pass offence, Zulu is Zacharia's home language and English is used by the intellectuals in the shebeen scene.
[edit] See also
- Come Back, Africa, Lionel Rogosin & Peter Davis, STE Publishers, ISBN 1-919855-17-3 (The book of the film)
[edit] References
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. "Come Back, Africa", N Y Times, N Y Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
- ^ "A Camera in Johannesburg", Time magazine, Time, 1960-04-25. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
- ^ Rapold, Nicolas. "A Glimpse of South Africa", New York Sun, New York Sun, 2006-03-24. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
