140. Mapantsula (1988) with director Oliver Schmitz

Announcement: Our new membership, Reel Ruminators: A Movie-of-the-Month Discussion Club is now open for new members in August! Doors close on August 9 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Once doors close, we won't be opening them again until October.

Find out more and reserve your spot by clicking here.

---

Alex Heeney interviews South African director and co-writer Oliver Schmitz about the 4K restoration of his landmark 1988 film, Mapantsula. Mapantsula was the first movie about the realities of apartheid that was actually made by South Africans in South Africa. 

In the press notes for, director Oliver Schmitz writes, “Mapantsula is not just a film, it is an act of defiance. It is guerilla filmmaking and a cameo of some of the best talent from South AFRICA in the 1980’s — and by that, I mean Black talent, that had been held back, had no voice, and could not speak freely. Mapantsula was a taste of freedom at a time of the worst repression in South Africa. It was a loud andclear expletive at the Apartheid Government. It was a film that should not have been made, and yet, it was.”

The film is now in theatres in the US and available to stream on BFI Player in the UK.

>> Subscribe to our FREE newsletter for updates on the best new under-the-radar films and streaming theatre productions <<

Follow Seventh Row on Twitter and Instagram. Read our articles at seventh-row.com.

Follow Alex Heeney on Twitter and Instagram. 

For detailed show notes, visit the Seventh Row website. There is also an AI-generated transcript available.