This epic film was one of the first South African dramatic film productions. It tells the story of the Boers’ Great Trek at the end of the 1830s, concluding with a hegemonic reconstruction of the 1838 Battle of Blood River, where a few hundred armed Afrikaners defeated several thousand Zulus.
A true story about an Englishman working as a game warden in Kenya who is disgusted by the ongoing destruction of African wildlife, and decides to create a national park to protect them.
The Blue Lagoon is a 1923 silent film adaptation of Henry De Vere Stacpoole's 1908 novel of the same name about children who come of age while stranded on a tropical island. This is the first telling of this often filmed story. This film was followed by remakes in 1949, 1980 and 2012.
In the fictional town of Spoggenpoelville, Mr. Spog and Mr. Poel rule supreme. Though not particularly bright, they run and own everything. To boot, they are the town’s mayor and deputy mayor. But one day two men from Johannesburg throw a spanner in the works. Mr. Brand and Mr. Borelli want to buy a piece of Spoggenpoelville, complete with mineral rights. Spog and Poel say no. To retaliate, the two speculators decide to run for mayor and deputy mayor. Suddenly Spog and Poel must learn how to become politicians, charm the ladies and outwit the villains, all the while trying to evade a clown-like figure who wants to sell them a goldmine.
fantasy tale about a young Zulu who leaves his village to go to the city, falls in love with the new music he hears there, and returns home to form a Zulu jazz band. The South African production and distribution company African Films followed up the success of Zonk! with Song of Africa. This is a fantasy tale about a young Zulu who leaves his village to go to the city, falls in love with the new music he hears there, and returns home to form a Zulu jazz band – which then goes to the city to compete with other bands, and comes out on top. As in the earlier films, the impact of American jazz and popular music is enormous. Like African Jim and Zonk!, Song of Africa draws on the best talent from the townships. Director Emil Nofal and director of photography Dave Millin ensure high production values, making it an above-average B-movie.
The Johannesburg City Council presents “After Sixty Years,” a circa 1946 black-and-white film narrated by Frank Secker that tells the history of the South African city.
The film shows Port Louis, the capital; workers on sugar plantations and road mending as well as colonial life in the then British dependency.
Documentary short that was short-listed for the 16th Academy Awards
