Come back, Africa

Duration: 83

Year Published: 1959

Creator: Museum of Modern Art

Format: 16mm

Color: B&W

Sound: sound

Description: This docu-drama, made in secret and acted by nonprofessionals, portrays the conditions of life in South Africa. The film combines improvisational and hidden-camera techniques to tell the tragic story of Zachariah, a man from Zululand who comes to Johannesburg, South Africa's City of a Million Dreams. Starting in the goldmines, Zachariah subsequently works as a houseboy, garage worker, waiter and roadgang laborer, occupations which illustrate the repressive apartheid system. At a shebeen (an illegal drinking establishment), a discussion about the ills of South Africa takes place, and singer Miriam Makeba makes an appearance. Zachariah's wife gets a job as a maid. When Zachariah visits her, he is arrested. During his incarceration, his wife is attacked and killed by a local hoodlum. (Circulates)

Complete Record: This docu-drama, made in secret and acted by nonprofessionals, portrays the conditions of life in South Africa. The film combines improvisational and hidden-camera techniques to tell the tragic story of Zachariah, a man from Zululand who comes to Johannesburg, South Africa's City of a Million Dreams. Starting in the goldmines, Zachariah subsequently works as a houseboy, garage worker, waiter and roadgang laborer, occupations which illustrate the repressive apartheid system. At a shebeen (an illegal drinking establishment), a discussion about the ills of South Africa takes place, and singer Miriam Makeba makes an appearance. Zachariah's wife gets a job as a maid. When Zachariah visits her, he is arrested. During his incarceration, his wife is attacked and killed by a local hoodlum. (Circulates)

Metadata Source:Educational film guide. Supplements (1959-62)