Youth Day movies: Fighting for your country

As we fast approach Youth Day, a commemoration of the Soweto uprisings on 16 June 1976 where more than 20 000 pupils began a life-altering protest march, we remember this spirit of defiance and resilience.

Dissent is a necessary part of any healthy democracy and being in a country where world icons such as Mahatma Gandhi, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela set foot, it’s a welcome privilege and reminder of the many sacrifices made on the path to our rainbow nation and free society. A celebration of the power of one, the will of the people and the same fighting spirit that led students to the streets, here are eight rousing films that capture many stories from across South Africa under apartheid rule.  

And if you’re looking for more Youth Day movies, check out the Youth Day Collection on Showmax.  

Murder in Paris 

Who killed Dulcie September? Investigative political crime documentary Murder in Paris attempts to answer this shadowy question as the film chronicles the anti-apartheid activist’s life, culminating in her assassination in Paris. A fierce advocate and ambassador for the ANC, her untimely death provoked local French authorities, who pointed the finger at covert government agencies and led an investigative journalist on a decades-long quest for the hard truth.  

This comprehensive in-depth documentary leverages key evidence, archive footage and intimate interviews to uncover the activist, her influence and her legacy. In the words of director Enver Samuel, “Dulcie’s life is a reminder…that the purpose of all the sacrifices and struggles of the past were not in vain and that a fair and decent South Africa is still a possibility.” 

An Act of Defiance 

There have been several documentaries about the Rivonia trials, which pivot on Nelson Mandela’s speech and the conviction of the accused, who were willing to become martyrs. An Act of Defiance sheds light on a turning point in South African history and focuses on Bram Fischer, who was a giant in the accuseds’ defence. Set in the apartheid era, the biographical drama takes the attorney’s vantage point as he works to hide his secret affiliation to the resistance movement.  

Starring Peter Paul Muller, Antoinette Louw and Sello Motloung, this is an important, well-researched and noble dramatisation. Harnessing a sense of authenticity, An Act of Defiance brings history to life without taking shortcuts. An unsung hero working from the shadows, Bram Fischer’s contribution is acknowledged and celebrated as Jean van de Velde’s pensive historical drama ratchets up suspense. 

Moffie 

Oliver Hermanus has built a solid reputation as a director with a string of politically conscious arthouse dramas set in South Africa. While he recently garnered Oscar nominations for Living, it’s the hard-edged drama Moffie that ignited his international career. Set in the days of army conscription in South Africa, this bold, relentless and suspenseful drama immerses a young recruit into two years of boot-camp, slow-boiling hell much like Full Metal Jacket. 

Capturing the racist, homophobic and intensely toxic culture of barracks life, Moffie’s provocative edge and poetic handling make for an artful and visceral coming-of-age war drama. Armed with a stellar cast led by Kai Luke Brummer, Ryan de Villiers and Hilton Pelser, the underlying prejudices of the apartheid regime are laid bare in this unsettling depiction of a harsh, oppressive and unrelenting system.   

Asinamali 

Dance and song have remained an active and integral part of protest in South Africa with chants, choruses and shuffles kicking up dust and filling the air at marches, rallies and strikes. Mbongeni Ngema’s powerful prison musical thrives on these elements, which filters from the lively stage production to screen with Darryl Roodt as producer, after the two collaborated on Sarafina!. 

Centred on inmates at a prison a decade after a demonstration at Lamontville, Asinamali journeys with Comrade Washington who’s called upon to inspire prisoners to escape their harsh reality through the power of performance. Asinamali grapples with an oppressive system, gender-based violence and explores political themes through edgy drama, dance choreography and song.    

How to Steal a Country 

After making definitive documentaries on Marikana and the #FeesMustFall movement, prolific documentarian Rehad Desai has encapsulated the State Capture saga involving the Gupta brothers and Zuma administration in How to Steal a Country. Following the #GuptaLeaks scandal, where 300 000 incriminating emails cast a long shadow on South Africa, this riveting documentary tracks events from the perspective of fearless political journalists who broke the story. 

Featuring interviews with Ferial Haffajee, Susan Comrie, Thanduxolo Jika and Richard Poplak, this comprehensive and powerful overview of Guptagate’s rise and fall is engaging and entertaining. How to Steal a Country unfolds like a detective story in the vein of All the President’s Men. A sleek documentary, driven by a compelling soundtrack and impassioned interviews, it’s an important testament to the freedom of the press, the protection of whistle-blowers and holding those in power to account.  

The Recce 

The Border War remains as contentious as ever, with many films capturing the psychological warfare of the age and its persistence decades later. The Recce journeys with Henk Viljoen, a soldier who’s wrongfully declared KIA (killed in action), abandoned behind enemy lines in Angola and forced to survive by his wits to make it home to his family alive. 

The Recce is directed by Johannes Ferdinand van Zyl and stars Greg Kriek and Christia Visser as a couple separated by the State and what’s been dubbed South Africa’s Vietnam. Serving as an introspective social commentary from a white Afrikaner soldier’s perspective, this atmospheric and poetic psychological anti-war drama plays like a series of memories and recalls Rescue Dawn and Castaway.  

Poppie Nongena 

The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena tells the story of a mother’s attempts to protect her family against rising adversity and hardship in apartheid South Africa. Widely regarded as one of the best African novels of the 20^th Century, Elsa Joubert’s story gets a faithful and vivid film adaptation under the guidance of critically acclaimed writer-director Christiaan Olwagen.  

Known for his artful dramas and continuous shots, Olwagen creates a sense of authenticity and spontaneity in this epic multilingual drama as Poppie’s divergent worlds collide. Led by the spirited Clementine Mosimane, who is supported by an expansive and stellar ensemble, her expressions are laden with complexity, especially powerful as a closing shot. From tight interiors to free-ranging protest scenes, Poppie Nongena has heft and a sweeping grandeur. 

Seun 

Darryl Roodt is a driving force behind political dramas about South Africa, having directed the likes of The Stick, Sarafina!, Cry the Beloved Country, Yesterday and Winnie Mandela. Having forged his early directorial career in partnership with producer Anant Singh, some of Roodt’s more contemporary dramas still have political edge. Seun journeys with a farmer’s son who returns from the Border War paralysed after saving another soldier’s life. 

This poetic coming-of-age drama and thought-provoking family portrait deals with growing pains and creeping shadows as themes similar to The Sea Inside take front and centre. A touching drama of great power and intensity, it explores the frustration of being involuntarily conscripted into a pointless war and returning home a broken man. 

Go to Showmax for more Youth Day movies.