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The Southern Africa Media Center 1980 A Project of California Newsreel A Message What Is the Southern The from the Reverend Africa Media Center? Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Secretary General The Southern Africa Media Cen­ Southem International ter has provided invaluable assis­ Freedom Mobilization tance to this effort. The Center Africa brings together media special­ Initiated at the time of the his­ ists, educators, religious leaders, toric Soweto uprisings, the researchers, and concerned citi­ Media Southern Africa Media Center is zens to develop innovative ways entering its fourth year. In South to use films to inform and involve Center Africa. 67years have passed since our communities in the south­ the African was abruptly deprived ern African situation. of his land and, in the words of The Center's films have emerged Pixley ka Seme, a founder of the as a relatively simple and effec­ African National Congress, "found tive vehicle for translating new himself a pariah in the land of programs, conference resolutions, his birth:' and organizational commitments Now it is more urgent than to raise the issues of southern ever that all Americans involve Africa into a form where they can themselves in the shaping of reach and involve an organiza­ government and corporate pol­ tion's far-flung constituency. icy towards this embattled land. As part of its commitment to We can and we must make our encouraging the broadest pos­ voices heard. sible public involvement in these issues, the Center has always made its films available on a 'what you can afford' basis to needy groups. Coupled with an

- ~"-·-- active outreach program, this has Activation Kits Advisory Board* resulted in the Center's becom­ Harry Belafonte ing the most widely used source The effectiveness of films-even The Honorable Julian Bond the best films-is limited by the The Honorable Wllllam Booth of films on southern Africa in the Bishop H. Hartford Brookins country. Its films are being used means employed in their presen­ Dennis Brutus, Northwestern tation. In order to help you place University not just in universities, but in The Honorable Ronald V. Dellums churches, neighborhood groups the films in a context where they George Hauser, Director. will not only inform but involve American Committee on Africa and unions from the rural com­ Edward Hawley, Editor, Afrtca Today munities of the deep South to groups in new areas of social The Reverend M. Wllllam Howard, Jr. action, the Center is producing President. National Council of Churches the impoverished ghettos of our Paul Irish, Associate, cities. 'Activation Kits: The first one, American Committee on Africa Investing in Apartheid, provides Robert van Lierop, F1lmmaker Sister Janice McLaugblln, New Films a complete set oflearning activi­ Maiyknoll Sisters ties that can help a group develop Prezy Nesbitt, Program to Combat I am particularly pleased to an­ Racism, World Council of Churches a sense ofitself as investors work­ Randall Robinson, Executive Director, nounce that the Center's major ing together to take responsibility TransAfrica new release this year is Genera­ Belvie Rooks, Associate Director, for the social consequences of Third World Fund tions of Resistance which tells their investment dollars. Christine Root, Associate, Washington the dramatic story of the fight Office on Africa The Reverend Dr. Kelly Miller Smith, waged by black South Africans I hope you will all join me in tak­ President, National Conference to rid themselves of the yoke of of Black Churchmen ing every opportunity to rouse 11mothy Smith, Director, Interfaith apartheid. It will fill an impor­ the conscience of our respective Committee on Corporate Responsibility tant gap in Americans' under­ Steve Talbot, Journalist communities about southern Dr. James Turner, Director, Africana standing and provide a rich his­ Africa. It is past time that Amer­ Center, Cornell University torical context for Six Days in The Reverend Dr. W)'att Tee Walker, ica takes a stand, a forceful stand, Secretary General, International Soweto which presents, in my a stand for freedom and against Freedom Mobilization opinion, the most powerful and tyranny. Dr. David Wiley, Director, African dramatic look at the present Studies, Michigan State University •organizations listed for identification struggle now raging in South purposes only. Africa In 1906, the African chief Bambata construction of apartheid, Nelson led a guerilla uprising in opposition and Winnie Mandela. Oliver Tambo, to the hut tax imposed by the Brit­ theWomen'scampaignsofthe 1950s, ish colonial power. But the Africans Roberto Sobukwe and the founding were no match for the Gatling gun. of the Pan African Congress (PAC), The revolt was savagely suppressed. the Sharpeville massacre, the Pondo The British cut offBambata's head, revolt, the building of the under­ 16mm color, 52 minutes then placed its picture on a post­ ground resistance, the hunger strikes Produced by: Peter Davis tr the U.N. card that British troops sent home at Robben Island prison, Bantus­ Rental: $70 to their sweethearts. Today, when tans, Steve Biko and the Black Con­ Sale: $675 Africans are again taking up arms sciousness Movement. "An indispensable aid to to re-claim their country, it is in the We feel that Generations of Re­ name of Bambata. sistance is the most important film cultivating understand­ So begins Generations of Resis­ release about South Africa since Six ing of the long and tance, the dramatic story of the rise Days in Soweto. More than a chron­ arduous path traveled ofblack nationalism in South Africa ology ofevents, this film provides an Using rare and illuminating archi­ historical framework for under­ by Africans in their fight val footage and the insightful tes­ standing the meaning and direc­ for freedom and human timony of those who led and par­ tion of contemporary South African dignity." ticipated in the events depicted, developments. Generations of Re­ Generations of Resistance sweeps sistance fills a glaring gap by por­ E. I. Reddy Director, U.N. Centre Against Apartheid through the hidden history of South traying blacks as makers of their Africa own history and not merely victims Among the people and events the of an inhumane system. In so doing, film brings to life are Pixley ka Seme it provides a positive counterpoint and the founding of the African to the grim mood of Last Grave at National Congress (ANC ), the Native Dimbaza. Land Act and disinheritance, the NEW RELEASE!

I saw as a child a small white boy sitting in a car and I never knew why when my home was so far and his so near I had to walk I saw as a child a tall building beautiful and empty and I never knew why when my home was so small and this so big we were overcrowded I saw as a child a tarred road clean and lonely and I never knew why when our street was so busy and this so alone Ours was so uncared for Zindzi Mandela Lanford Ganyile, a leader of the Pondo revolt The Soweto rebellion of June 1976 their parents ... and which it is the Six Days marked a turning point in South function of the system's schools to African history. This remarkable, reproduce. The students were award-winning film is the only in­ sparked by refusal to accept con­ In Soweto depth look at the uprisings them­ tinued instruction only in the most 16mm color, 55 minutes selves, their causes and their after­ menial tasks such as mending and Produced by: Antony Thomas for ATV (Britain), 1978 math. What conditions led unarmed doing laundry. and classes taught Rental: $75 youths into confrontation with the exclusively in Afrikaans-the lan­ guns, dogs, and tanks of the South guage of the white ruling minority. "Antony Thomas's in­ African government? The filmmakers spoke with many tensely moving mm ... "The children are young, but in of the original participants in the experience they are very old;' agon­ uprisings. Their angry and eloquent will, I think, I pray, effect izes one father. With both parents voices have not been silenced. such a catharsis in this working, in many instances having Through these people's stories-cut country that it will rever­ to commute long hours from the with news footage and photos-the all isolated townships. it is the child­ six days are recreated in full. berate the way to ren who must cook, clean, and bring Six Days in Soweto is a cinemati­ Johannesburg." up younger brothers and sisters. callystunningand emotionallypower­ The Observer Though interviews and verite foot­ ful film-not merely a record of re­ age, the camera provides a unique bellion against the violence of apar­ and intimate look at the dynamics theid, but an insight into the daily of black family life against the back­ lives and consciousness of the peo­ drop of the South African apartheid ple of Soweto. system. The Soweto uprisings were a re­ bellion against the conditions of slave labor and marginalism that black youths have seen imposed on "Six Days in Soweto is the most powerful film in current distribution on South Africa." Guide to Africa-Related Audio Visuals

''Nothing is more persua­ sive than the story told in films. How can we ever forget the searing mes­ sage of Six Days in Soweto?" Rev. Dr. \V}ratt Tee Walker International Freedom Mobilization

~efilmallowedSoweto, cradle and battleground for the savage riots, to speak for itself . .. Enor­ mously effective." The Daily Mail Though there have been some without minerals, arid, unable to Last recent changes in the methods support its population. Already in employed by apartheid to control towns like Dimbaza the graves of South Africa's black population, children who have died from mal­ Grave this classic documentruyremains nutrition outnumber the living. the best investigation of the dev­ Last Grave At Dimbaza was shot at astating human costs ofthe apar­ illegally by whites in the cities theid system in South Africa So and by blacks in the Bantustans. powerful is its indictment of a It was secretly shipped out of the Dimbaza society where the white popula­ country and edited in Europe by 16mm color, 55 minutes tion has the highest standard of South African filmmaker Nana Produced by: Nana Mahomo, 1974 living in the world while that of Mahomo. Rental: $50 the blacks is among the lowest, " ... essential backgrounding for "LastGraveatDimbaza that the South African govern­ understanding what goes on." ment produced a film specifically Bernie Harrison. The Washington Star isnoordinaryfilm. Serious to counter its effects. and depressing, it will The South African Minister of "A powerful film which details shake the apathy of the Labor says in the film, "The black the government's systematic man is in this country only to sell attempts to wipe out black fam­ most quiescent." his labor:· Black workers are re­ ily life, retaining only those Susan Hall, Film Library Quarterly stricted by law to the lowest pay­ essential for a cheap labor force. ing menial jobs. After work they Cheap is the wrong word. It is a return to squalid barracks in the slave labor force." townships, their families hundreds Judy Stone, San Francisco Chronicle of miles away in the desolate "Recommended to all youth and Bantustans. 80% of the black adult groups for its general ex­ population has been herded into cellence ofpresentation and for these "homelands"-only 13% of its substance." the land, the worst land at that; William Hockman, Film News

Narrated by Ossie Davis, this UN The film captures the rituals Free production captures both the tor­ and myths of the affluent white ment and the struggle of Namibia settler society. A parade of uni­ under South African rule. formed white schoolchildren, Namibia! According to a Namibian say­ frighteningly reminiscent of Nazi 16mm color, 27 minutes ing, 'Water is white man's land:' youth corps, celebrate the white Produced by: The United Nations, 1978 Rental: $40 Under South African rule, the settlers' victories over the blacks. black population has been rele­ And at the economic base of the gated to arid "homelands" where country are the multinational they can find neither food nor corporations, extracting namibia's work. Average life expectancy for strategic mineral reserves: copper, blacks is 31 years and more than diamonds and uranium. An half of all black children die before executive confides: "Everyone in­ the age of five. vests here, but it is not oppor­ tune now to mention names:· White intransigence has led to widespread support for SWAPO, the South West Africa People's Organization. In one unforget­ table scene at dusk on a lonely stretch of sand, thousands of Namibians emerge from the sur­ rounding countiyside for aSWAPO rally despite the obvious dangers. A woman explains: 'We cannot be intimidated any longer; we have decided that we are fight­ ing for our freedom:· While Controlling Interest does terested in multinational cor­ Controlling not deal directly with the opera­ porations, (and) the role of U.S. tions of multinational corpora­ government and business in the Interest tions in southern Africa, this international economy." internationally recognized prize­ Janice Love. Teaching Political The World of the winning film is an important Science resource for educators and activ­ Multinational ists concerned with the forces of "A unique film! Controlling In­ Corporation underdevelopment in the Third terest brings the crucial issue of who's in control alive ... 16mm color. 45 minutes World and the dynamics which Produced by: California Newsreel underlie global expansion of U.S. not only in the world's Brazils, Rental: $60 corporate power. South Africas and Singapores, Sale: $575 but right here at home." "***1/2! (This) substantive "A bruising expose ... The not­ Francis Moore Lappe. author of so-secret stars of the film are Food First documentary ... offers a the various corporation execu­ valuable and illuminat­ tives interviewed throughout. ing account ofthe growth Their shameless fealty to the profit motive and casual bar­ of conglomerates and barisms couldn't be bettered by their influence on global wooden dummies dangled on affairs." Karl Marx's knee." J. Haberman, Village Voice Joseph Glemis, Newsday T "With its broad range ofuses, its piercing analysis, and its en­ gaging presentation, this film should be seen by anyone in- Namibia: A Case bian nations-and their eventual There is No Crisis Study in Colonialism annihilation by the guns ofKrupp. 16mm color, 27 minutes Produced by: U.N. It goes on to trace how German Produced by: Thames 1V (Britain) 16mm color, 18 minutes occupation was replaced by Brit­ 1976 Rental: $25 ish and ultimately South African Rental: $35 In our opinion, this is the best rule, the concurrent penetration "There is no crisis here:· the brief account of the origins and of mining and agricultural oper­ South African Minister of Jus­ changing face of European co­ ations by foreign capital, and the tice assured the world press dur­ lonial domination in Africa. The development of a contemporary film begins with German settle­ Namibian resistance under the ing the 1976 black protests. The ment and therebellionoftheNami- leadership of SWAPO. film was the first to counter these assertions withe xclusive footage of the Soweto uprisings and the murderous police response. In the midst of the crisis clandes­ tine interviews were filmed with four young black leaders of the movement. Within days all those interviewed were either jailed or fled into exile. This film provides a unique insight into the black liberation movement in South Africa at the precise moment when the movement was gain­ ing a renewed sense of its strength and its historical tasks. South Africa: Angola: Dr. Martin Luther King The Rising Tide The People Have Chosen From Montgomery 16mm color, 44 minutes 16mm color, 50 minutes to Memphis Produced by: Boubakar Adjali, 1977 Produced by: Herbert Risz, 1975 16mm Bl!J'W, 27 minutes Rental: $60 Rental: $'50 Rental: $30 The Rising Tide links the libera­ This was the first film to come The best presentation we've seen tion struggles in Zimbabwe, out of Angola after the former of the story of the American civil Namibia, and South Africa and Portuguese colony won its inde­ rights movement, from the his­ shows that they are indeed the pendence in late 1975. It remains toric bus ride of Mrs. Rosa Parks key to the future of Africa The one of the few resources for study­ in Montgomery to the tragic film documents South Africa's ing the problems and prospects murder of Dr. King in Memphis. military build-up, including its for nation-building in that coun­ News footage of the time sets the invasion of Angola and aid to try. Shot at the time of inde­ scene while the eloquent words Rhodesia, arms shipments from pendence and the beginning of of Dr. King provide the inspira­ Western countries, and the mil­ the civil war, it portrays the MPI.A tion. The civil rights movement itary training of the white civil­ as the only group with a broad has been an important model for ian population. It emphasizes enough vision to mobilize all the black consciousness move­ that the liberation movements Angolans in the tasks of national ment in South Africa. are prepared for protracted armed reconstruction as thousands of struggle and will not cease until Portuguese settlers fled the victory. country. What Do You Do Investing in Apartheid makes use of questionnaires, simulation games, check­ When the Lights Go On? lists, a discussion guide, background readings, and a resource guide as well as Investing in Apartheid the films Generations of Resistance, "Activation Kit" Last Grave at Dimbaza, Free Namibia! Purchase: $3 pre-paid or Six Days in Soweto. After first de­ (Free when renting any film) mystifying the role of investment as a social phenomenon and helping the In order to provide a context to improve group realize that they themselves ac­ the effectiveness of film use, the Center tually are investors, the kit will then has published a detailed handbook out­ facilitate the re-examination and re­ lining an integrated series of innovative definition of the group's own social role learning activities that can be employed and potential activities with respect to by teachers and facilitators. apartheid. Investing in Apartheid focuses on the issue ofAmerican investments in South Photo Exhibit Africa Its approach, however, lies in and Audio Cassette helping a group develop its own sense of itself as investors working together to Rental: $10, plus shipping take responsibility for the social conse­ quences of their investment dollars. Along with the "Activation Kit:• the Cen­ The kit will help church, student. ter is also making avail-able a mounta­ labor, civic groups and even municipali­ ble photo exhibit and an audio cassette. ties to look at their bank accounts, The photo exhibit contains scenes and investments, pension funds and con­ de-scriptive text from life under apar­ sumer dollars as potential instruments theid, while the cassette contains free­ for influencing government and corpo­ dom songs and music from South Africa rate policy towards South Africa interspersed with recordings of Steve Biko and South African poets. This Media Environment is particu­ larly well-suited for conferences or in situations where a group gathers regularly. Photograph by Peter Magubane How to Rent Films Southern Africa The Southern Africa Media Center wants Media Center eveiyone to be able to use our films: therefore we maintain a flexible rental California Newsreel policy. Colleges and universities, 630 Natoma Street student groups and funded agencies San Francisco, CA 94103 are expected to pay the standard rentals listed in the catalog. Even here, how­ (415) 621-6196 ever. the Center has reduced rental fees for the second year running. California Newsreel Is a non-profit. tax­ Church, labor and community groups exempt. educational trust. may rent films based on ability to pay. Call us and explain your situation. In all cases shipping charges are extra Films should be reserved at least a month in advance and bookers should tiy to have alternative dates ready. Shipping Films are shipped prepaid. In order to allow us to reduce prices and to rent films on a flexible basis, it is necessaiy to reduce the 'turnaround' time when films are out of the office. Therefore, we require that films not be returned to us via Special Fourth Class Libraiy Rate or Parcel Post. Bookers must take respon­ sibility for seeing that films are returned promptly the day after screening by the carrier indicated on the confirmation form. Call Newsreel immediately in the event of any delays. ~100 Cover photograph: Peter Magubane Design: Carolyn Bean Associates. Incorporated r

Resolution /California Newsreel Non Profit Organization 630 Natoma Street U.S. Postage San Francisco PAID California 94103 Permit No. 11246 San Francisco, CA

For the first time: A film chronicling SO years of Black struggle in South Afrlca­ Generations ofResistance