Freedom Square and Back of the Moon
Contents
Screening Details
Running Time: 53 min. (colour) / Copyright Date: 1987 / Genre: Documentary
The film
The film was made in 1986 and focuses on life in Sophiatown[], the closest place to the city centre of Johannesburg that was occupied by black South Africans. It was home to writers, journalists, artists, politicians – the black intellectual heart of the city. It is not surprising then that it was the first area to be targeted by the Nationalist Government for removals. In this documentary, Angus Gibson and William Kentridge use interviews, archive material, drawings and extracts from the protest play Sophiatown to explore the life and destruction of Sophiatown.
It are references to VHS Video recordings supplied by a number of sources, including the Film Resource Unit (1986), the Free Film-Makers for broadcast by BBC Channel Four (1987) and by Lindy Wilson Productions, Western Cape, South Africa, in 1995.
Memories of the documentary were revived in 2019 when it was shown to acclaim at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Translations, adaptations, sequels, etc
In 2019 Gibson also produced the feature film Back of the Moon, inspired by his memories of making the 1986 documentary.
Sources
https://www.worldcat.org/title/freedom-square-and-back-of-the-moon/oclc/55702736
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8991332/
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