Freedom Square and the Back of the Moon

Freedom Square and Back of the Moon is a documentary film by Angus Gibson and William Kentridge.

The film. made in 1986, focuses on 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.

Sophiatown was established in 1900 and, since its earliest days, was a multicultural melting pot of families with different racial and cultural backgrounds. Sophiatown enjoyed its freedom as a racially integrated area. ‘Swinging Sophiatown’ was known for its rich jazz music scene and was an intellectual, artistic and political hub for those opposed to apartheid, until its destruction by the Apartheid Government from 1955 to 1959. Gibson and Kentridge capture this essence of Sophiatown in Freedom Square and Back of the Moon.