What is the story behind Sarafina? Description of Film: Darrell Roodt, who was born in South Africa in 1963, directs this passionate musical film. Sarafina shares the story of the struggle against Apartheid (racism) faced by a group of particularly courageous school children in South Africa. During the 1976 State of Emergency, students were being massacred by government troops. A young Leleti Khumalo (Hotel Rwanda) takes on the role of Sarafina, a young, ambitious, school girl who is vehemently opposed to Apartheid and willing to risk everything to fight it. She is aided by her equally ambitious school teacher, Mary Masembuku (Whoopi Goldberg, Sister Act). After the children’s beloved teacher is taken away by the South African authorities and Sarafina‘s future boyfriend is slaughtered during a protest, the children rise up and take action. Sarafina must make a choice to fight with violence against the government or resist with peace. Sarafina’s choice leads to her imprisonment, torture, and a narrow escape from death. It the end, she realizes the cost of equality and the price paid by her hero, Nelson Mandella, when he fought for the people of South Africa. Sarafina originally was written for theater, where it earned a Tony award. This screen play is written by Mbongeni Ngema. This movie is rated PG-13 for graphic violence questionable for children. Why I Recommend This Film: This film is unforgettable and powerfully charged. It makes you gape at how young racism can affect and steal lives. The music helps bring a needed calm or balance to the action-filled, and tragically victorious plot. The dancing is superb and the way the African melodies ring out is truly amazing. The film is of a very high quality. I love how well the actors portray such gripping emotions and themes. Why This Film is Important: Sarafina lets viewers see that racism is never bound by culture, language, or even continents. It is an evil that spans the globe. It also triggers a thought-provoking, startling, and important question: What happens when one voice has the courage to stand up against thousands, and is joined by another, and another, and another? This film inspires you to stand up for what is right. Maybe you are all it takes to make a difference! Favorite Quotation: “Freedom is coming Tommorow! Get ready prepare for your freedom.” (This lyric is from the song “Freedom is Coming.” This song is performed during the funeral service and provides an uplifting moment during a bleak time.)As tensions of apartheid spread across South Africa, many students revolts to massive stone throw, a demonstration that comes in a wake of the introduction of Afrikaans language as a means of teaching. This sparks riots among school age young people who have resolved to do what it takes for freedom to come tomorrow. In a township of Soweto, a group of students, led by a beautiful and intelligent young girl, Sarafina, mastermind a plot to rise against the apartheid regime by vehemently rejecting the proposal to have Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. This angers the white people and results in a massive unrest of the students and those others supporting them. Meanwhile, Sarafina’s mother accepts a job of a housekeeper in a white household and it angers Sarafina. Following the unrest of students and their possible torture and trial, Sarafina is released from prison, reunites with some of the colleagues and composes a “Freedom is Coming Tomorrow” song. The plot focuses on students involved in the Soweto Uprising, in opposition to the implementation of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools. The character Sarafina (Leleti Khumalo) feels shame at her mother’s (Miriam Makeba) acceptance of her role as domestic servant in a white household in apartheid South Africa, and inspires her peers to rise up in protest, especially after her inspirational teacher, Mary Masombuka (Whoopi Goldberg) is imprisoned. In the opening scene, Sarafina is seen talking while staring at Nelson Mandela’s picture, at the time the South African icon was still imprisoned. In a later scene Sarafina is again talking while staring at Mandela’s picture on the wall, criticizing him for being gone for a long time and not responding to the nation’s pleas, idolising him as someone who can change the horrific situation that South Africa is in. Cast Whoopi Goldberg as Mary Masombuka Miriam Makeba as Angelina John Kani as School Principal Mbongeni Ngema as Sabela Leleti Khumalo as Sarafina Dumisani Dlamini as Crocodile Production Filming Producer Anant Singh acquired the film rights to the Broadway musical Sarafina! After no Hollywood studio was willing to finance it, Singh raised the funds himself, with the BBC and the French company Revcom being among the investors. By the time filming started, Nelson Mandela was freed and apartheid was abolished, though racial tensions were still high. Said director Darrell Roodt: “Though our project is still confrontational and angry, it’s told with more hope and a spirit of reconciliation.” At the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, Whoopi Goldberg was announced to play Mary Masombuka; she was reportedly the first Black American actress to film a project in South Africa. The film was shot on location at Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto, South Africa. Morris Isaacson was a centre of the 1976 Soweto student uprisings. Many of the extras and some of the cast members participated in the real-life resistance in Soweto, while Miriam Makeba was a political exile. Singh told the press that the film would be a different tackling of apartheid than other films about the subject, where they were told from a white perspective. “When people ask me why there is no good white in the movie,” said Singh, “I tell them that this is one movie that isn’t about whites. Many of the actors have been arrested, had the police break down their doors in the middle of the night. Almost everyone had either first or second-hand experience with the movement. The kids in the cast were performing what they lived.” Given the racism that was still prevalent in South Africa post-apartheid, there were concerns that the filming of scenes showing protests and rioting would fan the flames. To avert this, the prop military vehicles were emblazoned with the insignia “Sarafina!” to ensure the public that a movie was being filmed there. In the United States, the film had some of the more graphic scenes removed to avoid a more restrictive rating. The MPAA rated the film PG-13 for “scenes of apartheid-driven violence;” the Director’s Cut, which was released on LaserDisc in 1993, was rated R for “strong scenes of violence.”