Cape Town - A special star-studded screening of South Africa’s iconic film, Saragina! was hosted at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on Wednesday night, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its release in the United States, with lead actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo in attendance.
Inspired by the events of the ‘Soweto Uprising’ of 1976, Sarafina! was produced by Anant Singh and directed by Darrell Roodt. It also starred Mbongeni Ngema, John Kani, Robert Whitehead and Miriam Makeba.
The screening was co-hosted by Singh, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the South African Consulate General New York, and coincided with the United Nations General Assembly.
The film originally premiered at New York’s Radio City Musical Hall almost to the day 30 years ago, on September 14, 1992.
Speaking at the screening, Singh said: “Sarafina! holds up really well 30 years after its release.
“The film is a celebration of the young women of our liberation, the mothers of the struggle who made significant sacrifices and our powerful legacy of activism.”
Singh said his journey with Sarafina! began 35 years ago when he saw the play at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg.
“I was moved and felt that I had to make a film about this amazing play. I was able to secure the film rights from Mbongeni Ngema and the rest is history.
“The important aspect for me was that Sarafina! was based on the watershed event of 16 June 1976 which changed the course of South Africa’s history,” Singh said.
Some of the event attendees at the screening were Prince Albert of Monaco, Neil Diamond, members of the original cast including Ntombikhona Dlamini, Nandi Ndlovu, and Lindiwe Dlamini, Basetsana Kumalo, Chair of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA, and a host of United Nations delegates, diplomats and members of the International Olympic Committee.
At the screening, Whoopi Goldberg said, “It’s great to be here. I look at Leleti, I look at Anant and I think, wow we did do this! I'm getting old and every couple of years there’s a celebration and this is a 30-year celebration… I am honoured to be alive to celebrate it.”
Goldberg spoke about the relevance of Sarafina! in today's world, she said, “Keep talking to the kids because they are going to fix it, they are going to make it happen, they are going to make change happen. They are not polite, they are not going to bend when they see something wrong and that's what happened in the film, they just got tired and said no more.”
Verne Harris, Head of Leadership and Development at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, said: “Sarafina! represented artistically a key moment in the struggle against Apartheid. Given the Foundation’s commitment to documenting the life and times of Nelson Mandela, the movie carries a particular historical significance.
“And we would argue that its relevance today is rooted in the awareness that the long walk to freedom continues. Our message is that we honour the generation represented in Sarafina! by continuing to work for the country of that generation’s dreams.
“We must keep struggling for the justice that will ensure that young people today will ultimately inherit a country in which they and their children can thrive.”