Mapantsula

The politically turbulent 1980s provide the context for a film that shattered the mould. With a complex black character as its protagonist, a clear identification with resistance ideology and a gripping storyline, “Mapantsula” pried beneath the thin veneer of South African society to expose the venal underbelly of apartheid. Johnny – Panic for his friends - is a carefree small time crook living in a Soweto backyard, from where he occasionally ventures into Johannesburg to pick pockets or visit his girlfriend who works as a domestic worker.
Suddenly arrested alongside some activist acquaintances, the politically inactive Panic is faced with a compelling dilemma at the hands of security policemen who see him as a potential informer. Panic is alternatively cajoled and tortured until he is forced to take a stand that may cost him his life.
The film was banned in South Africa for 13 years.