School teacher Ben du Toit has been insulated all his life from the horrors of apartheid in his native South Africa. That is until an incident hits close to home which soon exposes him to the truly arbitrary and violent nature of the system he has so long benefited from. When the son of his black gardener is arrested and beaten as a result of a protest in Soweto, his whole life and his convictions will undergo a radical change.
Euzhan Palcy
Director, writer and producer born in Martinique in 1958. She worked for television in her native country and in 1975 directed the TV movie ‘The Messenger’. In 1977, she moved to Paris to study film at the Vaugirard School and literature at the Sorbonne. After shooting the short film ‘The Devil’s Workshop’ in 1983, she directed ‘Sugar Cane Alley’ (1983), her first feature film, which won four awards at the Venice Film Festival, making her the first black filmmaker to win a César Award. ‘A Dry White Season’ (1989), which marked Marlon Brando's return to the big screen, competed at the Valladolid Film Festival and earned the actor an Oscar nomination. Her work includes other film credits such as the collaborative movie ‘How Are the Kids?’ (1990) and ‘Siméon’ (1992). In 2023, she received an Honorary Oscar for being "a masterful filmmaker who paved the way for Black female directors and inspired storytellers of all kinds around the world." She has also recorded two albums of children's songs.
DIRECTOR
Euzhan Palcy
SCREENPLAY
Colin Welland, Euzhan Palcy
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Kelvin Pike, Pierre-William Glenn
EDITOR
Sam O'Steen, Glenn Cunningham
SOUND
Roy Charman, Jack Keller, James Cavarretta, Rick Kline, Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O'Connell
MUSIC
Dave Grusin
PRODUCTION
Paula Weinstein
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Davros Films, Star Partners II, Sundance Productions
CAST
Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Jürgen Prochnow, Zakes Mokae, Susan Sarandon Marlon Brando, Winston Ntshona, Thoko Ntshinga
