WHAT THE HERO WANTS

What The Hero Wants (WTHW) is pleased to announce: The Cult Classic and first anti-apartheid film about the black experience in South Africa, MAPANTSULA (1988) has been restored in 4K resolution. The film will have its world premier on the world stage of cinema, this February, at the prestigious Berlinale International Film Festival;  Celebrating its 35th anniversary and Black History Month.

 

Mapantsula one of the most important/influential films to ever be produced and exported out of Africa. It was first true anti-apartheid motion picture made and was created evading local authorities and against the wishes of the former now collapsed oppressive Apartheid Government. 

 

It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the South African entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 62nd Academy Awards. Further the film won big at the Munich Film Festival bagging the One Film Prize for Oliver Schmitz and recently the BBC selected the picture in “Foreign-language masterpieces you may not know” “for Twelve amazing lesser-known films from around the world”, where BBC Culture’s foreign-language film poll includes movies from 66 different countries.

 

The film marks a cultural shift in South Africa, as it was made rebelliously, radically and later exhibited in countries around the globe to massive critical acclaim, financial success and political importance as it exposed the brutal and sinister activities of the Aparthied regime.  

 

The film has garnered love and respect from critics, historians, filmmakers and cinephiles alike over the years. The film has long had the reputation of being notoriously difficult to source and impossible to stream, as it was never released to the masses after its successful theatrical exhibitions. Most showings of the film have been in prestigious universities such as Columbia University, where it was examined by students. However, these copies of the film are of poor digital quality (below HD)

 

The film was made guerrilla style in the dangerous political climate in a police state, this was done without compromising quality and with the crafty solution of creating a fake script to dupe the police and government, in order to limit their harassment and suspicions during production.

 

With the film's current cultural relevance, demand from cult fans and the powerful Black Lives Matter movement, raising and surfacing the injustices inflicted on minorities around the world, the time has never been more appropriate to release the film in 4K. 

 

What The Hero Wants is handling world sales, a company formed by the director of Mapantsula, Oliver Schmitz who holds the exclusive rights for the worldwide distribution of the motion picture (EXCLUDING AFRICA)