Director Oliver Schmitz worked closely with co-writer and lead actor Thomas Mogotlane, to produce a film under extreme censorship, and by evasion of the authorities, they bravely created a radical and rare anti-apartheid feature film.

Mapantsula tells the story of Panic (Mogotlane), a small-time hood who believes he sees all the angles. But he is soon in the web of the authorities, pushed to betray the revolutionaries fighting for change.

More than a gripping crime story, Mapantsula is an almost miraculous opportunity to understand South Africa from within during its struggle for freedom, centred on the choices offered to Panic by a system set out to dehumanise him. Vital, humane and unvarnished, this is the time to reckon with Mapantsula.

This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director, Oliver Schmitz.

Presented by Cinema Africa! and Maona Art, supported by Independent Cinema Office and What The Hero Wants, and funded by BFI Audience Projects Fund.