Sarafina

Leleti Khumalo

Whoopi Goldberg

Miriam Makeba

John Kani

Mbongeni Ngema

Based on the play SARAFINA! by

Mbongeni Ngema

Additional Songs by

Hugh Masekela

Produced by

Anant Singh

Directed by

Darrell James Roodt

Synopsis

A young Sarafina, lives with her aunt and uncle in Soweto where she attends school while her mother works as a maid in a white household in Johannesburg.  The two rarely see each other.

Sarafina battles her feelings of abandonment and disappointment with passionate hero-worship of both the imprisoned Nelson Mandela and her rebellious history teacher, Mary Masombuka. Mary encourages the children to be proud of who they are, and to be aware of the political forces that rule their lives. She even helps the pupils put on a play expressing their desire for the eventual release of Mandela.

Sarafina’s classmates get involved in a protest that ends in an arson attack, resulting in the police cracking down hard on the students. As a result, the children boycott white-owned stores, and tensions begin to rise.

Even as Mary reassures Sarafina that she dreams of a free and peaceful South Africa, violence erupts throughout the township. A riot ensues when the police open fire at the school children.  Sarafina faces years of imprisonment and torture for her role in the protest.

Eventually, she is released and reunited with her mother. Finally together, the two women find mutual respect for the very different ways they both struggle against the oppressive forces dominating their lives.