Bona Magazine has named four South African films that it says help keep the country’s history and culture alive on screen.
The list, put together for Heritage Month, includes Mapantsula, Proteus, The Forgotten Kingdom and Variations on a Theme. The films range from an apartheid era classic to a recent independent drama.
The magazine said music, food and traditional clothing often lead national celebrations. It said cinema is still one of the strongest ways to keep a shared memory of the past.
Mapantsula was co-written by Oliver Schmitz and its lead actor, Thomas Mogotlane. The film follows Panic, a small-time township gangster in Soweto. After security police arrest him, he is pulled into the fight against apartheid.
According to Bona, the film was shot quietly while pretending to be an ordinary crime film. This helped it get past apartheid censors. It showed police detention, township uprisings and racial inequality.
Bona said Mapantsula was the first anti-apartheid feature film told fully from the view of Black South Africans. The film won praise at the Cannes Film Festival.
Proteus is a historical drama set in Cape Town in the 1700s. It was directed by Jack Lewis and John Greyson. The story is based on court records from Robben Island in the 1730s.
The film tells of a relationship that lasted about ten years between Claas Blank, a Khoi man, and Rijkhaart Jacobz, a Dutch sailor. Bona said the film brings back stories that colonial rulers and apartheid historians kept hidden.
The magazine called Proteus an important piece of queer heritage cinema. It said the film looks at how early colonial laws at the Cape controlled love, identity and race.
The Forgotten Kingdom was directed by Andrew Mudge and filmed against the mountains of Lesotho. It follows Atang, a young man living in Johannesburg who has lost his way.
Atang travels back to his family’s home village to bury his father, who he had not been close to. Along the way, he finds his roots, traditions and community again.
Bona said the film shows how cultural identity stays tied to land, family line and stories passed down by word of mouth.
The newest film on the list is Variations on a Theme. It was directed by Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar.
The magazine described it as a quiet, slow film about memory, home life and change in local communities. It said the directors use patient pacing to show small changes in family life across generations.
Bona said the film shows the strength of South African independent cinema. According to the magazine, new filmmakers keep writing and reshaping the country’s heritage story.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Bona Magazine. Image: Bona Magazine. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Entertainment desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Rirhandzu Baloyi writes about entertainment for Tzaneen Voice. Rirhandzu covers South African music, film, TV, streaming, awards and celebrity news, from amapiano and local soapies to Showmax and Netflix releases. Stories stick to what happened, who was involved and when fans can watch or listen.