Sarafina! (film)
| Sarafina! | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Darrell Roodt |
| Written by |
Mbongeni Ngema William Nicholson |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Mbongeni Ngema Stanley Myers Hugh Masekela |
| Cinematography | Mark Vicente |
| Edited by | David Heitner |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
Buena Vista Pictures (US) Warner Bros. (UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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117 minutes |
| Country | United States South Africa |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $7,306,242 |
Sarafina! is a 1992 South African film starring Leleti Khumalo, Whoopi Goldberg, Miriam Makeba, John Kani and Tertius Meintjies.
The plot centres on students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to the implementation of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools. The character Sarafina (Leleti Khumalo) feels shame at her mother's (Miriam Makeba) acceptance of her role as domestic servant in a white household in apartheid South Africa, and inspires her peers to rise up in protest, especially after her inspirational teacher, Mary Masombuka (Whoopi Goldberg) is imprisoned. In the opening scene, Sarafina (Leleti Khumalo) is seen talking while staring at Nelson Mandela's picture, the time the South African icon was still imprisoned. In the latter scene Sarafina is again talking while staring at Mandela's picture on the wall, criticizing him for being gone for a long time and not responding to the nation's pleas, idolising him as someone who can change the horrific situation that the Black nation of South Africa is in.
The film was shot on location in Soweto and Johannesburg, South Africa. Darrell Roodt directed, with the script by Mbongeni Ngema and William Nicholson. Leleti Khumalo reprised her role as Sarafina, with Whoopi Goldberg as Mary Masombuka and Miriam Makeba as Angelina. Companies involved included the British Broadcasting Corporation. In the United States, the MPAA, rated the film PG-13 for scenes of apartheid-driven violence. The extended version, released in 1993, was rated R for scenes of violence. For Whoopi Goldberg, this was a project she was determined to be a part of, and convinced the executives at Disney that if they agreed to make this film, she would agree to reprise her role as Dolores Van Cartier in Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit, which Disney was very keen to make since the original had brought in many millions worldwide.
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