Drum

Drum
Zola Maseko, South Africa, 2004, Color, 94’

This hit film of the new South African cinema is based on a true story and true places. Henry Nxumalo, a successful journalist in 1950’s working in a magazine called Drum published at Johannesburg, is tired of writing an apolitical sports column, so he begins to treat other daily topics with a touch of political criticism. His editor is at the beginning worried about this change, but when these articles become popular, he encourages him. But the situation changes when a hidden intention of the state is discovered. This film beautifully recreates the lively world of music and entertainment of Johannesburg’s African dwellers within the setting and the scenery of the era, while it also intricately depicts one of the most ruthless political regimes that survived until recently.

Grand Prize, FESPACO Film Festival, 2005.