Sarafina! (film)
Encyclopedia
Sarafina! is a 1992 South Africa
n film starring Leleti Khumalo
, Whoopi Goldberg
, Miriam Makeba
, John Kani
and Tertius Meintjies.
, 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.
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 scene
s of apartheid
-driven violence
. The extended version, released in 1993, was rated R for strong 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.
on 16 June 2006 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprising in Soweto
.
The re-mastered director’s cut is not very different from the original, except for the inclusion of one scene that was cut from the original, between Leleti Khumalo
(Sarafina) and Miriam Makeba
(Sarafina's mother), which includes a musical number Thank You Mama.
n box office receipts, grossing $7,306,242.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n film starring Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo is a Zulu South African actress who played the leading role in the movie Sarafina! alongside Whoopi Goldberg and who starred in the films Hotel Rwanda and Yesterday.-Early life and Sarafina!:...
, Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
, Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
, John Kani
John Kani
Bonsile John Kani is a South African actor, director and playwright.He was born in New Brighton, South Africa.Kani joined The Serpent Players in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.These...
and Tertius Meintjies.
Plot
The plot centers on students involved in the Soweto RiotsSoweto riots
The Soweto Uprising, also known as June 16, was a series of high school student-led protests in South Africa that began on the morning of June 16, 1976. Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto, in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of...
, in opposition to the implementation of Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
as the language of instruction in schools.
The character Sarafina (Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo is a Zulu South African actress who played the leading role in the movie Sarafina! alongside Whoopi Goldberg and who starred in the films Hotel Rwanda and Yesterday.-Early life and Sarafina!:...
) feels shame at her mother's (Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
) acceptance of her role as domestic servant in a white household in apartheid South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and inspires her peers to rise up in protest, especially after her inspirational teacher, Mary Masombuka (Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
) is imprisoned.
Filming
The film was shot on location in SowetoSoweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the MPAA
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
, rated the film PG-13 for scene
Scene (film)
In TV and movies, a scene is generally thought of as the action in a single location and continuous time. Due to the ability to edit recorded visual works, it is typically much shorter than a stage play scene....
s of apartheid
History of South Africa in the apartheid era
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority 'non-white' inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained...
-driven violence
Graphic violence
Graphic violence is the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as literature, film, television, and video games...
. The extended version, released in 1993, was rated R for strong 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
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit is a 1993 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Bill Duke, and released by Touchstone Pictures, it is the sequel to the successful 1992 film Sister Act...
, which Disney was very keen to make since the original had brought in many millions worldwide.
Release
The film was released on September 18, 1992. Sarafina! was re-released in South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on 16 June 2006 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprising in Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
.
The re-mastered director’s cut is not very different from the original, except for the inclusion of one scene that was cut from the original, between Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo is a Zulu South African actress who played the leading role in the movie Sarafina! alongside Whoopi Goldberg and who starred in the films Hotel Rwanda and Yesterday.-Early life and Sarafina!:...
(Sarafina) and Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
(Sarafina's mother), which includes a musical number Thank You Mama.
Box office
Sarafina! was unsuccessful in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n box office receipts, grossing $7,306,242.