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Feature length Docs
Trailer
Strike A Rock is the story of two South African mothers and best-friends, Primrose Sonti and Thumeka Magwangqana. They live in Nkaneng, Marikana, an informal settlement in rural South Africa that sprung up around a mine operated by Lonmin Plc, the third largest platinum-extractor in the world. This company has significant legal obligations to the community that they mine under and around, but does not comply with all their responsibilities.
This community became internationally known after the 2012 Marikana Massacre, when 37 striking mineworkers were killed by police. However, instead of improving, the living conditions that motivated the strike in the first place continue to worsen. And this is what Primrose and Thumeka are fighting against.
These two inspiring women formed a women’s organisation, Sikhala Sonke (We Cry Together), after their friend Paulina was killed by police. Over time we see them grow into two different leaders in the search for social and economic justice. Primrose’s ambition lands her a seat in Parliament with a new, radical opposition party. But to take up the post she must leave Marikana. Thumeka, left behind, faces her fears as she picks up the reigns of the resistance as a community leader, and challenges Lonmin in a landmark Complaint against them. In a deeply personal journey, can these two women take on the goliath composed of high powered enemies that appear to collude against the people of Marikana, and at the same time maintain a friendship that is threatening to break under the weight of this pressure?
Strike a Rock won over twelve local and international awards, including the Amnesty International Award for Human Rights and Best Documentary at multiple festivals around the world. It was broadcast on national TV in South Africa, Germany and the Czech Republic as well as have a Cinema Release at Ster Kinekor. Strike a Rock was nominated for two SAFTAs.
Strike a Rock's Impact Campaign
The Strike a Rock impact team together with Sikhala Sonke Women’s Organisation in Marikana launched a large impact campaign to demand justice and accountability for the community of Marikana by hosting over 60 impact screenings worldwide (including a screening tour of the UK where the women and Aliki picketed outside Lonmin's London head office on the anniversary of the. massacre), and with a community based screening tour to mining affected communities across the country. The film has now been placed in university syllabi around the world. See the impact campaign summary video below for more details.
World Premiere 2021
Trailer
On the edge of light and darkness, this lyrical telling of Reginamary Ndlovu’s story is one about the pain that lurks beneath the surface. A survivor of a lifetime of sexual abuse, this fiercely determined woman with Albinism from Zambia and South Africa, fights everyday to overcome her past and create a present that she is proud of. In addition to having to deal with the dangerous myths surrounding people with Albinism that has kept her life in constant danger, Reginamary starts a self-funded online talk show “My Voice: Albinism The New Era” in order to position people with Albinism within an affirming framework.
Determined to make an impact with her voice, Reginamary prepares for one of her most difficult episodes of her online Talk Show to date, which entails opening up old wounds in an attempt to find healing, support and community in a COVID-19 world. She reflects on the reality of not being able to read or write and attempting multiple suicide attempts, to becoming a motivational speaker and a conqueror of Mount Kilimanjaro. In preparation for the episode, Reginamary speaks to her mother for the first time about the abuse she endured as a child, exploring the intersection of abuse and Albinism. In an attempt to make her own and other voices visible on the world stage, she has to face her demons and self-examine her identities that hide beneath her masks. This is Reginamary’s story, and this is her Voice.
World Premiere at Encounters International Documentary Festival and Durban International Film Festival 2021
Coming Soon (In development)
Pitching at Sheffield MeetMarket and Durban FilmMart 2021
