Sarafina!

"She was their teacher. They were her hope."

Sep 25 1992 PG-13 1h 57m
Drama, Musical

The plot centers on students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to the implementation of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools. The stage version presents a school uprising similar to the Soweto uprising on June 16, 1976. A narrator introduces several characters among them the school girl activist Sarafina. Things get out of control when a policeman shoots several pupils in a classroom. Nevertheless, the musical ends with a cheerful farewell show of pupils leaving school, which takes most of act two. In the movie version Sarafina feels shame at her mother's (played by Miriam Makeba in the film) 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 (played by Whoopi Goldberg in the film version) is imprisoned.

Plot

As tensions of apartheid spread across South Africa, many students revolts to massive stone throw, a demonstration that comes in a wake of the introduction of Afrikaans language as a means of teaching. This sparks riots among school age young people who have resolved to do what it takes for freedom to come tomorrow. In a township of Soweto, a group of students, led by a beautiful and intelligent young girl, Sarafina, mastermind a plot to rise against the apartheid regime by vehemently rejecting the proposal to have Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. This angers the white people and results in a massive unrest of the students and those others supporting them. Meanwhile, Sarafina's mother accepts a job of a housekeeper in a white household and it angers Sarafina. Following the unrest of students and their possible torture and trial, Sarafina is released from prison, reunites with some of the colleagues and composes a "Freedom is Coming Tomorrow" song.

Written by

Mbongeni Ngema, William Nicholson

Directed by

Darrell Roodt

Cast

Whoopi Goldberg, Leleti Khumalo, Miriam Makeba

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

France, United States of America, South Africa, United Kingdom

Production Companies

Videovision Entertainment, Vanguard Productions, Les Films Ariane, Ideal, Distant Horizon, Hollywood Pictures, Vanguard Films, Miramax, BBC

Languages

isiZulu, English

Awards

3 nominations

Trailers
Sarafina
Sarafina Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
2,440
Average Rating
6.3 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA