South Africa Celebrates 30 Years of Freedom took centre stage at Tuesday’s Pavillon Afriques opening day of the 77th Festival de Cannes (Cannes International Film Festival) in France.
The project is a joint partnership between Moments Entertainment and the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, featuring a preview of a series of 100 x 10-minute short documentaries.
The series is anchored by legendary actor John Kani and features iconic singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who both dig candidly into their soul-searching life journeys and experiences.
South African filmmakers Firdoze Bulbulia and Faith Isiakpere have attended the festival seven times, including last year when they premiered the highly acclaimed refugee film Homeland: A Song for Refugees.
“This year at Cannes, South Africa celebrates 30 years of freedom and democracy — and it’s important that we remember that our freedom was hard won, hard fought, and that many people died so that we could be free,” said Bulbulia.
“Of course, there are the tremendous challenges that a new South Africa brings with it, the inequality that is pervasive, and the general issues around corruption that we are all concerned with.”
The legacy of apartheid still exists. The dream of Nelson Mandela, of a rainbow nation where all people are respected. All people have opportunities. All people have democracy. And justice still is yet to be achieved. Join me, all my people, white, black, Indian, coloured. Join us as we go this journey, this long walk over the 30 years to our democracy, celebrating our democracy. We do have a story to tell, and we do have reason to celebrate.
— John Kani
“Most of the footage in the documentary film is gathered from our own archives, as our company (Moments Entertainment) is also 30years old. As we’ve filmed with every president in South Africa, we will be presenting never-before-seen footage that tells the story of building a new South Africa, so that we can celebrate 30 years of freedom now.”
“Thirty years after the euphoria and excitement of April 27 1994, sadly, our country and our people are still far apart,” Kani says.
“The legacy of apartheid still exists. The dream of Nelson Mandela, of a rainbow nation where all people are respected. All people have opportunities. All people have democracy. And justice still is yet to be achieved. Join me, all my people, white, black, Indian, coloured. Join us as we go this journey, this long walk over the 30 years to our democracy, celebrating our democracy. We do have a story to tell, and we do have reason to celebrate.”
In the documentary, singer-songwriter and humanitarian Yvonne Chaka Chaka says history must be told.
“We should not run away from it. We should know where we come from,” she said.
“We should know that some of the people that we really love, some of the people we cherished, died for this democracy, died for us to be free, and we need to talk about it.”
Bulbulia will be hosting a spotlight seminar on law and the entertainment industry, as well as children’s content development in film and animation.
She chairs the Children and Broadcasting Foundation for Africa, and in 2007 hosted the Fifth World Summit on Media for Children in South Africa.
“We brought Roy Disney of the Walt Disney Company to South Africa, and also brought 1,000 delegates from around the world and 300 children to this momentous occasion where the Africa Charter on Children’s Broadcasting was a pivotal document that has been signed by every single broadcaster in Africa and in the Commonwealth countries.”
“This year, we will be having the Nelson Mandela Children’s Film Festival between June 16-18 in South Africa. Director Faith Isiakpere will be hosting a master class at Cannes on ‘Who’s Telling Your Story’. We’re always concerned about the African perspective in storytelling, and we’re hoping that this master class will encourage people to dig deeper in terms of their own storytelling and being told from your perspective.
"[The late politician] Govan Mbeki had always said to us, ‘what kind of a people allow their stories to be told by others?’ He encouraged us to tell our own story, and so we’re very excited that we also have a partnership with the Thabo Mbeki Foundation on this series.”
Max Boqwana, CEO of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, is delighted with the partnership.
“This project is a timely and important initiative that will showcase the rich and diverse history, culture and achievements of South Africa and its people in the past three decades since the end of apartheid,” he said in a letter to Isiakpere.
“The project is also of particular interest to the Thabo Mbeki Foundation due to the Thabo Mbeki Presidential Centre (TPMC), which is scheduled to be opened in 2026.
“Anchored in the past, while challenging the status quo of the present to manifest a brighter future, the TPMC will build community by celebrating the multifaceted identity, beauty, and creativity of African peoples and cultures.”
The 77th Cannes International Film Festival will be held from May 14-25, with American actress Meryl Streep as the guest of honour, where she will receive the Festival’s Honorary Palme d’Or, representing the highest achievement in filmmaking.
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