‘Sarafina!’ selected for 2023 Cannes Classics

Sarafina! has been selected for the 76th edition of the Cannes Film da Festival in France three decades after the show was created.

The festival  announced Sarafina! for the 2023 Official Selection — Cannes Classics. 

The 1992 musical drama makes its return at the festival which starts on May 16 and runs until May 27. 

In a statement shared with TshisaLIVE  The Cannes Classics was explained as a “section that recognises films which are deemed to be works of quality which have contributed to the evolution of motion picture arts and encouraged the development of the film industry throughout the world”.

Sarafina! stars Leleti Khumalo, academy award winner, Whoopi Goldberg, Miriam Makeba, Mbongeni Ngema, John Kani and Somizi Mhlongo with the screenplay by Mbongeni Ngema and William Nicholson. 

The film was produced by Anant Singh and directed by Darrell James Roodt.

“Keep talking to the children because they are going to fix it, they are going to make it happen, they are going to make change happen,” commented Whoopi Goldberg commented on the relevance of Sarafina! in today’s world.

Leleti said, “It is so exciting to be going back to the Cannes Film Festival.  In 1992 we had a 20-minute standing ovation. What an amazing experience it was. I look forward to reliving that moment this year.” 

Anant said: “It is exciting to be returning to the Cannes Film Festival with Sarafina! after 30 years.  Being selected for Cannes Classics is a rare and coveted recognition.  We are privileged and thrilled that Sarafina! has notched up another first by becoming the first South African film to be selected twice by the Cannes Film Festival, the most prestigious festival in the world. The world premiere in 1992 sparked a renaissance of the South African film industry. Sarafina!'s return to Cannes celebrates the timelessness of our stories and I hope this will motivate a new generation of filmmakers.”