German Premiere: “Accused # 1: Nelson Mandela” (English Original) Sunday, 29 September 2013 at 17h00, Hackesche Höfe Kino, Berlin

On the occasion of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of one of the politically most significant trials – the Rivonia Trial -, AfricAvenir and Iwalewa House Bayreuth invite you to the German Premiere of the documentary film „Accused # 1: Nelson Mandela“ (English Original Version) by Pascale Lamche on Sunday, 29 September 2013 at 17h00. Between October 1963 and June 1964, key leaders of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military arm of the African National Congress (ANC) as well as members of the South African Communist Party (SACP) were tried for Sabotage, attempted overthrow of the Apartheid regime and communist activities, among them Nelson Mandela („Accused # 1“), Walter Sisulu („Accused # 2“), Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Denis Goldberg and Lionel Bernstein. The defence of the nine accused was led by Bram Fischer.

On 20 April 1964, the last day of the audition before the rendition of the judgement, the accused had the right to speak, which is when Mandela delivered his famous speech „I am Prepared to Die“ from which stems the folowing statement:

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

„The most brilliant film of the year"  London’s Telegraph

A discussion with Dr Ben Khumalo-Seegelken as well as a small reception in the foyer will follow the screening.

Supported by Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation and in cooperation with the Club of Friends Freunden of RFI, Berlin Poche, rendez-vous-cine.de, Sunugaal, Exberliner, multicult.fm, Embassy of the Republic of South Africa, Jozi.tv and Iwalewa-House Bayreuth.nSynopsis
In June 1964, following one of the most significant political trials of the 20th Century, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki (father of former President Thabo Mbeki) and four others were sentenced to life imprisonment for planning the overthrow of the Apartheid Government by military means. This acclaimed documentary recounts the untold story of the Rivonia Trial and features exclusive interviews with Nelson Mandela and all the surviving co-accused along with fascinating testimony from their defence lawyers and from members of the prosecution, intelligence services and defence forces of Apartheid South Africa.n

Producer: Peter Makurube
Peter Makurube is journalist and writer, as well as producer of documentaries and feature films. His works spans over decades; his contributions to a critical assessment of South African state/s of the art as well as his positions on the arts and popular culture but particularly in the realm of jazz are invaluable. Makurube has supported generations of young South African artists, also as the initiator and mind behind the spoken word series “Monday Blues” which has been the stepping stone for the finest South African poets and artists. Currently, he is working on two highly expected book projects; one about the history of jazz in South Africa, as well as on an alternative Afrika-focused biography of Trevor Huddleston, the British priest and fierce opponent to Apartheid living in Sophiatown.

Director : Pascal Lamche
Pascale Lamche entered the television industry in 1982, producing documentaries and working on the production of low-budget feature films for UK’s Channel Four. In 1988, she set up the European Union’s European Script Fund, the first major initiative for the development of scripts in Europe. She moved to Paris in 1990, launching a venture for international packaging and co-productions backed by partners Miramax and the British literary and talent agency, Peters, Fraser and Dunlop. She subsequently became Director of International Co-productions at Cameras Continentales, a leading French production company. By 1996 she returned to documentaries, producing a number of high-profile and films which include : ‘Albert Camus: the madness of sincerity’ a 90 minute documentary feature on the life, literature and loves of the French literary giant, ‘Undressed: Fashion in the 20th century’ a major four part series and a 90′ feature, on the history of fashion, ‘In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin’ a 2 x 60′ documentary feature on the life and work of the charismatic and contradictory author,  ‘Waiting for Harvey’ a 90′ comic documentary feature about ambition and filmmaking at the high alter of the film business, ‘I was a slave labourer’ a 75′ documentary about one man’s struggle taking on major multinational corporations and the German government in a bid to set the record straight, ‘Fashion Victim : The Killing of Gianni Versace’, a 90′ documentary uncovering our culture’s obsession with celebrity and drawing parallels between the lives and aspirations of fashion’s last emperor and his murderer. On South African topics, particularly “Life and Death in Soweto”, filmed over seven years, this documentary tells the moving story of one family in Soweto – the mother runs a shebeen, the father is a jazz musician, the son takes his place amongst a new generation of black businessmen. “Sophiatown” in 2013, an honouring of the pluricultural suburb of aesthetic resistance destroyed by Apartheid forces – an undertaking of daunting complexity and great ambition. Pascale Lamche lives in London and Johannesburg.

Accused #1: Nelson Mandela
Pascale Lamche, GB / ZA, 2004, 52 min.

Sunday, 29 September  2013
17h00
Tickets: 7,50 €

Tickets & Reservations:
030/ 283 4603

Hackesche Höfe Kino
Rosenthalerstr. 40/41
10187 Berlin
S Hackescher Markt
U Weinmeisterstraße

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