Special Screenings of: Mapanstula (New 4k Restoration)

For years The Cult Classic MAPANTSULA has been taught in various universities around the globe including COLUMBIA NY, Cambridge and UCLA, however in poor SD quality in the wrong aspect ratio... Now in 2023, it's 4K restoration had it’s world premiere at the Berlinale in its classics section, among a very prestigious selection of films.

The Cult-Classic MAPANTSULA was the first true anti-apartheid film made, and was banned across South African Screens and made evading authorities - It was screened in 1988 at the Cannes Film Festival and opened to massive critical acclaim and was praised for raising awareness of the South African Struggle and it’s artistic value.

The Bioscope is proud to screen this special restoration. You have only 3 chances to catch it at us, so don't delay folks!

SEE OTHER SCREENINGS HERE.

Directed by: Oliver Schmitz. Crime Drama. Dur: 1hr 40mins.

During demonstrations in apartheid-era South Africa, police arrest not only activists but also Panic, a “mapantsula” or petty gangster. While a cop tries to get him to make incriminating statements, we learn in flashbacks how Panic got caught up in the township riots. Panic is only interested in partying, alcohol, and his girlfriend Pat, and stays away from the protests against exorbitant rents. But then Pat, who loses her job as a house maid because of him, cuts Panic loose, and his landlady’s son is taken away by the police ... During the state of emergency imposed in South Africa in 1985, Mapantsula could only be made after a “bowdlerised” screenplay was submitted to the authorities. Grassroots opposition had reached a climax when the film was released and then promptly banned. Within a matter-of-fact crime story, it examines racial discrimination and day-to-day acts of resistance to the regime.