The Cradock Four

A South African Documentary

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Frame !ndependent presents the seminal South African Documentary The Cradock Four by award winning director David Forbes, for the very first time in the UK.

Set in the late ‘80s in Cradock, a small rural town in South Africa, the film reconstructs the story of one of Apartheid’s murkiest and most controversial episodes: The targeted killing of four leading figures of Eastern Cape anti-Apartheid resistance Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli. Using compelling archive, interviews and dramatic recreations, the film reveals the oppressive climate of the sombre racist regime in the seventies and early eighties and the fight for liberation. The assassinations signalled the “Beginning of the End” of the racist Apartheid regime. Within five years Nelson Mandela would walk free, and later lead the country to liberation in 1994.

“The death of these gallant freedom fighters marked a turning point in the history of our Struggle. No longer could the regime govern in the old way. They were the true heroes of the struggle.”
Nelson Mandela

The film's style incorporates interviews, archive footage, dramatic recreations and lyrical visuals woven tightly together to produce a chilling story that moves with pace. Powerful high contrast visuals, often set at night, create a real sense of the menace of Apartheid and the power arraigned against the protagonists.

UPDATE: Just a few days ago, Gerhard Lotz a former Port Elizabeth security policeman, who confessed his involvement in the assassinations of the Cradock Four freedom fighters, committed suicide leaving the families of the activists without closure. his pivotal role in one of Apartheid’s most controversial episodes 31 years ago, is revisited in David Forbes’ lauded documentary.