Three chords, three countries, one revolution…PUNK IN AFRICA is the story of the multi-racial punk movement within the recent political and social upheavals experienced in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In these societies, the punk subculture represented a genuinely radical political impulse, playing out against a backdrop of intense political struggle, economic hardship and even civil war. PUNK IN AFRICA traces this until-now untold story from its roots in the underground rock music of early 1970s Johannesburg, the first multi-racial punk bands formed in the wake of the Soweto Uprising and the militant anti-apartheid hardcore and post-punk bands of the 1980s to the rise of celebratory African-inspired ska bands which sprang up from Cape Town to Maputo in the democratic era of the 1990s. Today, an emerging generation of bands continue to draw on this legacy to confront the political challenges of contemporary Zimbabwe and the uncertain identity issues of the Afrikaans minority in South Africa. Featuring music, interviews and rare and unseen archive footage of Suck, Wild Youth, Safari Suits, Power Age, National Wake, KOOS, Kalahari Surfers, The Genuines, Hog Hoggidy Hog, Fuzigish, Sibling Rivalry, 340ml, Panzer, The Rudimentals, Evicted, Sticky Antlers, Freak, LYT, Jagwa Music, Fruits and Veggies, Swivel Foot and more…
“… bursting with the heyday of the multiracial punk scene … a loving emphasis on the surprising — and often overlooked — role that punk music played in Africa …” — NAT GEO MUSIC
“An interesting if accidental companion piece to recent docu hit ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ … ‘Punk in Africa’ chronicles the more overtly rebellious influence of punk music in that nation (and some neighboring ones) a few years later.” — Variety
“The striking story of a hidden, underground, secret and banned movement. Bands with both black and white musicians broke the law… Rediscover the real punk … PUNK IN AFRICA rocks!” — IFF ROTTERDAM
Synopsis
Three chords, three countries, one revolution … PUNK IN AFRICA is the untold story of the multi-racial punk movement within the recent political and social upheavals experienced in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Director/Producer: Keith Jones, Deon Maas
Producer: Jeffrey Brown
Director of Photography: Gary K Griffin
Editor: Andy Wills
Associate Producer: Bill Botes, David Chislett
