Cinema
How Long?
Gibson Kente · 1976
Synopsis
Its author drew it from a musical show that had filled the township halls before being banned. It follows Khulu, a grandmother whose family is scattered by a hostile local policeman. The narrative, melodramatic in tone, mixes humour and music with the family's trials, and alternates acted scenes with the songs and dances typical of Kente theatre.
Context
Britannica regards this film as the first major South African film directed by a Black artist. To escape the censorship board, the shoot was moved to King William's Town, and Kente was arrested on the last day of shooting, then detained until 1977. Long kept in the national film archives, the negative has been restored, and the film was shown to the public at the Bioscope in Johannesburg in April 2026.
Who it is for
A musical film of about 1 h 23, long unseen; its restoration makes it possible to see a Kente stage show brought to the screen by Kente himself.
Prizes and reception
Banned, the film was not released in the country and was shown to the public only after its restoration, more than forty years after it was shot.
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