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Villon Films
Nelson Mandela: Prisoner to President 1986
This is the story of the life of the pre-eminent figures of the twentieth century, Nelson Mandela, up until his release after 27 years of prison. It takes us from boyhood with roots firmly embedded in the soil of Africa, through his political training with the African National Congress into the years of repression. Deeply involved with all the great anti-apartheid activities – the Defiance Campaign, the Freedom Charter, the Treason Trial, boycotts and strikes – Mandela was finally betrayed and sentenced to life imprisonment.
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Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt 1986
At its peak, one million New York Jews spent their summers in the Borscht Belt, the birthplace of Jewish-American iconoclastic humor. This film shows how these Catskills communities were run by women, and how class divisions were reflected in the resort hotels: upwardly-mobile hotel guests were entertained by a who's-who of talent, while in the bungalows, do-it-yourself burlesque and vaudeville reigned among the blue-collar families. This film is happy, humane, ironic, and, finally, bittersweet, as we see that today's Jews no longer share the tastes or aspirations of their parents.
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South Africa: The White Laager 1977
Explores the history of the Afrikaners and Afrikaner nationalism, and the development of apartheid and its relevance to South Africa's political situation today.
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Winnie Mandela: Under Apartheid Release date not available
During the more than a quarter of a century that her husband spent in jail, Winnie Mandela was persecuted by the white authorities, first to put pressure on her husband, and then because she developed as a leader in her own right. Under enormous constraints, Winnie Mandela slowly developed a heroic public relations campaign that kept Nelson's image alive, and the attention of the world on South Africa.
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