PICTURES: 'Poppie Nongena' premieres in Johannesburg
On Thursday, it was the premiere of the legendary story of 'Poppie Nongena' - and we have the pictures.
ABOUT THE FILM
Poppie Nongena is an Afrikaans/Xhosa South African whose life revolves around her family and finding stability in a period of immense upheaval in South Africa when African women were forced - by arrests, fines, and forced removal - to leave their homes and resettle in remote areas designated as black homelands.
Accommodation is a perpetual struggle; Poppie finds ‘live-in’ jobs, seeing her children briefly at weekends. When her husband, Stone, becomes too ill to maintain his contract work, Poppie is deemed by the law to be an “illegal” resident in her own country. She engages in a desperate struggle with the authorities for permission to stay; moving from house to house, applying for permits, monthly extensions of permits, fortnightly extensions of extensions, appealing through employers and social workers. Her focus is firmly on the well-being and education of her children.
She condemns her husband and daughter’s faith in traditional beliefs, as well as her son’s alliance with the revolution. Caught in the crossfire of her children’s needs, her husband’s illness, community anger and repressive laws, she is finally forced to give in just as the 1976 riots for freedom erupt. Poppie realises that the time has come to hand over the baton to the next generation and to find meaning in their struggle.
READ MORE: 'It's an incredible story about humanity' - Anna-Mart van der Merwe on 'Poppie Nongena'
THE CAST
PICTURES OF THE PREMIERE
In December, legendary actress Anna Mart van der Merwe joined the Scenic Drive to share more about this incredible story.