WHEN THE WAR IS OVER

François Verster
South Africa 2002 | 52 Min. | BetaSP, OF

Bon­te­heuv­el, a for­lorn town­ship near Capetown. In the 1980s, the set­tle­ment was noto­ri­ous for its mil­i­tant con­fronta­tions in the fight against Apartheid. The youth organ­ised them­selves into the “Bon­te­heuv­el Mil­i­tary Wing”, a guer­ril­la fac­tion of the ANC: And today? How do the free­dom fight­ers live today, after having suc­cess­ful­ly achieved their goal, a free South Africa? Today, Gori is a member of the Army and Marlon is a member of a street gang. How many other ANC free­dom fight­ers have had dif­fi­cul­ty adjust­ing them­selves to their new lives. “Yes, we were at war, but we still had it better then than we do now, now that the coun­try belongs to us. We have wit­nessed too many die, we have felt too much hatred, and we have seen far too much blood.” says Gori. Pover­ty and unem­ploy­ment dom­i­nate the lives of the former free­dom fight­ers in Bon­te­heuv­el. Theft, drug traf­fick­ing, and pros­ti­tu­tion are a part of every­day life. With free­dom talks the enmity between the rival groups was to have been laid to rest. But during the talks, Mar­lon’s sister was found shot. It is sus­pect­ed that she was caught in between the two rival groups. Can true peace take root in Bon­te­heuv­el? This film is a stark, open look into the haunt­ing legacy of Apartheid.