The award-winning documentary on the Marikana massacre, Miners Shot Down, will be screened for free at Rhodes on Tuesday 27 May.
The award-winning documentary on the Marikana massacre, Miners Shot Down, will be screened for free at Rhodes on Tuesday 27 May.
In August 2012, mineworkers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages.
Six days later, the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more. From the point of view of the Marikana miners, Miners Shot Down follows the strike from day one, showing the fight waged by a group of low paid workers against the combined forces of mining company, Lonmin, the ANC government and their allies in the National Union of Mineworkers.
What emerges is collusion at the top, spiraling violence and the country’s first post-colonial massacre.
Co-hosted by the Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies, Uhuru (Unit for the Humanities at Rhodes University) and the Neil Aggett Labour Studies Unit, the documentary will be in Grahamstown for one night only.
After the screening, there will be a discussion with the director, Rehad Desai; Lonmin mineworker, Sobopho Sibonile; Jim Nichol, a lawyer representing the families of the miners at the Farlam Commission; Camalita Naicker, a Rhodes Masters student and Ayanda Kota of the Unemployed People's Movement.
The screening will take place next Tuesday, at 6.30pm at Rhodes University's Barratt 2 lecture theatre.
All are invited to attend.
Miners Shot Down is also opening in cinemas throughout the country.
Visit the documentary website here: www.minersshotdown.co.za
You can watch the trailer below:
