South Africa is getting ready for the provincial and national elections and a year that marks 30 years of our democracy.
To commemorate this, Truth Be Told will be aired on SABC 3 at 9pm.
This show will unveil the heartfelt emotions and stories of people who lost loved ones at the hands of the old regime.
Over 20 years ago the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released a report recommending 300 cases to be investigated and if needs be, charges would be laid.
The TRC was established in 1995 to address the crimes of the apartheid era and promote reconciliation through truth-telling. The TRC offered amnesty to those who confessed their involvement in human rights violations and threatened prosecution to those who remained silent.
This moment in South African history has been revisited many times on our television screens but what makes this production stand out is the inclusion of the story of a person who was a child then, who is framed as the main character of this particular docu-series.
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“It was a very moving experience to be given access to the child who is an adult now. How they have tried to navigate their trauma for three to four decades. The common denominator for all the children was the lack of closure and how this all sits on their shoulders. Thousands of these families never got this closure, and many have not been through any sophisticated counselling or anything.
“As we celebrate 30 years of democracy, these uncles, mothers and brothers fought for us to get this democracy and so to be able to do this to honour them was special.”
Enver Samuel is the man at the helm in terms of compiling and directing this series that is aimed at both commemorating and reminding viewers of this national moment of pain that involved many families. Enver has been able to craft a few of these stories into a concise but expansive overview that has six families at the core of the story he says was gruelling to tell.
“It is a close examination of trans-generational trauma which is hard. Families exposed their trauma to me as a filmmaker and even though it is primarily their trauma, you inherit some of it as we are subjected to it for so long as a filmmaker. Seeing it daily for months in edit, it was a pretty harrowing task,” Enver recounts.
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He thinks a closer examination of the horrors of the old regime should be looked at closer, “we’re hoping this series can spark some further actions being taken in certain cases.”
The TRC investigated several cases of brutal killings that occurred during apartheid, but some of them remain unresolved and unpunished. Truth Be Told explores these cases, such as The Phila Portia Ndwandwe story, The Bheki Mlangeni story, The Ntombi Kubheka story and The Topsy Madaka story, and reveals the gaps and contradictions in the official narratives. Truth Be Told challenges the notion of truth and reconciliation and exposes the ongoing injustice and trauma that the victims and their families face.
Catch Truth Be Told on Mondays at 21:00, starting on the 4th of March 2022, on SABC 3.
