Why would there be not a single piece of archive, not even a single surving recording of a man who was once one of the most watched, most recorded, most vocal, most feared, most revered, most visionary, the most popular political prisoner in the world before Nelson Mandela?
SOBUKWE - A GREAT SOUL is the story of a giant, an unusually extraordinary human being, a global visionary, teacher, political leader of note. He was a philosopher, spiritualist, dedicated father and husband. He was a “true Prince” as one observer described him, “our own Moses”, another asserted, a true Liberator for whom humans came first, irrespective of their origins.
This docudrama explores why, for a figure who became an international icon, with endless visits from the who’s who of his time and whose passing led to a special session at the UN, has not been acknowledged and celebrated in his own country outside his own political party.
Sobukwe was once the most renowned political detainee in the world and prisoner number 1 on Robben Island and the only man kept in solitary confinement for six solid years as a result of his leading role in the anti-pass campaign which led to the Sharpville and Langa massacres in 1960. In spite of this, he has been largely forgotten by the world and most of his countrymen. There are no monuments or streets named after him by a post-apartheid democratic government which owes him such honour.
Also known for leading the first radical breakaway from the African National Congress to form the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania, Sobukwe came to international prominence at a time the apartheid regime had become even more repressive and brutal.
This film, then, becomes the first monument in Sobukwe’s name, with memorable lessons in total commitment, sacrifice, integrity, moral uprightness, total fearlessness and true leadership in a world crying out for real leaders.
We explore how humanity lost a GREAT SOUL in Sobukwe, a man of peace and true commitment, whose life gives us an opportunity to look at what it really means to see oneself as a true human, a liberator of self and of all humans in general. The film seeks to restore the VOICE of Sobukwe, more relevant than ever before.
