Endorsed by the African National Congressand banned by Botha's government, this South African feature is one of the very few to examine the blackexperience under apartheid from a black man's perspective. Mapantsula was made by a mixed crew inSoweto and Johannesburg with the cooperation of the inhabitants. Shot under the noses of officials bysurreptitiously passing itself off as an apolitical gangster film, the result is a "spirited and defiantstatement against the oppressive regime...The title means 'thief' and the film centers on Panic, a cynical,streetwise con-artist devoted to flashy suits and snappy shoes. Panic lives township life to the full,dancing, drinking, and relieving the occasional businessman of his wallet. But the ghetto's political realitiesgradually impinge on Panic, whose politicization begins in earnest when he is thrown into prison withfreedom fighters who have little regard for his way of life" (filmmakers' program notes). "Mapantsuladoesn't set out to be a political film in the preaching sense. It is a slice of life-a few weeks in the world ofan irresponsible black man who becomes caught up in the political drama almost by accident," saysco-scripter Thomas Mogotlane, who gives a powerful performance as the unsympathetic protagonistconfronted with the true meaning of moral courage. San Francisco International Film Festival '89