Many film documentaries record the emergence of a work or the evolution of a filmmaker, but in terms of surprise and gripping political interest few can equal or resemble An American in Sophiatown. Interspersed with clips from the original film Come Back Africa, the late Lionel Rogosin, aided by those who participated in the making of the film, tells the story of how he penetrated the sealed township of Sophiatown, Johannesburg during the iron rule of the apartheid regime. In what sometimes develops like a political thriller, he tells how he fooled the regime into believing he was shooting a harmless travelogue only to emerge with one of the most damning portrayals of living under the oppression of a police state.

Lewis Nkosis

You can find notices about the film and activities of Rogosin Heritage at www.lionelrogosin.com