COME BACK, AFRICA
Scen.: Lionel Rogosin, Bloke Modisane, Lewis Nkosi; F.: Ernest Artaria, Emil Knebel; M.: Carl Lerner; Mu.: Chatur Lal; Su.: Walter Wettler; Int.: Zacharia Mgabi, Vinah Bendile, Miriam Makeba, Arnold, Aunty, Dube-Dube, George Malebye, Marumu, Morris Hugh, Hazel Futa, Lewis Nkosi, Bloke Modisane, Can Themba, Myrtle Berman; Prod.: Lionel Rogosin per Lionel Rogosin Films 35mm. L.: 2416 m. D.: 89’. Bn.
Film Notes
In producing Come Back, Africa, I knew I would have to make one of two conflicting decisions. Either show the real situation in South Africa, which the authorities obviously did not want to want to be shown, or strive for the highest esthetic and technical quality possible.
I concluded that a portrayal of the true situation was of greater importance. Consequently, it was necessary to work in secrecy, a procedure that was bound to cause many painful concessions inasmuch as undercover operations are not all suited to the fine polishing required to achieve a technically flawless work. I had,
however, made up my mind that this was to be a film concerned essentially with human conditions as they exist in the Union of South Africa under the ruthless policy of the present regime. That alone would be an objective worth aiming at.
Lionel Rogosin, Film Culture, Summer 1960
The restoration has been requested by Lionel Rogosin’s heirs and promoted by Fondazione Officina Cinema Sud Est and supported by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna and Fabrica. All the restoration works have been carried out by Cineteca del Comune di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in 2004 based on a fine grain and an original dupe negative held by the Anthology Film Archive in New York and the British Film Institute’s National Film and Television Archive