South Africa

Wednesday 9th October, 7:00PM

Cold Case Hammarskjöld + Q&A

Days after its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, The Frontline Club, Doc Society and BBC Storyville invite you to a special screening of this controversial investigation by Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger. Followed by a discussion with the film’s lead investigator and producer Andreas Rocksén.


Monday 11 April 2016, 7:00 PM

Short Film Screening and Discussion: Framing the Future of Water

A panel of professionals from a range of disciplines, including journalists and water experts, will come together for a unique event to talk about one of the biggest challenges facing our planet today – the global water crisis. The future of water isn’t a simple topic – it is vast and can often be overwhelming. During the discussion we will explore how this topic can be made accessible through the power of storytelling and film.


July 17, 2015

Marikana: Politics, Power and Platinum

By Amy McConaghy On 16 August 2012, South African police shot and killed 34 striking miners from the Marikana platinum mine owned by Lonmin. They were on strike for a living wage, trapped in a life of desperate poverty. With the Marikana Commission having recently released their report into what happened, the Frontline Club hosted a two-part event […]


Thursday 16 July 2015, 7:00 PM

South Africa: Politics, Power and Platinum

On 16 August 2012, South African police opened fire on a large crowd of men who were on strike from the Marikana platinum mine. The police action resulted in 112 people being shot and 34 killed. Nearly three years on from the massacre and as the Marikana Commission are due to publish their inquiry into what happened, we will be holding a special event in two parts to explore politics, power and platinum in South Africa.


Friday 21 November 2014, 7:00 PM

Preview Screening: Concerning Violence + Q&A

Based on Frantz Fanon’s landmark 1961 book, The Wretched of the Earth, Concerning Violence explores the mechanisms of decolonisation. It is a bold and fresh visual narrative on Africa, told through newly discovered archive material of the struggle for liberation from colonial rule in the late ‘60s and ‘70s. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Göran Hugo Olsson.


Thursday 5 June 2014, 7:00 PM

Preview Screening: Miners Shot Down + Q&A

In August 2012, mine workers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a strike for better wages. This peaceful demonstration was brought down violently by an intervention from state police forces, killing 34 miners and injuring many more. Miners Shot Down reconstructs what happened in Marikana and the aftermath, through testimonies and previously unseen police, security and TV footage. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Rehad Desai moderated by journalist and filmmaker Inigo Gilmore.


Wednesday 26 February 2014, 7:00 PM

South Africa after Nelson Mandela

As the ceremonies to mark the passing of Nelson Mandela come to a close and South Africa prepares for a national election, we will be bringing together a panel to look at the political future of the country.

With wide-spread corruption, unemployment rising and slow economic growth under the ANC, who will the people of South Africa turn to in 2014? The ANC is still the dominant political force but without change will this still be the case following another term? We will be looking at the political make-up of the country, where the divisions lie and how these might develop.


Wednesday 12 February 2014, 7:00 PM

In the Picture: Tales from the City of Gold

Jason Larkin will present photographs from his new book Tales From The City Of Gold, which combines his observations of the ordinary and extraordinary nature of life alongside the mountains of dumped toxic waste produced during Johannesburg’s gold-mining heyday.


Monday 25 November 2013, 6.30 PM - 9.30 PM

Preview Screening: Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom + Q&A

An epic film version of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, tells the story from his childhood in a rural village to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa. Starring Idris Elba and Naomie Harris, it tells story of an ordinary man who rose to the challenge of his times and triumphed – an intimate portrait of the making of a modern icon. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Bill Nicholson chaired by the BBC’s Audrey Brown.


May 21, 2013

Orania is not for sissies!

By Pete Ford Director Tobias Lindner brought his fascinating documentary Orania to a packed Frontline Club on Monday 20 May. Described as “a remote village in the barren centre of South Africa – an ‘intentional community’ where only white Afrikans people live”, Orania is relatively unknown globally. But Lindner, a German who has spent long enough […]


Monday 20 May 2013, 7:00 PM

Screening: Orania + Q&A

The white Afrikaans inhabitants of Orania in South Africa’s Northern Cape province refuse to be part of the “Rainbow Nation”. Director Tobias Lindner carefully observes this culturally homogeneous society situated in the middle of a multicultural country, and explores the mechanisms behind the societal experiment. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Tobias Linder.


February 4, 2013

Around the world in five short films

By Anna Reitman Shorts at the Frontline Club on 1 February showcased five documentaries that highlight different ways of telling non-fictional stories. Four of the filmmakers were on hand to discuss the themes and process behind their work. The first film of the evening, Afghanistan: The forgotten war, was shot by Vaughan Smith, who spent […]


Friday 1 February 2013, 7:00 PM

Screening: Shorts at the Frontline Club

Join us for an evening of short documentaries from different parts of the world covering a wide range of topics. Shorts at the Frontline Club showcases moving, striking and funny films exploring the different faces of documentary.


November 29, 2012

Albino killings in Tanzania: Harry Freeland’s ‘In the Shadow of the Sun’

By Jim Treadway We don’t choose the colour of our skin, or the place where we are born. But for people with albinism in Tanzania, their appearance has made them a hunted, sub-human species. “We are killed. We are dismembered,” says Josephat Torner, one of the albino subjects in Harry Freeland’s documentary, In the Shadow […]


October 17, 2012 7:00 PM

What does the Marikana massacre mean for South Africa?

The Marikana miners’ strike in South Africa which resulted in the shooting dead of 34 workers by police is becoming a pivotal moment in South Africa’s post-apartheid history. We will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the root causes in society and politics in South Africa that lead to the Marikana massacre.


December 23, 2011

Special ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events until 8 January 2012

A special round up of world events from Monday, 26 December to Sunday, 8 January 2012 from ForesightNews   By Nicole Hunt     Here’s a special two-week roundup of big international events planned over the holiday period. While we can’t predict tsunamis, terrorist attacks, or sudden political change, we can give you a heads up […]


October 13, 2011

ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 17 – 23 October

A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 16 to Sunday, 23 October from ForesightNews By Nicole Hunt   The UN Human Rights Committee session opens on Monday in Geneva, with the situation in Iran on the agenda for the first two days. Meanwhile, Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator […]


August 4, 2011

ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 8-14 August

A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 8 August to Sunday, 14 August from ForesightNews Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav is back in court in Jerusalem on Monday, appealing his April conviction and seven year sentence for indecent assault and sexual harassment of two female employees. In Dharamsala, Lobsang Sangay is sworn in as the […]


May 7, 2009

Live tonight – Jacob Zuma and the future of South Africa

  Tonight at the Frontline Club we discuss the rise of Jacob Zuma and the future of South Africa and the ANC. We’ll be starting at 7pm, Thurs May 7 and as usual if you can’t make it to the club in person you can join us online on the Frontline Club live channel, on […]