| Director: | Mandla Dube |
| Starring: |
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| Music: | Rashid Lanie |
| Cinematography: | Shaun Harley Lee |
| Studio: | Pambili Media |
| Distributor: | Netflix |
| Runtime: | 100 minutes |
| Country: | South Africa |
Silverton Siege is a South African film directed by Mandla Dube. It is based on the real life siege that took place in Silverton, Pretoria in 1980. The film was released internationally on Netflix on 27 April 2022.[1]
Calvin Khumalo, Terra Mabunda and Aldo Erasmus are anti-apartheid freedom fighters, part of Umkhonto WeSizwe whose power plant sabotage mission in the capital's suburb of Silverton is thwarted as local police were tipped off.
Forced to abort the mission, they flee into Silverton. They end up on foot when Terra's partner Masego and the van's tires are shot. Going through the sewage tunnels, they resurface via a manhole. Spotted by the police, they duck into a central bank.
Khumalo addresses the bank clients and employees, explaining they are not robbing it and asking they cooperate calmly so no one gets hurt. The bank supervisor Christine shows to be both helpful and sympathetic.
Captain Langerman names the three fully, enforcing their suspicions of a mole. They request a helicopter and unarmed pilot, and mention one of the bank customers is American. However, at the last moment they choose a tall white Boer instead, as the American is also black.
Realising it is too easy, Aldo hesitates. The pilot pulls out a concealed gun, they disarm him and everyone goes back inside the bank. Destroying the wire under his clothes, Calvin sees a black white supremacist tattoo.
'Little Crocodile' arrives to take over operational command headed by the Brigadier. They were called because Christine is the Justice Minister's daughter.
Realising that it is likely their last chance to make an impact, Calvin decides to start a movement. He demands Nelson Mandela be officially pardoned and released. They have the American boxing promoter light a huge cart of money for the cameras and Calvin starts the chant 'free Nelson Mandela'.
When Aldo accompanies the pilot to the toilets, he is threatened to be exposed as the mole. He stabs him dead, then whacks his own head on a sink to make it look like self-defense. Calvin finds them on the floor, and they both hide the pilot's body so his death is not detected.
The racist Boer Johan pulls out a hidden gun, threatening to overturn the freedom fighters. Terra gets shot in the arm. When the revolver is empty, Calvin cuffs Johan. He reminds his colleagues about no civilian casualties. Christine bandages Terra's gunshot wound, and tells Calvin she did not leave when she could because she wants to help.
The mulatto woman disappears out back. Having discovered the pilot's body, she confronts Calvin. He explains it happened in self-defense, then they talk about race. Calvin sees she is black trying to pass for white. She talks about the difficulties she has had, they both diffuse and return to the group.
After they burn another heap of money, the Captain hands Calvin a letter supposedly pardoning Mandela. In exchange he asks to visit the hostages. Seeing Christine, he encourages her to leave, but she again refuses. When the captain tells Terra his name is Langerman, she shoots Aldo dead. He is the only one of the three who knew his name.
Both mourn the loss of their comrade, Terra over his lifeless body, Calvin in the toilets. Christine follows him in, and he is in despair. She explains she was raised by a black nanny as her mom died young. Christine learned to be prejudice free and, observing her racist controlling father, decides to not become like him.
After Christine's second refusal to leave, the Brigadier is authorised to send in the SWAT team. Before they can, she calls out for Mandela's release, and a sniper shoots her. She succumbs to her wound, then the mulatto woman removes her blond wig. She hugs Terra in solidarity and she has another conversation with Calvin. She was given up for adoption by her mother to her white employers, where she was loved but never understood. Calvin's parents were shot dead when he was small, so has dedicated his life to avenging them.
Calvin receives a call about the impending SWAT team raid, but tells everyone that Mandela will be free and they let out the hostages. Calvin and Terra hold their own against the first SWAT team attack, and go down with their guns blazing.
The Silverton Siege sparked the 'Free Nelson Mandela' campaign which finally achieved his release 10 years later. Mandela became the first black South African president.
The film had officially been in development for two years as of 2019. Upon reading about the real life Silverton Siege of 1980, Dube became inspired and began developing a script with fellow American Film Institute alumnus Sechaba Morojele as editor. Dube said the film would be about 60% factual, and that they would use creative license for the rest, wanting to make it "an entertaining story, not a documentary". Principal photography took place on location in Pretoria. Production received funding from the National Film & Video Foundation.[2]
The cast was announced alongside the release date announcement in March 2022; Thabo Rametsi, Noxolo Dlamini, and Stefan Erasmus would star as the Silverton trio alongside Arnold Vosloo, Tumisho Masha, Michelle Mosalakae, and Elani Dekker.[3]
On review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10.[4]
According to African Folder, one of the film's strengths is the performances of its three leads, Calvin, Aldo, and Terra. The actors give their characters depth and nuance, making them feel like real people with complex motivations and emotions. Their performances are especially noteworthy during the tense standoff at the national bank, where they convey their characters' fear, desperation, and determination with intensity and authenticity.[5]