7 Up in South Africa

7 Up in South Africa (1x1)

Air date: Jan 01, 1992

In 1992 apartheid South Africa we meet 20 lively seven-year-olds who we follow every seven years in times of change. This fascinating documentary SA Up follows 20 South Africans as they navigate their way through childhood to adulthood against a fast-changing political and social landscape. The first episode, 7 Up - shot in 1992, when the documentary's subjects were seven years old - opens with the old South African flag before showing us beautifully shot township scenes. "We have problems, lots and lots of problems," says Lunga, who lives in Durban. "Like what?" asks the interviewer. "Like killing each other," comes the blunt response. In 1992 the war between the ANC and IFP was in full force. One of the scenes is people bathing in plastic basins and it's outrageous to know that, 21 years later, very little has changed for South Africa's poor. It's also fascinating to watch how the white children live and what they're taught - one can only imagine how confusing it becomes for them when democracy arrives and they must learn a new national anthem and a new ideology.