7 Up in South Africa

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.

The South Africa 'Up ' series follows the personal journeys of a diverse range of young South Africans who were born into the apartheid era, filming them every seven years as they grew up through the country's dramatic political changes. In 14Up South Africa , we revisit the 20 young people who we first filmed in 1992 when they were seven years old. Now it is 1999, Mandela is at the end of his term as president, and the new non-racial South Africa is finding its feet. It has been just five years since the first non-racial elections and in that time the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has branded apartheid a crime against humanity. In the first part of 14Up South Africa , the young teens look back at their seven-year-old selves, and confront some of their earlier ideas. While at seven they echoed the views of their families and the world around them - including some blatant racism - by 14 they are forming their own views and maturing in their understanding. They talk honestly about their views on relationships, their ideas about sex, as well as the importance of money, or lack thereof, in their lives. They detail their very varied daily lives, their interests and their heroes. A recurring theme is the violence that surrounds them in different ways as well as their identity in the new South Africa. Some of them they have lost parents in the intervening years and have had to deal with great personal grief. And yet, like all 14-year-olds, this is a time to dream too. In the second part of 14Up South Africa, we revisit the 20 young people we first filmed in 1992 when they were seven years old. It is now 1999 and Mandela is nearing the end of his term as president. The first non-racial elections in 1994 brought huge political change to the country but the challenge now is to match this with social and economic transformation. And while in many ways these young 14-year-olds are the 'Mandela generation', with new opportunities in the young de

21 Up South Africa: Mandela's Children is a powerful and engaging documentary that longitudinally chronicles of the lives of 11 South African children. Moving back and forth through time, the film begins with each child at age 7 (filmed in 1992) and revisits them at ages 14 and again at 21; it is fascinating to hear each child share their thoughts, feelings, and family lives, and see what, if any, of their opinions and life circumstances have changed over time. The 11 children, who are Black, White, Colored (of mixed race), Indian and Jewish, have adopted various aspects of Western culture and are living in an Post Apartheid era, one that is also rife with HIV / AIDS. These young adults are insightful and refreshingly normal, dealing with adolescence, love, crime, substance abuse, poverty, working, and unfortunately death, as any young adult would in other parts of the world. The film ends with the promise to visit the remain children in another 7 years, when they are 28 years of age, which should add even more depth and insight to this already intriguing and well done documentary.

Documentary in the traditions of Michael Apted's 7 Up, following the lives of a group of children in South Africa and offering an insight into life in a country that has gone through momentous change. In 1992, when they turned seven, Nelson Mandela had only been out of prison for two years. By the time they were 14, he had become their president and the regime of apartheid had been consigned to history. Chosen from separate communities, the six characters have had starkly differing life experiences. They are black, white, rich and poor and every seven years they have taken viewers into their lives. Luyanda and Andiswa are from a notorious township outside Cape Town, Katlego's life is among the white hipsters of Johannesburg, Lizette lives in a coal-mining town while Olwethu tries to makes the best of the rural area her husband has taken her to live in. Meanwhile, farm boy Willem Alberts has become a household name, playing rugby for his country.