By Cathy Pound
This breath-taking documentary has been long in the making, has already won 7 awards and will no doubt win more. Ken Keable, himself a London Recruit, felt compelled to document and tell the hidden stories which he did in his book London Recruits: The Secret War against Apartheid published in 2012. When the director, Gordon Main, heard about Ken’s book he felt similarly compelled to put those stories onto the big screen. That it has taken him 10 years to do so is an indication of his dedication to this project and how important he feels it is to tell the story of what he sees as mainly working class solidarity, across international borders to fight against the injustice of South Africa’s apartheid in the late 1960’s and 70’s.
In 1962, the ANC had been crushed with Mandela serving a life sentence and many other leaders in exile. Oliver Tambo, living in London, was tasked with building support for opposition to apartheid outside of South Africa. Tambo was an astute strategist and saw a role above and beyond protests and boycotts of South African goods and banks. His vision was for young White British activists to pose as tourists and travel to South Africa to undertake acts of propaganda. The acts were all peaceful but recruits were warned of the heavy price they would pay if caught and they were crucially all sworn to secrecy. This secrecy was kept by most recruits for the many decades after their missions and until Ken Keable began contacting them and they began to recall the most extraordinary events undertaken by, as they all have said, very ordinary people.
The film is a powerful blend of a small group of the almost 100 recruits recounting their part in a particular mission, alongside some excellent reconstruction of the ambitious and daring mission itself. Main and his co-directors secured a really stellar cast taking on the roles of those recruited by Ronnie Kasrils under the command of Oliver Tambo, alongside an excellent South African cast and crew.
The film is graphic in its depiction of apartheid in action with archive footage and reconstruction again blended to great effect. The bravery of the recruits and South African activists is astounding when faced with vicious beatings and death threats. It is an immensely emotional film which certainly fulfils part of its purpose in making the viewer ask oneself – what would I do, what can I do, in the fight against injustice. It is visually stunning, and both excruciating and exhilarating to watch.
The official premiere was a screening on 21st November 2024 at the Ritzy cinema, in Brixton, with many of the recruits present in the audience and one of the recruits featured in the film part of the post screening Q and A session. There have been many preview screenings of the film at earlier stages of its existence and it is now ready for further community screenings of which there will be many up and down the UK. Interested groups are asked to make contact via the film’s website where you can also see trailers for the film that will undoubtedly make you determined to find a screening. www.londonrecruits.com
if you want o find out about some of the other recruits not featured in the film, you can find many of their testaments and media interviews at the website of original book, The London Recruits. https://londonrecruits.org.uk/
The directors and the recruits want the film to be used for education and as a call to action for the next generation of activists. They want it known that despite the UK government’s support and endorsement of the South African regime at the time, ordinary people were willing to put themselves at risk for what was not obviously ‘their’ fight , to support the South Africans in a struggle which they ultimately won themselves, on their terms. The recruits, for their part, are simply happy to have played a small part, as a catalyst, in rebuilding the underground movement that rose and re-organised and saw the eventual demise of over 40 years of apartheid.
You know what to do: go see the film.
The People’s Release: 21 Nov 2024 to Freedom Day on 27th April 2025.
