Come back, Africa
(DVD) 

Come back, Africa originally released in 1959.

Black roots originally released in 1970.

Restored by the Cineteca di Bologna and the laboratory L'Imagine Ritrovata with the collaboration of Rogosin Heritage and the Anthology Film Archives in 2005. Supported by Fondazione Officina Cinema Sud-Est with the contribution of Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio.

Special features: an introduction by Martin Scorsese; An American in Sophiatown, about the making of Come back, Africa; Lionel Rogosin talks about Come back, Africa; Come back, Africa theatrical trailer; Bitter sweet stories, a documentary on the making of Black roots; Have you seen Drum recently?, a film by Jürgen Schadeberg.

Director, Lionel Rogosin.

Miriam Makeba, Lewis Nkosi, Bloke Modisane, Can Themba.

In 1957, Rogosin travelled to South Africa and created a powerfully, moving drama exposing the harsh reality of life under the system apartheid. Filmed secretly under the noses of the feared South African police, Rogosin, his crew, and cast risked arrest and deportation. Miriam Makeba was banned from her country after travelling to Venice for the movie's premiere. The scenes shot in the vibrant black ghetto of Sophiatown are precious images of a lost world. Rogosin took the fight for equality to his homeland with Black roots, his documentary on African American life. The extraordinary cast, including Reverend Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, attorney and feminist activist Florynce "Flo" Kennedy, musicians Jim Collier, Wende [i.e. Wendy] Smith, Larry Johnson and Reverend Gary Davis, tell stories of heartbreak and despair while their songs blow the roof off the rafters. The film combines tales of oppression with hauntingly beautiful images of the faces of black men, women and children.

Not rated.

DVD, region 0, NTSC, anamorphic.

English, Afrikaans and Zulu with English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SDH).