De Kleine Griet

A farm murder shakes a community and family to a standstill, forcing young Faan Venter to return to the place where his beloved grandfather was murdered. His return to the farm reopens old wounds. Faan despairs about his future in South Africa, but answers to his questions about the future come from an unexpected place – from the past, as told by his great-grandmother Katryn.

Tainted Heroes tells the story of how the African National Congress (ANC) – once a marginalised organisation within the South African political landscape – rose to power in the aftermath of the Soweto Uprisings in 1976. The documentary deals with the organisation’s military training received in various African countries as well as the lesser known story of how the ANC underwent strategic training in Vietnam to implement a so-called people’s war strategy against its rival organisations. This was especially implemented against the organisation’s former ally, Inkatha, led by Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. The film explains how the ANC successfully implemented a predetermined programme of violence, fear and propaganda to eliminate political rivals and establish itself as the sole representative of black aspirations in South Africa. It illuminates how the ANC’s armed struggle was more a struggle against black rival organisations than against the apartheid system.