This Is National Wake

Employing a rich trove of archive film, Mirissa Neff explores the history of South Africa’s outlaw multi-racial rock group, who formed at the height of Apartheid. National Wake emerged in the late 1970s with anti-establishment ideals and a punk rock sound that won them a massive following within Johannesburg’s underground club scene.

Their first and only record was banned by the country’s racist legal system and within a few years the group had disbanded. The two black members, brothers Punka and Gary Khoza, subsequently died tragically young. Eschewing talking heads for a dazzling audio-visual archive, including some great Super-8 footage, debut director Neff has forged a visceral portrait of a dissident group who were dedicated to the fight for racial freedom – a punk legacy that lives on through the band’s legend and its fans.