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IMDbPro

Sarafina!

  • 1992
  • PG-13
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
Sarafina! (1992)
Trailer for Sarafina!
Play trailer2:06
1 Video
28 Photos
DramaMusical

South African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.South African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.South African teenagers fight against apartheid in the Soweto Uprising.

  • Director
    • Darrell Roodt
  • Writers
    • Mbongeni Ngema
    • William Nicholson
  • Stars
    • Whoopi Goldberg
    • Leleti Khumalo
    • Miriam Makeba
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    2.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Darrell Roodt
    • Writers
      • Mbongeni Ngema
      • William Nicholson
    • Stars
      • Whoopi Goldberg
      • Leleti Khumalo
      • Miriam Makeba
    • 23User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Sarafina!
    Trailer 2:06
    Watch Sarafina!

    Photos28

    Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo in Sarafina! (1992)
    Leleti Khumalo in Sarafina! (1992)
    Whoopi Goldberg in Sarafina! (1992)
    Whoopi Goldberg in Sarafina! (1992)
    Sarafina! (1992)
    Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo in Sarafina! (1992)
    Sarafina! (1992)
    Sarafina! (1992)
    Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo in Sarafina! (1992)
    Sarafina! (1992)
    Sarafina! (1992)
    Whoopi Goldberg in Sarafina! (1992)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Whoopi Goldberg
    Whoopi Goldberg
    • Mary Masembuko
    Leleti Khumalo
    Leleti Khumalo
    • Sarafina
    Miriam Makeba
    Miriam Makeba
    • Angelina
    John Kani
    John Kani
    • School Principal
    Dumisani Dlamini
    • Crocodile
    Mbongeni Ngema
    Mbongeni Ngema
    • Sabela
    Sipho Kunene
    • Guitar
    Tertius Meintjes
    • Lieutenant Bloem
    Robert Whitehead
    Robert Whitehead
    • Interrogator
    Somizi Mhlongo
    Somizi Mhlongo
    • Fire
    • (as Somizi 'Whacko' Mhlongo)
    Nhlanhla Ngema
    • Stimela
    Faca Khulu
    • Eddie
    • (as Faca Kulu)
    Wendy Mseleku
    • China
    Mary Twala
    Mary Twala
    • Sarafina's Grandmother
    James Mthoba
    • Sarafina's Uncle
    Greg Latter
    Greg Latter
    • Policeman
    Gideon De Wet
    • Policeman
    Nicky Rebelo
    Nicky Rebelo
    • Soldier
    • Director
      • Darrell Roodt
    • Writers
      • Mbongeni Ngema
      • William Nicholson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The original Broadway production of "Sarafina!" opened at the Cort Theater in New York on January 28, 1988, ran for 597 performances and was nominated for the 1988 Tony Awards for the Best Musical and Score. Dumisani Dlamini, Leleti Khumalo, Nhlanhla Ngema and 'Mbongeni Ngema' recreated their roles in the movie version. A nomination for the 1988 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical went to Leleti Khumalo.
    • Quotes

      Preacher: They fear you because you are young. They fear you because you are the future. How fearful they must be that they shoot you children. How powerful you must be that they fear you so much. You are powerful because you are the generation that will be free. The violence, the beatings, the torture, the killings; all this is the birth pain of our free nation. Please God, may I live to see it. But if I don't, I see it now on your faces like the light of the rising sun, and my heart lifts within me, as if I, too, was young again. And I know, yes, I know freedom is coming tomorrow. May our children rest in peace. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

    • Alternate versions
      Exclusive Director's Cut is available on laserdisc and features 15 minutes of additional footage not shown in theaters.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Sister Act/Encino Man/Alien³/Far and Away (1992)
    • Soundtracks
      One More Time
      Written by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford

      Sung by James Ingram

    User reviews23

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Genuine and resourceful
    Sarafina! is all about strength, about people lacking it and people overflowing with it. Sarafina herself is a Soweto girl with great hopes for the future, despite her family's poverty and her mother's (Miriam Makeba) work away from home, forcing Sarafina to take care of her younger siblings. This is South Africa, Johannesburg, during the Apartheid regime, Mandela is in prison and the black children are forbidden to speak their own language, Xosa (you know, the click language... :)). Yet, Sarafina dreams. Her world brightens up when her class get a new teacher (Whoopi Goldberg), who teaches them about their worth and to be proud of their heritage. I fully recommend this movie, the actors, young and practically unheard of, are fantastic, the script is sharp, and the music! See this movie for the music alone. No Makeba, but lots of powerful political Soweto tunes. Go Sarafina!
    helpful•9
    2
    • kaptenmarvel
    • Sep 20, 2001

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 25, 1992 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • South Africa
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Zulu
    • Also known as
      • Сарафина!
    • Filming locations
      • Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa
    • Production companies
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
      • Distant Horizon
      • Hollywood Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,306,242
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $76,488
      • Sep 20, 1992
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,306,242
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 57 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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