NOTE: This is a post from November of last year, but given that today is the anniversary of the Marikana massacre it’s worth revisiting…

Some films make for easy watching, one eye on the screen whilst you fiddle with your phone. Miners Shot Down, the winner of Best Documentary at the International Emmy Awards, is not one of those so buckle up for a story that should have you very riled up by the end.

Above is the full 86-minute doccie, described by Uhuru Productions as follows:

In August 2012, mineworkers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages. Six days later the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more. Using the point of view of the Marikana miners, Miners Shot Down follows the strike from day one, showing the courageous but isolated fight waged by a group of low-paid workers against the combined forces of the mining company Lonmin, the ANC government and their allies in the National Union of Mineworkers.

What emerges is collusion at the top, spiralling violence and the country’s first post-apartheid massacre. South Africa will never be the same again.

Give it a watch and you might come to realise just how misguided the ANC’s congratulations to the film-makers were. This is a story we should all familiarise ourselves with – hopefully one day we may actually see those responsible for this massacre held accountable for their actions.

[source:youtube]