Goodbye Bafana: the Chronicles of a Free Man.

Abstract

A key player in the history of the twentieth century, Nelson Mandela is one of the great protagonists of 2010. Starting this year, his birthday will become the official United Nations’ day for the fight for freedom. To celebrate, concerts, books, and expositions have been organised… and even the World Cup will pay tribute to this great public figure. Within the cinematographic world, 2010 was also the year in which Invictus premiered, which is a film about a legendary incident that took place during the first years of his presidency in South Africa. However, this article will try to explore the greatness of this leader from the viewpoint of another film, which takes place during his years as a prisoner in a jail on Robben Island and studies the relation that he forms with his prison guard: Goodbye Bafana (Billie August, 2007).