Director Masterclass: Chris Austin Event

Join Africa in Motion and the Scottish Documentary Institute (SDI) for a masterclass from director Chris Austin.

*By RSVPing to this event, you will receive the Zoom details to join us on the day.

Austin was born in Cape Town and left the country at twenty-three after a short career as a journalist, photographer and filmmaker. His first film for British television was Rhythm of Resistance, for LWT’s new arts programme, shot in South Africa in 1978.

He later returned to South Africa to secretly shoot four documentaries with cameraman and editor Peter Chappell, assisted by journalist Nomavenda Mathiane. South Africa Belongs to Us attracted the most attention, and was credited with triggering the sanctions campaign in Germany. The apartheid regime caught up with him, cancelled his passport and banned him from returning for over a decade.

Later, he made The House of Hunger in Zimbabwe, based on Dambudzo’s Marechera’s novel, and Harare became a second home through the 80s and 90s. Brenda Fassie, Not A Bad Girl was his first film back in a liberated South Africa. Austin now divides his time between Cape Town and London.

Chris Austin's films Brenda Fassie, Not a Bad Girl and A Brother with Perfect Timing are screening as part of Africa in Motion 2021 (15-31 October).