Directed by Gordon Main | Initial release 2016 | |
Produced by Peter Edwards
James Barrett | ||
London Recruits is the upcoming film documenting the true story of the young men and women who undertook clandestine missions for the ANC during apartheid South Africa. Produced by Barefoot Rascals, the docu-drama is directed by Gordon Main. London Recruits shares a title with the 2012 book London Recruits: The Secret War Against Apartheid, edited and compiled by Ken Keable.
Contents
Ronnie kasrils discusses the role of the london recruits
Plot
Set at a time when ANC membership was prohibited and its activists executed or imprisoned, London Recruits tells the story of the actions of young women and men who travelled to South Africa disguised as honeymooning couples, tourists and business trippers, aimed at bringing down the apartheid regime. The London Recruits, in a plan activated by Oliver Tambo, were recruited by Ronnie Kasrils and deployed to undertake secret missions involving the transportation of anti-apartheid leaflets in false bottom suitcases and the detonation of bucket bombs in strategic commuter sites.
The Recruits
The facilitator of the operation was Ronnie Kasrils. South African born, Ronnie was dispatched to London by Oliver Tambo to recruit women and men to carry out missions for the ANC. Mary Chamberlain, author of Fenwomen: A Portrait of Women in an English Village was among the recruits enrolled by Ronnie to carry out the clandestine work in 1971 at the age of 24. Other activists recruited were Steve Marsling and Ken Keable, Editor of London Recruits: The Secret War against Apartheid