SA music doc wins Cannes Film Award

South African documentary, The Voice Behind the Wall, also known as Die Ongetemde Stem in Afrikaans, has won the 2023 Cannes Film Award for Best African Film.

The film is an unflinching examination of the Afrikaans music industry and the racial imbalances that continue to persist within the industry. It is a conscientious examination of the racial imbalances in the Afrikaans music that still persist 30 years since the abolition of Apartheid.

It also exposes the cultural appropriation of Afrikaans by the white elite and delves into the disastrous state of the post-Apartheid Afrikaans music industry, where the erasure of brown contributions to the Afrikaans culture is still perpetuated.

The Voice Behind the Wall was directed by Gideon Breytenbach and Riku Lätti and stars Churchill Naude, Anton Goosen, Frazer Barry and Deniel Barry.

The Cannes Film Awards took place alongside the Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 16 to 27.