Voetsek! (2017) 

Synopsis

TheBioscope is proud to welcome back The Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival. Tickets: R60 Voetsek! Dir Andy Spitz | 2017 | South Africa | 76 min The xenophobic violence that has marred South African life over the last decade is often reduced to two key periods: the wave of attacks against ikwerekwere that began in Alexandra Township in 2008 and spread to the rest of the country in the following weeks, and the upsurge of violence in 2015 after King Goodwill Zwelithini publicly stated that foreigners should "go back to their countries". But, as this devastating film shows, the terrible events of those years are part of a broader pattern of violence against foreigners in South Africa, one that is intricately woven into the very fabric of post-apartheid life, and which has been given tacit approval at all levels of both Zuma's and Mbeki's governments. Made over the course of 10 years, with remarkable access to those affected by the violence as wel