Cape Town - A gripping new film titled Athlone ’85 tells a story 40 years in the making.

During the apartheid government’s 1985 State of Emergency, coloured communities and especially learners, rose up in the Struggle for liberation.

The new film is inspired by true-life events with its tagline: Damned if you do! Dead if you don’t!

Based on true events, the film is inspired by the Trojan Horse Massacre at Alexander Sinton Secondary School on Belgravia Road, where young people were shot at and three were killed who were part of anti-government demonstrations.

Director, Theo Davids, said it is time this history is told to the younger generation and how it affected the people of Athlone.

“It is a sense of identity and how people stood together and overcame adversity at a very trying time, which is something that is lost upon communities today,” Davids said.

New film tells story of brave learners who stood up against apartheid.

“The Trojan Horse is the catalyst for our story as innocent children got killed. We do recreate it in the movie and from there things escalate, learners sacrificed their school work and matric.”

This 100-minute film is the pilot episode of the Athlone ’85 TV drama series that will consist of six 48-minute episodes.

This series will go into production in the latter part of 2025 and tells the story of a student’s rebellious actions during the 1985 anti-apartheid uprising on the Cape Flats.

His actions result in horrible consequences for his family, girlfriend, friends, and community, but ultimately contributes to the establishment of a free and democratic South Africa.

Davids, an Athlone local, said they worked for six months on rehearsals, development and research.

He added that he wants people to find a sense of belonging when watching the film as people need to know where they come from to know where they are going.

“We also sacrificed for this country and we should be proud of our history,” he said.

Athlone ’85 utilises a mixed-genre approach to explore complex social and political issues like racism, corruption, and gender-based violence through the journeys of compelling characters.

Actress, Celeste Williams, 59, said: “Thirty years of South African democracy and the coloured population are still crying out ‘Where do we belong?’

“First, we were not white enough, today we are not black enough. Did we also not make sacrifices for the Struggle?”

“We are ready to tell our own stories, so the world can know that our liberation wasn’t just one community that contributed to the democracy that we eventually got because we wanted our freedom just as everyone else wanted.”

The premiere screening of the film will be at the Artscape Theatre on Thursday 20 February 2025 at 7.50pm.

Entry fee R50. Book via webtickets or any Pick and Pay.

Cape Argus