Film Screening: Albie: A Strange Alchemy


The Centre for Humanities Research (UWC) and the Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival cordially invite you to the second session of ENGAGE/REFLECT/CREATE: The CHR-Encounters Documentary Series, a monthly screening programme which will run until December 2025.

Date:
Friday 12 September
Venue:
Iyatsiba Lab, 66 Greatmore St, Woodstock
Time:
6:00pm
Speakers:
Sara de Gouveia (director), Khalid Shamis (editor)
Moderator:
Lwando Scott

About the film:

Shaped by exile, loss and a brutal bomb attack, Albie Sachs stands as one of South Africa’s most revered anti-apartheid activists and visionary thinkers. Surviving imprisonment and a near-fatal assassination attempt by the apartheid regime, Albie helped draft a constitution that would guide a nation toward justice and healing, anchoring a new South Africa in dignity, equality and progress. As a constitutional court judge working in a building atop a former prison, surrounded by contemporary art, Sachs authored landmark rulings that echoed around the world. Now, turning 90, he reflects on the strange alchemy of idealism and realism that shaped both his life and a nation’s rebirth. Through lyrical imagery, intimate archival footage and sweeping reflections, the film traces a life where law meets art, struggle gives rise to beauty, and revolutions are born from ruins. Albie: A Strange Alchemy is a poetic journey through justice, resilience and the enduring power of hope.

RSVP: centreforhumanitiesresearch@uwc.ac.za