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"Stories That Matter "
Truth That Speaks To Power
From the Filmmaker Sharon I Sopher...
The stories you will experience on this site are not "Stories That Matter" because I am the filmmaker.
And though these are stories that are critically acclaimed - winners of an Oscar Nomination, an Emmy for Directing, the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism, a Cine Golden Eagle, and numerous other film festival awards - that, too, is not the reason why these are "Stories That Matter."
Rather, these are "Stories That Matter" because they capture Truth ... a Truth so potent that when spoken to Power, laws get changed, sanctions get passed, and the people of this planet who most often are denied Freedom and Justice, are no longer the Faceless, Nameless, and Voiceless.
It is Witnesses like Curtis Nkondo - people who speak Truth and pay the price for doing so - that catapults films into "Stories That Matter."
Witness to Apartheid matters because it helped bring down the racist government of apartheid South Africa. But by so doing, it put everyone in the film or associated with it, including me, in the crosshairs of racists everywhere.
The South African apartheid government had its sights on blocking the British broadcast of WITNESS TO APARTHEID from the very start. I had literally just landed back in NY from London to find the phone in my apartment ringing. On the other end, the British broadcaster, frantic, telling me that I was the only one who could take the British government’s pressure off of the network. That I must return to England immediately to tape a television program opposite Sir Woodrow Wyatt, well known for securing the patronage of Britain's powerful and famous, a former member of the House of Lords for ten years, and apparently, in this case, also spokesperson for the apartheid government.
In a raspy whisper, I explained to the broadcaster that I had laryngitis and could not speak. “Perfect,” proclaimed the delighted broadcaster, “we don’t need your voice, we just need you, sitting in the studio here in London for Sir Wyatt to attack.”
Why not? I thought. Somehow I will survive Sir Wyatt. Voice or no Voice.
Frustrated by my refusal to be silent, one final tactic was attempted in an effort to discredit my journalistic integrity, and the film's, by accusing me of being sympathetic to the African National Congress and a Communist, a popular strategy at the time. But the tactic failed . The fictitious labels meant to slander did not stick.
In an attempt to further kill Truth, an apartheid government death squad assassinated one of the film's most powerful and popular voices, Dr. Fabian Ribeiro.
But Truth cannot be murdered. Apartheid fell. And no one, myself or anyone else, could be Scared Silent.
Today, the Systemic Racism that fueled Apartheid in South Africa is now being identified and targeted for extinction right here in America. As you will see in the pages that follow, the parallels between Apartheid South Africa and Racist America are profound. And chilling.
Speaking My Own Simple Truth
As a witness myself to the human toll of racism in both countries, I am haunted and ashamed by what I have seen and learned: That decade after decade, century after century, wherever we Whites have gone, too often, in the name of Progress or Democracy, we have left a trail of tears by perpetrating some of the most horrific Atrocities on Planet Earth - the slaughter of Indigenous Peoples, the enslavement of others, the torture of fellow human beings, lynching, & in more modern times, the use of a Knee to the Neck and 'Race Norming' by the NFL - all for the same purpose: To deny Prosperity, Dignity, even Life itself, to anyone of Color we Whites have the arrogance to deem Inferior.
What is wrong with Us as a People? Will we Whites ever redeem ourselves? When, if ever, will Goodness triumph over the Evil in our souls? When, if ever, will we gain enough true Confidence not to fail as humans by deeming others 'Less Than'?
Those are the thoughts that haunt me in the dark of night, as a result of what I have witnessed as a filmmaker.
Whatever I have managed to contribute to the elimination of Racism through my body of work the past 50 years, it is far too little. But it has taken me on a journey that is privileged, a journey I want to share with you. Hopefully, it will open your eyes and your heart to the Humanity and Dignity of all People on Planet Earth, as it has opened mine.
Sharon I. Sopher
Never Be Silent.
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