4:30 pm, Regal 2
Director: Mark Dornford-May
Writers: Mark Dornford-May, Andiswa Kedama, Pauline Malefane
Cinematographer: Guilio Biccari
Running Time: 86 min

In Judea, South Africa, a divine child is born to a lowly couple. As he grows and witnesses the inhumanity of the world he lives in, his angelic guardians offer him an escape to the heavens. He refuses. This is his world and he must try to save it from the work of evil men and from the darkness working through them.

He begins his ministry after an encounter with Satan, dressed in black leather, during his traditional Xhosa circumcision rite. As an adult, he travels to the capital, gathering disciples from the armed factions of rebels that criss-cross the land. He demands that his followers give up their guns and confront their corrupt rulers with a vision of non-violent protest and solidarity. Inevitably, he attracts the attention of the Judean Elders who have struck a power-sharing deal with the aloof Governor Pilate. He must be brought down and destroyed.

Son of Man is the New Testament re-told as a tale of corruption and redemption in contemporary Africa and conveyed mainly through song. The few words spoken are in isiXhosa, English and Setswana, with English subtitles. This Christ is not a blonde-haired, blue-eyed European, but a black political dissident in southern Africa fighting for the dignity of his people against overwhelming violence and poverty. More than a simple updating of the Gospels, by putting the tale in a contemporary setting, the filmmakers starkly demonstrate that the story of Jesus is as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, director Dornford-May said he tried to keep focused on interpreting the Gospels as not only a spiritual story but also a political one, “with a message of humanity and equality. That is something I believe quite passionately in … I find it amazing that the church spends any time debating whether gay people should be priests when people are dying of hunger and sick people can’t get medicine.”

From the producers of the award-winning U-Carmen eKhayelitsha, Son of Man has played to great acclaim at festivals the world around. Roger Ebert described it as “one of the most extraordinary and powerful films at Sundance.”Â?