Try Revolution

Duration: 70 minutes 
Year: 2006 
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 
Rating: PG 
Director: Leanne Pooley 

Try Revolution tells the story of how the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand impacted on South Africa.
In this one hour documentary South Africans from Archbishop Desmond Tutu through to ordinary rugby fans talk about how the games, the images, the reports and the conversations that surrounded “The Tour” affected them personally and helped to change the apartheid system.
The 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand had been greatly anticipated by the rugby mad white community of South Africa. New Zealand was their most cherished rival and this tour was going to be live on television…a first for South Africa. So when they tuned into the first broadcast, the Hamilton match, and saw hundreds of protestors standing on the field they went into a kind of collective shock.

Try Revolution explores what happened over the ensuing months and indeed years as the impact of the “The Tour” was fully realised. From a prison mate of Nelson Mandela to the Captain of the ’81 Springboks, the documentary uncovers how the actions of the New Zealand protestors were perceived, understood, and used to help in the struggle against the apartheid regime.

Finalist Best Documentary NZ Screen Awards 2007

View excerpt from this title at NZ On Screen