He steals a car and discovers a baby in the back seat. That is the turning point of Tsotsi, a film about a young gangster in a Johannesburg township who slowly rediscovers his humanity. In March 2006, it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the first South African film to win an Oscar in that category.
The story
Tsotsi, whose name is slang for a thug, leads a small gang. After a violent carjacking, he finds a baby in the car and decides to care for it, forcing him to confront memories of his own childhood.
Athol Fugard
The film is based on a novel by Athol Fugard, one of South Africa’s greatest playwrights, written in the 1960s and published in 1980. The film moved the story to contemporary Johannesburg.
Gavin Hood
The South African director Gavin Hood wrote and directed the film. He later directed Hollywood films including X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Eye in the Sky.
Presley Chweneyagae
The lead role made a star of Presley Chweneyagae, then a young actor with little screen experience. His intense performance carried the film. He later starred in the South African television series The River.
Language
The film’s dialogue is mostly in tsotsitaal, the township slang mixing Afrikaans, isiZulu and other languages, along with other South African languages.
Kwaito soundtrack
The soundtrack featured kwaito, the post-apartheid township music, including songs by Zola, who also appeared in the film. The music helped define the film’s atmosphere.
The Oscar
At the 78th Academy Awards in 2006, Tsotsi beat entries from Italy, France, Germany and Palestine. Hood dedicated the award to South Africa.
Impact
The win brought international attention to South African cinema and encouraged investment in local filmmaking.
Criticism
Some critics argued the film softened township violence or relied on a familiar redemption story. Others praised its honesty and emotional power.
Johannesburg on screen
The film shows Johannesburg’s townships, highways and train stations in a gritty, colourful style. Many scenes were shot in Soweto and other areas, giving international audiences a picture of post-apartheid urban life that went beyond the usual images of wildlife and safaris.
A gangster, a stolen car and a baby. From that simple setup, Tsotsi took South African cinema to the Oscar stage for the first time.
