Hillbrow Kids

Credits

Name: Hillbrow Kids

Country: Südafrika; BRD

Year of publication: 1999

Format: 35 mm

Color: color

Language : OF m. dt. UT

Duration: 94 Minuten

Direction: Hammon, Michael

Camera: Hammon, Michael

Editing: Hammon, Michael; Loquens, Yvonne

Sound: Görgen, Jacqueline

Abstract

"There once lived a family, not far from the hills of the Matopos. The mother and father were normal people like you and me but, for some reason, the children were different. They were made of wax...", so begins a story as told by an old woman who observes and reflects on the lives of the street children of Johannesburg. Many of these children come from the townships, townships that still bear the scars of apartheid`s policies. Unlike their parents, these children are not prepared to be part of the meek majority of have-nots, are not prepared to be the born losers anymore.            
Poverty, alcoholism, broken families and brutality drive them to the streets of cities like Johannesburg to try and improve their lot. And, indeed, sometimes they are lucky. Then they feel strong, courageous and independent- after a strong dosis of glue-sniffing- whilst they stare with longing at the wealth parading past them on the pavements of Johannesburg.Vusi, Shadrack, Bheki, Silas, Jane, the protagonists of this film, are children such as these who roam the streets, hoping and waiting for the lucky break. Alone, totally dependent on their own rescources, they and many others like them fight against all odds for the fulfilment of their modest little dreams.But in their search for a happier life, they are in the process of losing what is left of their future.
And so the story teller on the hills of Johannesburg is left telling her legends to the ghosts of the past.