Lionel Ngakane
Lionel Ngakane
Biography
Lionel Ngakane (17 July 1928 – 26 November 2003) was a South African filmmaker and actor, who lived in exile in the United Kingdom from the 1950s until 1994, when he returned to South Africa after the end of apartheid. His 1965 film Jemima and Johnny, inspired by the 1958 "race riots" in Notting Hill, London, won awards at the Venice and Rimini film festivals. In the 1960s, Ngakane was a founding member of the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) and Fespaco, the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO). Ngakane was born in Pretoria, South Africa.[2] In 1936, his family and he moved to the Sophiatown neighbourhood of Johannesburg. His father (a teacher) set up a hostel with Alan Paton, author of the 1948 novel Cry, The Beloved Country. Ngakane was educated at Fort Hare University College and the University of Witwatersrand, and worked on Drum and Zonk magazines from 1948 to 1950. In 1950, he began his career in film as an assistant director and actor in the film version of Cry, the Beloved Country (1951), directed by Zoltan Korda. Shortly thereafter, Ngakane went into exile in the United Kingdom. As an actor, he appeared in films, including The Mark of the Hawk in 1957 (with Eartha Kitt), on television — Quatermass and the Pit (1958) and the spy series Danger Man (Deadline, 1962) with Patrick McGoohan, and on stage — in Errol John's Moon on a Rainbow Shawl,[5] and Wole Soyinka's play The Lion and the Jewel at the Royal Court Theatre in 1966.[6] Ngakane returned to South Africa after the end of apartheid in 1994. He is best remembered for his short film Jemima and Johnny (1965), inspired by the 1958 "race riots" in Notting Hill, London. It won awards at the Venice and Rimini film festivals. He also directed documentaries on apartheid and African development. He was honorary president of the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI), which organization he had originated in 1967 as a lobbying group for the support of African filmmakers.[2] He died in Rustenburg, South Africa, in 2003, aged 75.
Known For
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
16
Gender
Gender not available
Birthday
Birthday not available
Place of Birth
Not available
Acting

1978

Victims of Apartheid as Mokwe

1977

The Squeeze as West Indian

1975

Child of Hope as Mutumbulua

1968

Wind Versus Polygamy as Ofodile

1962

The Painted Smile as Barman

1961

Nothing Barred as Convict

1958

Nor the Moon by Night as Nimrod

1957

The Mark of the Hawk as African Doctor

1956

Safari as Makora

1954

Duel in the Jungle as Servant

1951

Cry, the Beloved Country as Absolom Kumalo
Crew

1966

Jemima + Johnny Director

1966

Jemima + Johnny Writer

1962

Vukani/Awake Director