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Recorded for all eternity: the ecstasy in Steven’s face when South Africa scores the first goal of the 2010 World Cup.
In Extension 11, one of the countless districts of the township of Mamelodi, Pretoria, all hell breaks loose. For a brief moment Steven forgets what he calls the most important thing in his life at some other point in the film: ‘doing business’. A big term for the little kiosk that feeds his family. Set against the World Cup, MEANWHILE IN MAMELODI shows the lives of ordinary people who must hustle to get by. Moskito for example, Steven's gawky 17-year-old daughter, who confidently describes herself as a child of the post-Apartheid generation and is looking for a way out of poverty. Steven's wife is suffering from a mysterious mental disease that is kept at bay only by massive doses of medication. Another burden. No, life isn’t easy. But Steven steadfastly pursues his plan.
In one of the most beautiful scenes of this very intimate portrait of a family Steven sings the song about the boss while he serves his customers. Everything is better than working for the man. An insight that is true whatever the colour of your skin is. (Matthias Heeder / DOK Leipzig)