The tenth big-screen showing of Tainted Heroes will be tonight (August 8) in Cape Town. To date, well over a thousand people have seen Tainted Heroes on the big screen.

Tainted Heroes is Forum Films’ first production. This documentary film tells the story of the ANC’s controversial struggle history. The film shows that the ANC’s version of history is not consistent with the actual events – that is, the version which pretended that all those in the ANC camp were innocent heroes (or “untainted heroes”), while all those who were not in the ANC camp were evil activists – and that tens of thousands of innocent people were killed in the most horrific manner conceivable by ANC representatives and supporters during the eighties and early nineties. The film exposes the ANC’s armed struggle as one that was not really aimed against the apartheid government, but rather against competitive black organisations such as Inkatha, Azapo and the Black Consciousness Movement of Steve Biko.

There is so much excitement about the film that the teams at AfriForum and Forum Films are inundated with enquiries about it. We therefore offer the following summary…

Big-screen showings are only the first of several phases in the distribution of Tainted Heroes. Three phases of the distribution strategy have been planned in detail and are ready to be implemented, while additional phases are currently being considered.

Phase 1: Showings on the big screen

The film has already been shown on the big screen in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein and several other cities. The Cape Town showing will formally conclude phase 1, although the possibility of further big-screen showings are not excluded. Several of AfriForum’s approximately 130 branches across South Africa have indicated that they are interested in arranging showings in their towns. If you are a member of AfriForum, you will surely be invited to these showings.

Phase 2: DVD distribution

The medium through which Tainted Heroes will make the biggest impact, will be on DVD. AfriForum currently has about 180 000 registered members, and this number is growing with a few thousand every month. The circulation of AfriForum’s members’ magazine Forum Tydskrif is linked to the membership, making it the second biggest African magazine in the world. The plan is to cut 180 000 DVDs of Tainted Heroes and to mail it to each AfriForum member together with the last issue of Forum Tydskrif in 2016. Given the fact that most of these members each represent a family, we estimate that more than half a million people across South Africa will be reached with this single step.

Phase 3: International distribution

At each of the showing so far, people in the audience insisted that this film should be viewed in foreign countries, to expose the perversion of South Africa’s history in this way. The good news is that the Forum Films board has already approved a comprehensive international distribution strategy. A tour of the United States is scheduled to take place at the end of 2016, with shows in Washington DC, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The plan with these showings is not to use shotgun tactics, which will attempt to reach large masses of people, but rather to use sniper tactics, in an attempt to reach influential people – i.e. journalists, foreign correspondents, politicians, civil servants, researchers, historians and the like. Apart from the US tour, showings have already been approved for London, Perth, Auckland and other cities where there is a huge interest in South Africa. We also received spontaneous enquiries from the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Canada and South Tyrol. Performances will likely be arranged in these countries as well.

Other plans

Several alternatives are being investigated for the distribution of the Tainted Heroes message. We have already received enquiries from history teachers and intend to launch a joint project specifically to reach history teachers and associations with this film. Several enquiries were also received from youth organisations and other associations interested in using the film for training purposes. There is of course also the issue of internet distribution. The entire film can unfortunately not be uploaded onto the internet, because the restrictions on the copyright of the images that are used in the film, prohibit this.

So, if you want to get to see Tainted Heroes, your best option is to join AfriForum today. This will ensure that you get invited to public showings and that you will also soon receive the free DVD in the mail.

To join, SMS Tainted Heroes to 42316 (R1.00).

• Trailer of Tainted Heroes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34S_f00sLxw
• Church street Bomb conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyECmjmTXhE
• Tainted Heroes website: http://www.taintedheroes.co.za/

Ernst Roets

Ernst is Deputy CEO of AfriForum and CEO of Forum Films. Ernst is also the producer and writer of Tainted Heroes.

Follow Ernst on Twitter at @ernstroets