Filmmaker Lionel Ngakane, who has died at the age of 83, was born in 1920 and educated at Fort Hare University College and Wits University. From 1948 to 1950 he worked on Zonk and Drum magazines.
Ngakane entered the film industry in 1950 as director Zoltan Korda’s assistant on Cry, The Beloved Country. He also performed in the movie.
Soon after that he left South Africa for London, where he remained until his return in 1994. He appeared in dramas such as Mark the Hawk (1957), Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969), and The Squeeze (1977). He was a consultant on A Dry White Season (1989). But it was Ngakane’s own short movie Jemima and Johnny (1966) for which he will be remembered. It was inspired by riots in Notting Hill and tells of the political tensions of the time. It won awards at the Venice and Rimini film festivals.
Ngakane later directed documentaries about apartheid and African development and was elected honorary president and regional secretary for Africa of the Pan-African Federation of Filmmakers.
Back in South Africa, he advised on the development of township cinemas and in 1997 was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Natal. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) established a Dr Lionel Ngakane Scholarship Fund with an annual pledge of R1-million. NFVF CEO Eddie Mbalo said: ”His dedication inspired generations of filmmakers.” — Matthew Krouse
Lionel Ngakane, born July 17 1920; died November 26 2003