The South African football fraternity can now follow the development and the transformation of the sport in the country on their television screens.
Pulse of a Nation is a four-part documentary series rich in drama, controversy, heroes, pathos, and celebration, which puts a critical lens on South Africa’s most popular sport. The first episode premiered on SuperSport and Mzansi Magic on Sunday.
South African football is awash with stories of redemption, hope, sorrow, disappointment, fervour, fans and heroes. One of the most enthralling of these is how the modern professional game first took root in the 1930s and made its way through the decades, often in the face of apartheid and its associated horrors, to offer a glorious counterpoint.
This comes some months after it was first scheduled to air, allowing the filmmakers to land some belated X and vital X additional interviews and footage.
Pulse of a Nation is described as a work of tremendous cultural significance, with stories that speak to several generations at once and an artefact of what football means to South Africans. This is a story of South African football; about many of the events and people who shaped the sport that is lovingly referred to as the “beautiful game”.
In the description it is further mentioned that there are many more stories and versions of history, and this account therefore is not an attempt to be definitive or all-encompassing. It cannot be. The canvas of local football is too vast, overflowing with characters, goals, and glories.
The filmmakers have drawn on historical footage, much of it rare, and used it to weave a sweeping story that is as compelling as it is startling.
At its start, it tells the tale of political figure James Mpanza, who pushed the cause of social activism by establishing a boys’ club in Soweto in 1934, which in turn led to the formation of Orlando Pirates three years later.
“The series takes the form of a tribute to those great men and women who built the game we love and made it what it is today,” explained Gareth Whittaker, executive producer of the documentary.
“The storytellers stand on the shoulders of giants, and what a privilege that is.”
Among the many strands was football’s influence on culture, and even fashion. It was one of the key visual drivers for Pulse of a Nation, and one of the thematic elements of the show is the inimitable style of local football, showing the team shirts and jerseys that have made up the story of South African football.
The darkest day in South African football is also brought into sharp focus as the events of April 2001, when 43 fans were crushed to death at a game at Ellis Park, are re-told.
This production took a large team of producers, writers, researchers, archivists, directors and editors over three years to complete.
It comprised over 60 sit-down interviews with football legends, players, administrators, musicians, historians, supporters, and pundits.
Location shoots include the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Gauteng, and Limpopo.
The remaining episodes will premiere on Sunday, 17 September, 24 September, and 1 October at 20:00 on channel 203 on DStv.
