South Africa and USA / 2005 / 73mins / Documentary, History / English and Afrikaans

In the wake of his stepfather’s death, Thomas Allen Harris embarks on a journey of reconciliation with the man who raised him as a son but whom he could never call "father." As part of the first wave of black South African exiles, Harris’s stepfather, B. Pule Leinaeng, and his eleven comrades left their home in Bloemfontein in 1960. They told the world about the brutality of the apartheid system and raised support for the fledgling African National Congress and its leader, Nelson Mandela. Drawing upon the memories of the surviving disciples and their families, along with the talent of young South African actors who portray their harrowing experiences, Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela tells an intimate story of family and home against the backdrop of a global movement for freedom.

Thomas Allen Harris

Born in the Bronx and raised in New York City and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Thomas Allen Harris began his career as a photographer before producing for public television, for which he received several awards including two Emmy nominations (in 1991) for his work as a staff producer at WNET (New York’s PBS affiliate) on The Eleventh Hour. Harris is a recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including a 2015 NAACP Image Award, United States Artist Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, Rockefeller Fellowship, A Blade of Grass Fellow as well as a Tribeca Film Institute’s Nelson Mandela Award. Harris has taught, written and lectured widely on media. Harris is the founder and President of Chimpanzee Productions, a company dedicated to producing unique audio-visual experiences that illuminate the Human Condition and the search for identity, family, and spirituality. Chimpanzee’s innovative and award-winning films have received critical acclaim at International film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Toronto, FESPACO, Outfest, Flaherty and Cape Town and have been broadcast on PBS, the Sundance Channel, ARTE, as well as CBC, Swedish Broadcasting Network and New Zealand Television. In addition, Harris’ videos and installations have been featured in museums and galleries including the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Biennial, Corcoran Gallery, Reina Sophia, London Institute of the Arts and the Gwangju Biennale. He has held positions as Associate Professor of Media Arts at the University of California San Diego, and Visiting Professor of Film and New Media at Sarah Lawrence College. Harris also travels with his trans-media community engagement project called Digital Diaspora Family Reunion (DDFR) and received an NAACP Image Award for his feature documentary Through A Lens Darkly. Harris has brought DDFR to national TV with Family Pictures USA which airs on PBS. Learn More