South Africa / 2002 / 108mins / Documentary / English

The power of song is to communicate, motivate, console, unite and ultimately, beget change. That ideal lies at the heart of this inspiring feature film documentary. Amandla! tells the story of black South African freedom music and reveals the central role it played in the battle against apartheid.

Lee Hirsch

Lee Hirsch is the founder, director and producer of the Local Voices for Obama project, a series of ads featuring Obama supporters in small towns in swing states speaking candidly about their support of this candidate. Winner of Best Presidential Ad and Best Independent Expenditure at the 2009 Reed Awards, judged by political luminaries including George Stephanopolous, Joe Trippi and Christine Todd Whitman. A documentary filmmaker, Lee Hirsch's debut feature film, Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, chronicles the history of the South African anti-apartheid struggle through a celebration of its musical heroes. This film was released to acclaim, winning the Audience and Freedom of Expression Awards at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as one of the five Emmy awards it was nominated for, among many other honors. His film Bully. premiered at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and has won several awards. The documentary follows several families from across ethnic, cultural and geographic boundaries as they grapple with the tragedy their family has faced as a result of bullying. Hirsch is also an established director of music videos, including a narrative shot on location in Zanzibar for John Legend's song Show Me, which was nominated for a 2008 NAACP Image award. He is also the recipient of the Best Video of the Year award from the National Television and Video Association of South Africa for his work with Bongo Maffin. Lee Hirsch was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and attended the Putney School in Vermont, Hampshire College and the New York Film Academy. Learn More