Go to Louisa

Ten years after the fall of the old political system in South Africa, Polish director Geregorz Pacek goes on a journey to the country where oppression of blacks by whites used to be a commonplace practice and where people's behaviour and attitudes are still deeply rooted in slavery. In order to explore these issues, Pacek chose to focus on a rubber production factory and three men involved in its operation, each of which vehemently promotes his own interests. Stach, originally from Poland, is the factory owner; Gert is a white South African and the company's manager; Andreas is an impoverished worker from the Zulu tribe. Clearly, unless they are able to curb their self–centred attitudes, there will never be a change for the better and the legacy of apartheid will never be dismantled. Andreas' struggle to assert his rights provides the main thread of the narrative. His hopes lie with Louisa, an employment officer – she's unable to get an appointment, however, and can't even reach her on the phone. There seems to be no end in sight to his hopeless situation. As the story unfolds, the factory becomes a symbol for South African society in general, as well as its new system of government, becoming a point of intersection where 'blacks' face 'whites', bosses face workers, luxury faces poverty. While the workers endeavour to improve their standing, their employers strive to maximise profits. The general theme of the fight for one's rights and more humane treatment in the workplace is all the more poignant since both the factory owner and the filmmaker come from a country which until recently was also under the yoke of a dictatorship.