Drum (2004 film)

Drum
DVD release cover
Directed by	Zola Maseko
Written by	Jason Filardi
Produced by	Dumisani Dlamini
Starring	Taye Diggs Gabriel Mann Jason Flemyng Zola
Cinematography	Lisa Rinzler
Edited by	Troy Takaki
Music by	Terence Blanchard Cédric Gradus Samson
Distributed by	Armada Pictures International
Release dates	10 September 2004 (2004-09-10) (Toronto International Film Festival) 22 July 2005 (2005-07-22) (South Africa)
Running time	94 minutes
Countries	United States South Africa
Languages	English Afrikaans German

Drum is a 2004 film based on the life of South African investigative journalist Henry Nxumalo, who worked for Drum magazine, called "the first black lifestyle magazine in Africa".^[1] It was director Zola Maseko's first film and deals with the issues of apartheid and the forced removal of residents from Sophiatown. The film was originally to be a six-part television series called Sophiatown Short Stories, but Maseko could not get the funding. The lead roles of Henry Nxumalo and Drum main photographer Jürgen Schadeberg were played by American actors Taye Diggs and Gabriel Mann, while most of the rest of the cast were South African actors.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2004, and did the rounds of international film festivals before going on general release in South Africa in July 2006. It was released in Europe, but failed to get a distributor for the USA where it went straight to DVD.

The film was generally well received critically. It was awarded Best South African Film at the Durban International Film Festival, and director Maseko gained the top prize at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO).