Main Reef Road

A lot has changed in South Africa. Also along Main Reef Road, which connects a number of villages near the principal gold mines of the region. In the middle of this route lies Johannesburg, place of residence of director Nic Hofmeyr. From there, he drives his green Volkswagen Beetle along the former principal road. Once upon a time, Main Reef Road was the busiest highway of Africa, people claim. Today, the people who can afford it have moved away to the newly built suburbs north of Johannesburg. After more than a century of gold digging, many mines are deserted or closed. Still, some of them could go on for another 25 years, according to the owners. Little has changed for the miners, despite the abolition of apartheid. The men are still living together in a boarding house and send money to their families in the countryside.Hofmeyr portrays the road by showing the people who live beside it. Black and white, young and old. A blond beauty queen and car racer still likes to keep blacks at bay. Owing to her new job, a young black woman can move to one of the first houses in a new quarter. A white petrol station holder drives around the black mayor in a big American car. A black man and a white politician of the former apartheid party jointly fight for the same goal. In all these stories, the past and present of South Africa are discernible.