52.3 F
Seattle
Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Four Corners: Families Under Attack – A Tale Of Gang Violence In South Africa

Four Corners screened at the Seattle International Film Festival.
Four Corners screened at the Seattle International Film Festival.

By Kim Bennett
The Seattle Medium
Four Corners is a gripping tale of family lost and regained in Cape Town, South Africa. Ian Gabriel, one of South Africa’s leading directors, introduces the audience to life in Cape Flats, a forgotten part of the city, in this gritty coming-of-age story.

 Selected as South Africa’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards, Four Corners is Gabriel’s second feature film. Four Corners transports the viewer to the world of Cape Flats where you experience the ups and downs, the tragedy and triumphs of a young man trying to find his way amidst the violence of a gang war.

 Also, known as “The Flats,” the Cape Flats area spans 30 kilometers of shifting marine dunes southeast of Cape Town. Uninhabited until the 1960’s, the area was used by apartheid governments to house displaced families of mixed race who had been forced out of Cape Town.  Reputed as an area where street gangs, gun violence, and turf wars are a regular occurrence, Cape Flats has been cast aside by the current democratic government.

 In the film, the main character, Ricardo, is a teenage chess prodigy, struggling against the lure of the street gang’s offer of protection and sense of family. In parallel, Ricardo’s estranged father, Farakhan, a general in a gang recently released from prison, searches for a connection with his son and a way out of gang life.

- Advertisement -

 When watching the film, you can’t help but respond to the realism of the place and people.  It is clear that the setting is not just a backdrop, but also a character with a fascinating backstory of its own. Gabriel spent over three years researching the film to portray the good and bad of Cape Flats, and despite some apprehensions from his crew, Gabriel made a point to shoot Four Corners entirely in Cape Flats.

 “Every week in Cape Town, just about, there is a story about a youth gang-related killing or shooting that happens in the Flats,” says Gabriel.
“Some people were surprised that we shot entirely in the Cape Flats. We didn’t try to shoot anywhere else,” added Gabriel, who wanted his film to be a real and authentic reflection of the area.

 “We were very fortunate in that the community was very excited that we were there and very supportive,” continued Gabriel. “I frequently had people saying that the Cape Flats is a forgotten community and people were very excited that here was someone coming to not forget about it, but pay attention and to film the people there and tell a true story of the Cape Flats.”

 Gabriel also spent a great amount of time learning about the evolution of gangs in the area. As a result, the film offers a fascinating glimpse into the 100-year history and gang culture of the Number gangs, the 26s and 28s.

- Advertisement -

 “The history of the Number gangs is something that I have known about for a long time, but I think that it is something that surprises many people. It’s a prison gang society that was formed in 1910, 1912,” Gabriel describes.

 “When the migrant workers were moving into Johannesburg to work on the mines, a lot of them didn’t really want to go underground, so they stayed above ground and became bandits and found their way into the prisons. Many of those men really formed a [gang] society in the prison,” Gabriel continues.

The gang culture is inextricably linked with the world of Cape Flats and the film as Ricardo and Farakhan both struggle to find a place outside of the gang culture.  According to Gabriel, the grim reality in Cape Flats is that many prison inmates are the sons of prisoners and they expect their sons to one day to be in prison as well.

 “There is a weird sense of prison legacy that gets handed from one generation to the next,” says Gabriel. “I wanted to explore this idea that there is a man here who wants to leave the Number, which is not really something that you can really do.”

 Through Four Corners, Gabriel brings Cape Flats to the big screen along with employment opportunities to the area. From the main cast to extras, people from the Flats took part in the film making process.

 “There were quite a few real people we used in the film, which lends to its authenticity. But that is also very useful in creating jobs for people,” recalls Gabriel.

 That authenticity was punctuated by a powerful soundtrack that features hip-hop artists from Cape Flats, introducing the audience to the kinetic sound and energy of the environment.

 “The music was intended to reflect and be the voice of the community as much as possible,” said Gabriel. “So we chose from quite a wide range of Cape Flats hip-hop musicians, some of whom are lesser known, some more well known. We really listened to the music and a lot of it reflects on what’s going on.”

 Despite the seamless language transitions in the dialogue from Sabela (the secret language of the Number gangs,) Tsotsi taal, and Cape Afrikaans to English, Four Corners felt like it could be taking place in the United States.
Gabriel explains the similarities as part of the adoption of American style gangsterism, but also through a universal theme in the film.

 “American lifestyle is really the model for what these guys are in to,” says Gabriel. “One of the biggest gangs is called the Americans. So that is very prevalent in this society and very easy to see similarities and parallels between life in the United States and life in the Cape Flats.”

 “Our theme was really about how family is under threat and how it’s got to be protected.  I think everyone does believe and accept that the big problem of the Flats, as in many disadvantaged communities, is the breakdown of family,” Gabriel continued.

 Despite Ricardo and Farakhan’s struggle being set half way around the world, it is the same struggle faced within communities in the United States.  Leaving the audience with a sense of hope, but lingering questions, Four Corners is a tale that is realistic and relatable no matter where it takes place.

Four Corners recently screened at the 2014 International Film Festival.

Must Read

Department Of Education Threatens Federal Funding Cuts Over Race-Based Policies

The Department of Education issued a "Dear Colleague" letter warning that federal funding will be revoked from any academic institution that considers race in most aspects of student life, prompting legal challenges.