Black Coffee and Spike Lee Join Forces for SA Animated Film About Apartheid Friendship

• Black Coffee is serving as music supervisor on APART, an animated short film co-written by legendary director Spike Lee
• The film draws on a real friendship between two boys of different races who met at a bus stop in Port Elizabeth during the 1990s
• APART has already screened at New York's Tribeca Festival and entered the Oscars conversation after its African premiere in Cape Town

South African DJ Black Coffee and acclaimed American filmmaker Spike Lee have teamed up on an animated short film that takes a deeply personal look at race and connection during one of South Africa's most painful eras. The project, titled APART, tells the story of two young boys navigating an unlikely friendship against the backdrop of apartheid.

A real friendship behind the story

The film's emotional core is rooted in real life. In Bluewater Bay, Port Elizabeth, during the 1990s, two boys named Joel and Themba struck up a bond over football while waiting at a bus stop, despite living on opposite sides of apartheid's racial divide. Three decades on, their story has been reimagined as an animated short exploring how human connection endures even when society works against it. The film's creators have described it as a meditation on "our capacity for empathy, courage and connection."

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The creative team behind APART is as impressive as its subject matter. Lee, whose career has long been defined by unflinching explorations of race and injustice, contributed to the film's writing. Black Coffee took on the role of music supervisor, crafting the sonic world around the story. South African fashion designer Laduma Ngxokolo, known internationally for his Maxhosa Designs label, also joined the collaboration. At the helm is South African director Pola Maneli, whose work has previously appeared on the cover of The New Yorker and within the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Watch the YouTube video below:

APART makes its mark on the global stage

One notable creative decision sets APART apart from many contemporary productions: not a single frame was generated using artificial intelligence. The team instead combined four distinct animation methods, blending traditional 2D, cut-out, 3D and 2.5D techniques to bring the story to life.

The film has already made significant inroads on the international festival circuit. Following its global premiere at the Tribeca Festival in New York, it screened at several North American film festivals before returning to African soil. Its African premiere took place at the Fame Shorts Film Festival during FAME Week Africa in Cape Town. The production has also entered the Oscars conversation, with speculation building around its awards prospects.

For a project drawing together such internationally recognised talent, APART keeps its South African heart very much intact, and firmly in the frame.

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Black Coffee helped the upcoming artists

The Black Coffee Foundation announced applications for its annual music conference, An Honest Conversation With Black Coffee.

Upcoming artists, DJs, producers, songwriters and music professionals are invited to apply for a spot at the third annual conference.

Source: Briefly News