Goodbye Bafana (2007)

The autobiography film, Goodbye Bafana (2007), was based on the book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend, which was criticized by Anthony Sampson, a longtime friend of Nelson Mandela who has since passed away. In his authorized biography of Mandela, Sampson accused James Gregory (also deceased) of lying and violating Mandela’s privacy in his work. According to Sampson, Gregory did not have a close relationship with Mandela and instead used censored letters to fabricate one. Other prison warders even suspected Gregory of spying for the government and there were talks of Mandela taking legal action against him.

According to Alex von Tunzelmann’s article in The Guardian, the film presents a questionable version of Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment, based on the memoirs of his prison guard. Notably, this story differs from all other known accounts. Von Tunzelmann argues that such historical negligence is inexcusable and highlights the movie’s implicit dismissal of contradicting narratives as potentially insulting.