Battle for Johannesburg, The

In the run up to the World Cup, the long-running struggle for control of central Jozi intensified. But, as this film demonstrates, ambitious urban renewal projects aimed at transforming the mean streets into a “World Class city” haven’t made much headway against endemic crime, and a burgeoning population of poor migrants occupying crumbling tenements. Desai turns investigative reporter as he exposes the brutality of evictions, police raids and self-appointed landlords, the appalling living conditions of the residents and the lofty ambitions of property developers hoping to transform derelict buildings into islands of security and comfort among the deprivation and decay. What he discovers is that the battle for Jozi is less about development than an attack on the poorest of society.