Forerunners: South Africa’s New Black Middle Class

A cousin in jail, three households to support, ancestor problems, stressful sales targets – the lot of the new black middle class is not all BMWs and designer clothes. Wood sets out to find the reality behind the black diamond myth by following four Buppies as they negotiate a ruthless, demanding, often critical world. Mpumi must open a rural care centre and deal with ‘county time’. Miranda is a single parent holding down an executive job. Martin is missing something and Karabo must return to Soweto as the paterfamilias. Wood’s film shines a welcome spotlight on the world of South Africa’s recently rewarded. Success is by no means guaranteed, and if it comes, at what price? A layered, intelligent, deeply moving film deserving of a wide audience.