I felt so elated.". The way Jenkin speaks about the escape is with a sort of whimsy, despite the danger theyd be in if they were caught suppose with 40 years between you and the act, theres been time to reflect. He is known for his political activism against the apartheid rgime in South Africa in the 1970s, and his subsequent incarceration in, and 1979 escape from, Pretoria Local . Why? Its when it shoots for more historical import that it falls somewhat short. Home Office Minister Mark Carlisle said no evidence had been found at that time of South African responsibility for illegal activities, but appropriate action would be taken should it appear. Stephen deliberately engineered a trip to the dentist that allowed him to pick up vital information for their potential route out. Using the broom he was allowed to keep to sweep his cell, he created another genius contraption. The movie begins with their early days spent planting harmless pamphlet bombs across Cape Town, before plunging us into the tepid everyday life of political prisoners. [26], When living in Camden, still with the ANC, Jenkin devised a system for encrypted communication for the ANC to communicate with their agents. "This was going to let us out of the cells into the corridor," he added. We were working in a carpentry workshop and I thought, I wonder if we can make a key out of wood. Moubaris went to the USSR for training. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as a jailed anti-apartheid activist, this true-life prison-break thriller is stronger on genre mechanics than political nuance. Just supporting the liberation movement was deemed to be terrorism.. . [Part 1: Intro] South Africa is a beautiful country and home to many unique languages and cultures, such as the Afrikaner (or Boer). We just hoped that nobody would see us.". On the 11 December 1979 Alex Moumbaris and two other prisoners, Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, made a daring escape from Pretoria Central Prison. He was also influenced by the Vietnam War and the Greek coup of the colonels in 1967. Moumbaris was the only non-South African prisoner, and when Jenkin met him, he appeared as "a little aloof". ', Super Mario Bros. 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"We were right underneath an armed guard but he didnt see us. They were never told how the security police got onto them, and Jenkin concluded that it must have been the result of meticulous police work and long surveillance. Boom, the door just slid open, absolutely smoothly, he says. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. The real-life Goldberg was much more supportively involved in the prison-break strategy; if the script does him something of a disservice for the purposes of greater narrative friction, thats not the fastest and loosest it plays with facts. We had . Watch on. They became friends and, in a South African version of Samizdat, Jenkins and Lee sought out literature banned by the ruling National Party. "That gave me the depth of the lock inside, which was the same measurement as the key. [5] He later wrote that he had "grown up a 'normal' complacent white South African" who "unthinkingly accepted the system and for twenty-one years never questioned it". It took until the next day for guards to realise they were missing, and a huge police operation to recapture them was launched. Distractify is a registered trademark. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. However, after the escape plan had captured his imagination, he cleaned up and changed his attitude, and was soon promoted to the "A" group. In December 1979, Jenkin, Lee, and fellow inmate Alex Moumbaris successfully escaped from the prison with Jenkin unlocking nine of its doors while Goldberg distracted the warden. The initial plan was that eight of the political prisoners would escape, leaving behind two who were nearing the end of their sentences. Moumbaris is renamed Leonard Fontaine and played by Mark Leonard Winter.[27][28]. But we got away with it. We walked out as if we had every right to be there.". He also once unfurled an ANC banner from a building in Durban,[5] and was subsequently entrusted with more risky assignments. If youve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with theMetro.co.ukentertainment team by emailing uscelebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page wed love to hear from you. The jaw-dropping story of how two men broke out of the infamous maximum-security Pretoria Prison - and eventually on to the UK - has been given the Hollywood treatment in new blockbuster 'Escape From Pretoria', starring Daniel Radcliffe as Tim. From the jail they took trains, hitchhiked and walk 25 miles to make it to the border of Swaziland - now called Eswatini. [25][26] Filming of Escape from Pretoria began in Adelaide, South Australia, in March 2019, with Daniel Webber joining the cast as Lee. We started just before the Soweto uprising in 1976 and carried on for three years. While Tim - the technical mastermind - was sentenced to 12 years in jail, his friend Stephen got eight years. But he needed to create another one to make it into the next part of the prison. [21], Along with Lee, Jenkin was charged with "producing and distributing 18 different pamphlets on behalf of banned organisations" including the South African Communist Party, the ANC and its armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, from 1975 to 1978, and urging people to join the liberation movement. He became instrumental to the escape plan in several ways, making the early suggestion any escape plan would have to involve the making of keys,[7] providing a hacksaw which he had secreted after plumbers had left it behind,[8] and getting involved in some of the riskier aspects of the planning and testing of the scheme. Stephen began to experiment with wooden keys the exact replicas used by prison guards during his compulsory shifts at the prison's wood workshop. It was hugely emotional, Stephen recalls. As clunkily deployed in the script for Escape from Pretoria, however, the line acts as a shortcut to nobility, in a tight genre exercise that has scant time for such elaborate niceties as character development and social context. Escape from Pretoria is a 2020 Australian prison film co-written and directed by Francis Annan, based on the real-life prison escape by three political prisoners in South Africa in 1979, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Daniel Webber. We use cookies and similar tools that are . They then photocopied it and swapped it with other students. 1978 Believe it or not, the chisel they used in the film [to beat down the door], was the actual chisel we used on the front door.. In my early years I had learned to pick the back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he says. Escape from Pretoria airs on Saturday, 4 July, at 20:00 on TNT (DStv 137) We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. After hundreds of days of looking at the keys, he commits their shape to memory and successfully makes replicas for all nineteen doors that lead to the main gate of the prison. Australian actor and former elite cyclist Nathan Page, best known internationally for his nuanced portrayal of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012), was born into an air force family in Perth on 25 August 1971. Rent EGP 29.99 Buy EGP 149.99 Trailers Trailer 14+ COMMON SENSE From the very first day, we started to collect intelligence about possible escape routes, says Tim, who now lives in Johannesburg. [6], In June 1973, Moumbaris was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring with the ANC to "instigate violent revolution in South Africa', aiding guerrillas to enter the country, distributing ANC literature and reconnoitering the coast to find places for the sea-borne landing of guerrillas and arms. The trial in the Cape Town Supreme Court went from 6 to 15 June 1978. It was a little noise that promised a big prize freedom. Success came after many long nights of painstaking effort and risk. Escape From Pretoria follows the months-long construction of an escape plan formulated by South African apartheid activists Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee, and French national Leonard Fontaine (substituted for Egyptian-Australian activist Alex Moumbaris). Escape from Pretoria at IMDb "20 Films That Starred 3 Or More Harry Potter Actors". This one actually has its roots in a real-life story, as it'll be based on Tim Jenkin's autobiography Inside Out: Escape From Pretoria Prison. folktandvrden karlskoga flyttar . The wooden key didnt work at first. [13] Jenkin went to London at the request of the ANC in May 1976, while Lee continued to plant leaflet bombs around Johannesburg. [4] He had not grown up in a political family, but when in Britain associated with Communists there and he was inspired by the communist resistance to the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. Jenkins was not going to help the cause by sitting in prison, and he set about planning an escape. I made the first key in the first week. The layout of the prison cell Tim escaped fromAfter making most of the key in his first week, Tim also needed to smuggle it back to his cell. As such, they were brought to the attention of South Africa's secret police. It was not until the following morning that the warders realised the three men were missing. [18], From there they were flown to Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, accompanied by MK commander, Joe Modise. Door three fortunately worked with the same key as the inner cell door. There were a few worrying signs that Jenkin was being monitored, but he went to London to see Robin for six weeks and returned without incident. In prison they met Denis Goldberg and on Alexandre Moumbaris - not on Leonard Fontaine. Jenkin hatches a plan to whittle wooden facsimiles of the keys to every door separating them from the outside world an almost naively simple scheme that necessitates a complex network of hiding places and bluffs, as vindictive guards begin to suspect something is afoot. [17] Lee, having many friends in Johannesburg, thought it best to contact them in the first instance, so the group split at that point, making plans to meet in London. . [12], After the success of their first mission, Jenkin worked on refining the mechanism by adding a triggering system to the leaflet bomb, so that they did not have to be close to it when it went off. After a few tries, he managed to get the key to the right position and the door opened. [20], In Paris, Moumbaris organised the opening of the ANC office in 1981[21] and continued to assist the struggle against apartheid in various ways, including recruiting comrades for missions in South Africa for MK. He continued: [It was] the only thing we managed to keep; we got rid of the all the keys immediately, but for some reason we kept thatprobably as a weapon. This movie is based on the book written by Jenkin himself and because of the Escape from Pretoria feels very personal and up-close. Jenkin and Lee - joined by fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbaris - decide to send the regime a clear message and escape. [2] In June 2018, he was received by South African ambassador Rapu Molekane at the embassy in Paris. Escape from Pretoria airs on Saturday, 4 July, at 20:00 on TNT (DStv 137) We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. . They had to leave it untested until the actual night of their escape, December 11, 1979 - 18 months after their conviction. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. He tells how Tim had been given a 12-year sentence and he had got eight years inside. The inmate took a piece of paper, stuffed it into the lock using a knife and measured the depth. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. [14] He afterwards said the prison was "luxury" compared to French prison. "You get back to your cell and youd think, 'OK, its over, I can relax' but you couldnt.". [2] He started associating with African National Congress (ANC) exiles and beginning in 1967, he travelled in and out of South Africa transporting literature for the movement. While their revolutionary deeds helped to change the course of history, their prison escape was that which garnered them real fame. "You are the white Mandela," says a ham-faced warden, all but spitting in the face of anti-apartheid activist Tim Jenkin upon his arrival at Pretoria Local Prison in 1978. He signalled his wish to be included in any possible escape plan to Jenkin even before the idea was presented to him, after Jenkin had mentioned he and Lee had brought some money into prison. On December 11th, 1979, three white activists, Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris, escaped from Pretoria Central Prison. Jenkin says that he'd always thought his book was "good movie material" and he wasn't wrong. At this point, a third prisoner, Alex Moumbaris joined the escape effort. It was suspected South African agents may have raided the home for documents to use in Moumbaris' trial. So it is a very strange sort of thing., Jenkin continues: It is very exciting [to watch] but I knew the outcome. You are the white Mandela, says a ham-faced warden, all but spitting in the face of anti-apartheid activist Tim Jenkin upon his arrival at Pretoria Local Prison in 1978. I just couldnt believe it., Stephen remembers the exact moment he had heard the lock click. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. But, he says, they were determined to break free. So when his key worked, it was momentous. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. We have a base load of around 70 People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Lee worked for the University of the Witwatersrand, while Jenkin ran the "cell" on his own in Cape Town. Alexandre Moumbaris is a political activist and former political prisoner. 2020 PG-13 1h 46m DVD . Moumbaris was charged under the Terrorism Act in January 1973. [9], In February 1974, Jenkin and Lee left the country in order to join the ANC in London, with the intention of helping to bring about change in South Africa. The third prisoner in this true story was in fact Alexandre Moumbaris, Egyptian born of Greek heritage who grew up in Australia and was raised in the UK. This virus has brutally disrupted many cinematic dreams. He returned to France after his escape. Once the plan is set in motion, the film itself feels unlocked: As a re-eenacted chapter of anti-apartheid history, Escape from Pretoria may not feel entirely authentic, but it knows its prison-movie terrain, from Alcatraz to Shawshank, inside out. My heart was racing. For other inquiries, Contact Us. View our online Press Pack. Offers may be subject to change without notice. There was also a six-metre high barbed-wire perimeter fence. They were determined to fight the countys unjust apartheid regime which had enforced racial segregation since 1948. Especially the ending of the film we had to break the final door, we were hoping to pull off the ultimate escape without leaving a trace. It was dangerous, they did have regular inspections. Now Escape From Pretoria tells the story of Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white South African activists, imprisoned in 1978 for working on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC), and their escape from the notorious white mans Robben Island, Pretoria Prison. [2], He and Jenkin carried out a first trial run of the escape plan, and were involved in a couple of scrapes which nearly led to discovery in the lead-up to the escape. Tiene 72 aos y ha escrito varios libros. Escape from Pretoria," however, the line acts as a shortcut to nobility, in a tight genre exercise that has scant time for such elaborate niceties as character development and social context. [10], His relationship with the jailers tended towards being outwardly defiant and somewhat aggressive, laughing at new wardens who tried to discipline him. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. This led him to learning more about the injustice in his own country. La historia del activista sudafricano Tim Jenkin inspira Fuga de Pretoria, . He worked as a trade unionist and came to South Africa in 1973. [35][36] Filming of Escape from Pretoria began in Adelaide, South Australia, in March and April 2019, with Daniel Webber joining the cast as Lee. On 9 January Moumbaris left for France and was welcomed upon arrival in Paris by Marie-Jos (whom he had not seen for seven years), his mother, 7-year-old son Boris, and many friends and well-wishers. South African Tim Jenkins' (Daniel Radcliffe) sentence of 12 years in Pretoria's maximum-security prison has to be seen as a warning to other white people repulsed by apartheid. [33][34], In May 2017, it was announced that production would start on a film of Jenkin's book, produced by David Barron and starring Daniel Radcliffe as Jenkin and Ian Hart as Goldberg.