Documentary film about persecution in South Africa to be screened at the White House on Thursday

The Lex Libertas documentary film Crossed Out: Confronting Persecution in South Africa will be screened at the White House on Thursday afternoon, 24 September, as part of the program surrounding the White Cross Project in Washington, D.C.

The screening will be a closed event attended by White House and State Department staff, speakers participating in the White Cross Project Conference, and three victims directly affected by farm attacks in South Africa: Amanda Platt, Heidie Taljaard and Leon Lotz. Dr Ernst Roets, Executive Director of Lex Libertas and co-director of the documentary, will make introductory remarks, while Taljaard will speak on behalf of the victims and families affected by farm attacks.

‘This is an important breakthrough,’ said Roets. ‘One of our central objectives has been to ensure that the realities facing people and communities in South Africa are heard directly by those in positions to influence policy. Crossed Out brings together the evidence, the broader political context and, most importantly, the experiences of people who have personally lived through these realities.’

Roets added that Lex Libertas does not expect the White House to fix South Africa’s problems, but that international pressure will certainly contribute to a more viable political arrangement in South Africa.

The documentary examines the crisis in South Africa through the themes of political incitement, farm attacks, race-based exclusion and threats to property rights. It also considers the deeper structural challenges facing the country and makes the case for solutions based on freedom, decentralization and self-governance.

The White House screening will take place one day before the White Cross Project Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Friday, 25 September, to which the media is invited. The conference will bring together South African and American speakers, experts and victims to discuss the issues raised in the White Cross Project and possible practical and long-term solutions.