The prison, constructed from stone and steel, had gone down in prisoner folklore as being a fortress from which no one could ever hope to escape. 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. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. As it is, its been done cheaply and (sort of) cheerfully as an Australian production by British writer-director Francis Annan, focusing heavily on suspense mechanics as if to modestly understate its factual heft. [21], Commenting on the 2017 French election, Moumbaris named Franois Asselineau as his favourite candidate, but he would vote for Marine Le Pen rather than Emmanuel Macron, purely based on protection of the nation against Macron's "financial fascism", but was still a staunch communist. He lived and worked in UK and later moved to South Africa. [21], In May 2011, Moumbaris was charged with making a "Public call to discrimination" and set to appear in court in Flers, in Normandy. 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 also . View our online Press Pack. Jenkins book of the same title was published in 1987, when he was still living as a fugitive from nominal justice in London. At night there were dogs in the yard, Stephen told The Mirror. [37][38] Jenkin spent some time in Adelaide, advising Radcliffe on accent and other aspects of the film, as well as playing as an extra, playing a prisoner next to Radcliffe in the visiting room. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. "You get back to your cell and youd think, 'OK, its over, I can relax' but you couldnt.". Locked up in a maximum-security jail for leaflets against apartheid, they embarked on one of the most audacious escapes in history. 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. Why? [10], Upon return to Cape Town in July 1975, Lee and Jenkin bought a typewriter, duplicator and stationery to print and post pamphlets and leased first a garage and then a tiny apartment. There was enough explosive inside to lift about 500 pamphlets into the air. Jenkin says that he'd always thought his book was "good movie material" and he wasn't wrong. I felt so elated.". 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 Prison (within the Pretoria Central Prison complex) with Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee. Escape from Pretoria at IMDb "20 Films That Starred 3 Or More Harry Potter Actors". I wasnt wondering, oh will they make it?. In my early years I had learned to pick the back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he says. 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. Their fellow inmates told them theyd never make it. In June 1978, Stephen Lee and Tim Jenkin were sentenced to eight to 12 years in prison for producing political pamphlets during the Apartheid. We have a base load of around 70 At this point, a third prisoner, Alex Moumbaris joined the escape effort. [25][26] Filming of Escape from Pretoria began in Adelaide, South Australia, in March 2019, with Daniel Webber joining the cast as Lee. There was only one guard on duty and he was chatting to Denis, said Stephen, recalling how he kept him distracted. [6], At the end of 1970 Jenkin enrolled at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science degree at the end of 1973. "This was going to let us out of the cells into the corridor," he added. [2] Goldberg and the others decided to withdraw from the escape, with Goldberg continuing to be involved in the preparations. 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. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as a jailed anti-apartheid activist, this true-life prison-break thriller is stronger on genre mechanics than political nuance. His wife was detained during the same period of his detention, but was later released without charge. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. The escape preparations brought some differences of opinion amongst the political prisoners, but they remained comrades and all contributed in some way to the escape effort. skuggans caf lngtora. He was born in Egypt to Greek parents, grew up in Australia, lived and worked in the UK, was imprisoned in South Africa and now lives in France. [13], Marie-Jos was repeatedly denied a visitor's visa to visit him in prison, and in February 1978 Moumbaris went on a hunger strike to try to force the authorities to let her in, but after 10 days realised the futility of this and gave up. 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. On the outside of the first door was another door made of solid metal, but the lock was on the other side and there was no way of reaching it from inside the cell. How? Escape From Pretoria chronicles their journey, shedding new light on how they managed to escape from prison. [14] He afterwards said the prison was "luxury" compared to French prison. 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. We got through the nine doors and then at the final door, we found we couldnt open the lock. It took them months to crack the fourth lock. Then, one day he was working in a carpentry workshop and it struck him that the key could be wooden. Jenkin and Leejoined by fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbarisdecide to send the regime a clear message and escape. Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. Lee moved back to Cape Town in December after enrolling in a master's degree in sociology, and the two continued their undercover work, but unbeknownst to them they were by this time under surveillance by the Security Branch of the South African Police. Thence to Mozambique, and, via contact with FRELIMO, to Angola, where from the ANC office in Luanda they were able to make phone calls to their families, and were also given the news Lee was on his way to join them at the airport. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison, along with Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris. They were so convinced that they'd soon find a way out that they had money smuggled in to use for taxi fares once they got out. At first the wooden key didnt turn the inner cell door lock. Moumbaris was charged under the Terrorism Act in January 1973. [12], Moumbaris, although enrolled in university courses, did not undertake formal studies at all while in prison; it was a cover so extra books could be obtained from the university library for everyone to make use of; it was a way of keeping themselves informed about the world. The last 30-odd years have seen such a wealth of diverse, resonant personal histories emerge from the ashes of apartheid not least that of the actual, not-white Mandela that " Escape from. lindbacken fastigheter The only languages allowed to be spoken during visits were the two "official" languages, English and Afrikaans, but as Boris only spoke French and was deemed too young to be a security risk, allowed them to converse in French. 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 suspected South African agents may have raided the home for documents to use in Moumbaris' trial. On December 11th, 1979, three white activists, Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris, escaped from Pretoria Central Prison. There he met and married a French woman, Marie-Jos. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. Instead, 25 guerillas were infiltrated overland, with Moumbaris aiding with border reconnaissance and transport,[5] as commander of the receiving operation. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. We just hoped that nobody would see us.". Nick Fentons editing, meanwhile, maintains a keen sense of physical space and strain, not least in one comically queasy scene where a dropped key must be retrieved with the aid of a broomstick and chewing gum. Door five and six were near the night wardens office, so they hatched a plan to leave dummies made from boiler suits stuffed with sheets in their beds so they could hide in a cupboard while he went to check on their cells. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. He left for the UK in 1970, where, working in a fibreglass factory under poor working conditions and little pay, found the system unjust and developed an interest in sociology. AM. They both found their sociology course disappointing, as the material reinforced the status quo of apartheid. Shop Escape from Pretoria. Using an ingenious homemade wooden key attached, like a crankshaft, to the end of a broomstick, Tim had just got through his outer cell door. Similarly to American Animals, the fast-paced narrative is geared toward the great moment of liberation, showing how the prisoners ended up developing their invincible strategy. [2] In 1995, Jenkin wrote a 6-part article series called Talking to Vula: The Story of the Secret Underground Communications Network of Operation Vula. It was December 11, 1979, 18 months after our conviction, Stephen says. In December 1979, Jenkin, Lee and fellow inmate Alex Moumbaris broke out of Pretoria Central Prison using handmade keys to nine of the doors leading out of the prison, after several hair-raising moments after encountering unforeseen obstacles. Something went wrong, please try again later. Alex Moumbaris was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on the 20 June 1973, which he started serving in the Pretoria Local Prison. Members' spirits were low and this combination of factors made it difficult for the ANC to re-infiltrate the combatants who had been trained abroad.

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