Discover
THE UNTOLD STORY BEHIND HISTORY, a well-kept secret behind the world-wide icon : Nelson Mandela’s release was a Plot for Peace. For the first time, heads of state, generals, diplomats, master spies and anti-apartheid fighters reveal how Africa’s front line states helped end apartheid. The improbable key to Mandela’s prison cell was a mysterious French businessman, dubbed “Monsieur Jacques” in classified correspondence. His trade secret was trust.
In the mid-1980s, township violence raged in South Africa and one of the Cold War’s most vicious proxy conflicts devastated Angola. “Total onslaught” was writ large across the horizon. It was then that a foreign commodity trader with connections to all stakeholders in the region became the lifeline for top-secret contacts. To build trust, he organized a vast prisoners’ exchange. A year later, in 1988, South Africa’s forces and 50,000 Cuban troops began withdrawing from Angola.
In John LeCarré style, the land of apartheid and the front line states come out of the Cold War long before the Berlin Wall crumbles. Within fourteen months, Mandela walks out of jail – a free man and, soon, South Africa’s first democratically elected President.
For the first time, the protagonists of this high-risk venture – African heads of state, battle-tested generals, international diplomats, secret service operatives, and anti-apartheid icons such as Winnie Mandela and ANC leader Thabo Mbeki – recount the true story of how the front line states put paid to apartheid.
“Monsieur Jacques” leads this action-packed documentary through a rugged landscape of moral dilemmas. To some, such as Thabo Mbeki and militants for transparency, he was a sanctions buster, a secret go-between, a French spy. For others, such as Winnie Mandela and Mozambique’s former President Joaquim Chissano, he is a trusted friend and a man of bold vision. “I shake the hand I cannot sever”, says Jean-Yves Ollivier. As a matter of fact, he was bestowed upon highest honours by both the last impenitent stalwart of apartheid, P.W. Botha, and the first President of the new South Africa, Nelson Mandela.
Original Release
11/20/2013
US Release
10/31/2014
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Jean-Yves Ollivier | Jean-Yves Ollivier, aka 'Monsieur Jacques' / Mysterious Frenchman |
Winnie Mandela | ANC activist, South Africa / Herself |
Thabo Mbeki | Former President, South Africa / Himself |
Matthews Phosa | ANC activist, South Africa / Himself |
Pik Botha | Minister of Foreign Affairs, South Africa / Himself |
Joaquim Chissano | Former President, Mozanbique / Former President (Mozambique) |
Neels Van Tonder | Head of Military Intelligence, South Africa / Himself |
Jacinto Veloso | Minister of Security and Cooperation, Mozambique / Minister of Security and Cooperation (Mozambique) |
Michael Ledeen | National Security Council, USA / National Security Council (USA) |
Rusty Evans | Director-General of Foreign Affairs, South Africa / Director-General of Foreign Affairs (South Africa) / Himself |
Directors
Writers
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Jean-Yves Ollivier | Jean-Yves Ollivier, aka 'Monsieur Jacques' / Mysterious Frenchman |
Winnie Mandela | ANC activist, South Africa / Herself |
Thabo Mbeki | Former President, South Africa / Himself |
Matthews Phosa | ANC activist, South Africa / Himself |
Pik Botha | Minister of Foreign Affairs, South Africa / Himself |
Joaquim Chissano | Former President, Mozanbique / Former President (Mozambique) |
Neels Van Tonder | Head of Military Intelligence, South Africa / Himself |
Jacinto Veloso | Minister of Security and Cooperation, Mozambique / Minister of Security and Cooperation (Mozambique) |
Michael Ledeen | National Security Council, USA / National Security Council (USA) |
Rusty Evans | Director-General of Foreign Affairs, South Africa / Director-General of Foreign Affairs (South Africa) / Himself |
Denis Sassou-Nguesso | President, Congo-Brazzaville |
Chester Crocker | Assistant Secretary of State, USA / Assistant Secretary of State (USA) |
Jean-Christophe Mitterrand | Presidential Advisor for African Affairs, France / Presidential Advisor for African Affairs (France) |
Michel Roussin | Chief of Staff of Prime Minister Chirac, France |
Odile Biyidi | President of Survie [NGO], France / President of Survie (NGO, France) |
Jorge Risquet | African Affairs, Central Comitee of the CCP, Cuba |
Wynand du Toit | Special Forces, South Africa / Special Forces (South Africa) / Himself |
Afonso Van-Dúnem M'Binda | Minister of Foreign Relations, Angola |
Pieter Willem Botha | Self (as P.W. Botha) |
F.W. de Klerk | Self |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Mandy Jacobson | Producer |