The decline of the apartheid state and the transition to a multiracial democracy in 1994 paved the way for a new South African cinema to emerge. No longer hampered by rigid apartheid policies, this new cinema has the potential to promote national healing by re-visioning South Africa's past, confronting the real and filmic legacy of apartheid, and engaging post-apartheid realities in styles and forms that are unique to and reflective of South Africa. However, Hollywood films continue to reign supreme in South Africa and the persistence of racial and economic inequality continues to limit access to the local film industry and its products. This dissertation examines how filmmakers in post-apartheid South Africa are using cinema to project a new national identity amidst the realities of an industry and society plagued by the legacy of inequality and the continued American monopoly of local box offices.

To better illustrate the South African film industry's current status, as well as its future trajectory, this dissertation considers the historical connections between the United States and South Africa, especially as it relates to the development of the local film industry and the types of films it produces. It also examines the history of the South African film industry and its shifting representations of the nation. Finally, through analysis of the eleven specific films, this dissertation concentrates on the emergence of three notable trends as they relate to the different ways South African filmmakers are defining and debating the nation. Namely, (1) films that target a global audience with local stories, (2) new aesthetic and thematic directions in independent cinema, and (3) popular films geared towards local audiences that reflect the mood of the nation.