This look at the old railway town of Hutchinson and its subsequent almost-complete deterioration and abandonment, as the country’s train system both modernised and diminished, provides a fascinating snapshot of small-town life during the apartheid era and transition to democracy. Photographer Eric Miller passed through Hutchinson and felt compelled to tell the story of the place – but he wanted to do so in a medium other than photography. The result is an extraordinary narrative about the lives of ordinary people in a hollowed-out town. With multiple layers of complexity, the film explores transport policies before and after democracy, as well as racial segregation, economic change and the social-grant survivalism that has become a defining factor in the lives of many South Africans.
Impact Docs (2019) – Impact Award
