Disclaimer: This historic film was produced during the apartheid era in South Africa. It contains propaganda elements that explicitly or tacitly endorse racism and racial separation. It is presented solely for historical purposes, to help document in part a period of terrible repression.
Produced in 1948 by Louis De Rochemont Associates, RICHES OF THE VELD is an educational film that gives a rosy portrait of South Africa in the era before apartheid ended. Directed by Bill Colleran, the movie vividly showcases the immense mineral and agricultural wealth of the nation, and includes a visit to the Kimberly Diamond mines. The film features shots of Johannesburg, Kimberly and Cape Town, and also shows a gold refinery and gold mine, vineyards, orange groves, and cattle ranches in the rich Veld.
The Veld, also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. A certain sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa has been officially defined as the Bushveld by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Trees are found only in a few places-frost, fire, and grazing animals allow grass to grow but prevent the growth of trees.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com