Eric Abraham (born March 1954) is a South African-British producer and former journalist and activist. Born and raised in South Africa, he moved in 1977 to England, where he lived in exile for 15 years for his reporting in opposition to the South African

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

government in the press. He has since worked in theatre and screen, co-founding the London-based Portobello Productions as well as

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Isango Portobello The Isango Ensemble (''isango'' meaning "gate" or "port" or "gateway" in Xhosa and Zulu) is a Cape Town-based theatre company led by director Mark Dornford-May and music directors Pauline Malefane and Mandisi Dyantyis. It was established in 2000, ...

and

Fugard Theatre The District Six Homecoming Center, formerly the Fugard Theater, is a small theater in Cape Town, South Africa. It was opened in the District Six suburb in February 2010. The theater closed in March 2021 and was handed over to the District Six Mu ...

Early life and education

Abraham was born in the Wynberg area of Cape Town, South Africa, and grew up in

Rondebosch Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town. History Four years after the first Dutch ...

. His father was a naval commander who had arrived in South Africa from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to escape antisemitism. Abraham attended South African College High School, where he participated in school productions and ran a film society. He received a Spectemur Agendo Award from the school in 2019 for his contributions to civil liberties and the performing arts. Abraham studied Law at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

, but has said that he was "hardly ever at lectures because there was something more important in those days" as a student union leader and activist.

Career

He began his career in journalism, setting up the South African News Agency (SANA) as a correspondent on human rights abuses and black politics in South Africa for foreign press outlets such as the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. He was placed under a five-year

banning order This is a selection of people subject to a "banning order" by the apartheid-era South African government. Banning was a repressive and extrajudicial measure used by the South African apartheid regime (1948–1994) against its political opponent ...

and house arrest by the apartheid government in 1976 for his reporting. After receiving death threats, Abraham fled South Africa to

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

clandestinely with external help in January 1977. He could not return to his home country until apartheid ended, and he was granted

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

in the UK, where he found a job as a producer for the BBC television programme ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

''. He went on to become a successful film and theatre producer, with several successful productions including the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning ''

Kolya Kolya may refer to: People * Kolya, a diminutive variant of '' Nikolai'' * Kolya the Obscure, nickname of Nikolay Davydenko (born 1981), Russian tennis player * Kolya Korobov (born 2004), Russian singer and actor * Kolya Lukashenko (born 2004 ...

'' (1996). He was founding producer of the

in the

District Six District Six (Afrikaans: ''Distrik Ses'') is a residential neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, located next to the city's Cape Town CBD, CBD. In 1959, people of color were banned from the area and most of them were resettled in Gugulet ...

area of Cape Town (2010 to 2021), which served as a home for the Isango Portobello Company. Abraham's notable productions included a revival of the pioneering 1959 musical ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'' that launched the international careers of

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

and

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

among others; Abraham's new production opened in 2017 at the Fugard Theatre and was subsequently staged at the Nelson Mandela Theatre in Johannesburg.

Filmography

Film

*''Bintley's Mozart'' (1987) – documentary *'' Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin'' (1994) *''

'' (1996) *''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' (1997) *''

The War Zone ''The War Zone'' is a 1999 British drama film written by Alexander Stuart, directed by Tim Roth in his directorial debut, and starring Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Lara Belmont, Freddie Cunliffe, and Colin Farrell in his film debut (in a cr ...

'' (1999) *''

Dark Blue World ''Dark Blue World'' () is a 2001 war drama film by Czech director Jan Svěrák, the Academy Award-winning director of '' Kolya''. The film is about Czech pilots who fought for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. The scr ...

'' (2001) *''

Birthday Girl Birthday Girl may refer to: * "Birthday Girl" (short story), by Haruki Murakami, 2002 * ''Birthday Girl'' (2001 film), an erotic comedy thriller directed by Jez Butterworth * Birthday Girl (2023 film), a Danish thriller film *''Birthday Girl'', a ...

'' (2001) *''

Empties ''Empties'' () is a 2007 film directed by Jan Svěrák and written by his father Zdeněk Svěrák, who also stars in the film. It was released first in the Czech Republic in March 2007. The film is a comedy from the same team which made '' Ko ...

'' (2007) *'' Quiet Chaos'' (2008) *''

Kooky ''Kooky'' (, literally "Kuky returns", a pun on '' Lassie se vrací'') is a 2010 Czech action comedy film directed by Jan Svěrák. The film combines techniques of puppet animation, stop motion and live action. It tells the story of a six-year ...

'' (2010) *''

The Forgiveness of Blood ''The Forgiveness of Blood'' () is a 2011 drama film co-written and directed by Joshua Marston. The film premiered in competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and competed for the Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the high ...

'' (2011) *'' Ida'' (2013) *'' Three Brothers'' (2014) *''

Moffie ''Moffie'' is a 2019 biographical war romantic drama film co-written and directed by Oliver Hermanus. Based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by André Carl van der Merwe, the film depicts mandatory conscription into the notorious ...

'' (2019) *'' Bethlehem Night'' (2022) *''Four Mothers'' (TBA)

Television

*''

'', BBC (1981–1983) – 7 episodes *''Seal Morning'' (1986) – 6 episodes *''

ScreenPlay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

'' (1986) – 1 episode *''Lost Belongings'' (1987) – Miniseries *'' Danny, the Champion of the World'' (1989) – television film *''Othello'' (1989) – television film *''The Maestro and the Diva'' (1990) – documentary *''

A Murder of Quality A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'' (1991) – television film *''Still Life at the Penguin Cafe'' (1991) – television film *''True Tilda'' (1997) *''

Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is d ...

'' (1997–1998) — 11 episodes *''Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard'' (2012) – documentary

Notes

References

External links

*
Portobello Productions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Eric Living people 1954 births BBC television producers British film production company founders British theatre managers and producers Jewish South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists Mass media people from Cape Town People from Rondebosch South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African expatriates in England South African film producers South African male journalists South African people of Hungarian-Jewish descent South African refugees South African television producers South African theatre managers and producers University of Cape Town alumni White South African anti-apartheid activists