Miners Shot Down is a film by the South African director Rehad Desai that attempts to reconstruct the events at the Marikana platinum mine on 16 August 2012. Almost two years ago, a miners’ protest against their working conditions was suppressed by the police who shot more than 30 people. This triggered further protests in the country and an international uproar. The filmmaker offers his own answers to the question of how such an outbreak of state violence can be possible in a democracy.
