Laundry (Uhlanjululo)

South Africa, 1968. Apartheid is the law of the land.

Khuthala, a gifted young musician, wants nothing to do with his family’s laundry business. He dreams of jazz—of a life shaped by music rather than soap and steam. But when the apartheid government begins cracking down on Black-owned businesses, and Khuthala’s father is arrested and brutally beaten, his dreams begin to collapse. To save his father, Khuthala is forced into an impossible choice—one that betrays his closest friends and his own ambitions. In the world of apartheid, even sacrifice is not enough.

Giving up your dreams won’t save you.

An intimate portrait of family, resistance, and artistic survival under apartheid, Laundry is distinguished by its emotional precision, striking cinematography, and evocative jazz-inflected soundtrack—together creating a cinematic experience of rare beauty and restraint.

Official Selection 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.