The Askew Student Life Cinema presents the documentary film, "Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa." The film, which won a Peabody award in 2015, chronicles the end of apartheid in South Africa and the country’s efforts to build a new democratic government. Albie Sachs, as a justice on the Constitutional Court of South Africa from 1994 to 2009, played a major role in this process. Refreshments will be available at 4:30 p.m. After the screening, executive director of the FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights and associate professor of criminology Terry Coonan and professor of philosophy Simon May will lead a discussion session, giving FSU students and faculty a rare opportunity to speak with Sachs. A reception will follow the talk.

Albie Sachs completed his Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Cape Town in 1956 and started practicing as an advocate at the Cape Bar at age 21. The bulk of his work involved defending people charged under racist statutes and repressive security laws.

In 1966, Sachs went into exile in England and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Sussex in 1971. He moved to Maputo, Mozambique in 1977 to take up a position as a Law Professor at Eduardo Mondlane University. In 1988, a bomb was placed in his car in Maputo by South African security agents. The blast caused him to lose an arm and the sight in his left eye. After recovering, he devoted himself full-time to preparations for a new democratic constitution for South Africa. He returned to South Africa in 1990 and continued his work on the Constitutional Committee as well as on the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress. After the first democratic election, Nelson Mandela appointed him to the new Constitutional Court.

Sachs is the author of many books and has traveled widely, sharing South African experiences that might help heal divided societies. His visit is sponsored by the FSU College of Arts and Sciences, the FSU Department of Religion, the FSU Department of Philosophy, the FSU College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, the FSU College of Law, the FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights and the FSU Office of the Provost.