Spring Queen (2014)

Set in Cape Town, South Africa, female factory workers who make the clothes we wear compete for the crown of Spring Queen. Created in the darkest days of apartheid as part of a false economy and a racially engineered culture, the event has a defiant subtext. This film follows for a year the stories of the ordinary women who become 'Cinderellas for a night', first in their factories and then in front of 10,000 excited supporters. It is a poignant exploration of how the pageant has affected their lives and, as textile manufacturing increasingly moves to China causing many South African factories to close, it shines a light on a society and a world in transition.