Leaving Mandela Park is a kaleidoscopic documentary about the dreams of children living in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa. It tells the story of five youngsters with a special drive to escape, however briefly, the drabness of everyday reality. Gauva left his hometown as a little boy because he didn’t see a future. Someone discovered his singing talents and now he performs on the streets and sells his CD’s to the spectators. Cynthia lives in a neighbourhood where gangs shoot at each other, but has her saxophone as a means of escape. Pinky studies hard to realise her dream - a stone house -, dancing to lighten her life. Music and dance turn out to be the means of survival for these children. These dreams do not stand on their own. They are a metaphor for the hopeful future of a country trying to drag itself up from a mire of poverty and violence. Leaving Mandela Park shows the incredible resilience and vitality of these children.