FIRST OFF . . .

Sharon Sopher, producer of the Oscar-nominated “Witness to Apartheid,” calls South Africa’s recent restriction-laden decision to release her film there “apartheid distribution” and says she will not allow the film to be seen in that country. Sopher added that the decision last week “confirmed my worst suspicions--that the government is trying to utilize the world stage created by the film’s Oscar nomination to falsely present itself as having lifted the ban.” The South African Publications Appeals Board lifted an earlier government ban on the film, which documents the country’s civil unrest, but restricted the film’s screening to audiences of no more than 200. The board also requires each theater to obtain permission to screen the film, restricts audiences to 18 years and over and forbids video sales of the film.