Independently released in 1973,
Joe Bullet played at the Eyethu cinema in
Soweto. The film was premiered without approval from apartheid censors and after two screenings the film was banned, although the ban was eventually overturned. For about 40 years the original film reels were stored by the writer and producer Tonie van der Merwe's, who kept the reels every time he moved home. The film was restored by Gravel Road Distribution under the supervision of its original producer, Tonie van der Merwe.
Screenings Joe Bullet was scheduled to appear at the MoMA annual film preservation festival in 2014. According to
Variety on 18 October 2014, the film was to be screened at the New York fest on 8 and 13 November. It was announced on 24 January 2017 on Channel24.co.za that after 44 years the film was to be screened at the Bioscope Independent Cinema in
Johannesburg on 24 January and at the Company Gardens in
Cape Town on 25 January. ==Story==