"500 Years Later" has received praise and controversy, both for its creative documentary genre, and its social-political impact with relation to race study. The film premiered on February 28, 2005, at the Pan-African Awards (PAFF) and won Best Documentary there. It made its American television premiere on August 23, 2008, on TV One (Radio One), and Ethiopian Television premiere on October 27, 2007. It was shown nationally in South Africa on December 14, 2014, on SABC 2. In 2010, the sequel, "Motherland", was released.