A mother. A daughter. Two women—two radically different responses to AIDS. Pinky is loud and flamboyant. She likes dressing up and speaking her mind. A tireless AIDS awareness campaigner who contracted HIV from a blood transfusion, she spares no one’s feelings in her efforts to publicise the disease. But her daughter Ntombi, like any teenager,
A devastating look at life on the streets in the Cape Flats, focusing on Kashiefa and her friends. She has hustled, done time in a reformatory, and witnessed and fallen prey to the brutality of a place where gangsters, guns, mandrax and rape are endemic. Now she is pregnant and desperately wants to turn her
Our synopsis in 2001: Not only is he dead, but he’s also lost his head… since the completion of this film, Strijdom Square collapsed, ironically, on what was Republic Day and Strijdom’s head literally rolled. So here’s a real piece of history… the Square was once the domain of white order and supremacy, then it
Our synopsis in 2001: The abo-mshoza were expensively dressed, insolent, rebellious hell-raising women of the townships. Five women, now in their early forties, reminisce about their wild youth, and we gain a fascinating insight into the Isipantsula subculture of the late 70s and early 80s. Images of Joburg and Soweto in the 70s, are intercut
One night in the lives of five men looking for love on the mean streets of Johannesburg. There’s Foster, a homeless rent boy who came here to realise his dream of becoming a musician and now services men who don’t get enough “sexercise”. Bongani, whose loyalty is divided between the gay client who supports him
“I remember the forbidden back yard living quarters into which I often transgressed. My secret journey from our tiled and odourless kitchen into the enfolding smell of suurpap, lifebouy soap and bodies contained in that room.” This personal and evocative film is an eloquent testimony to the relationships that developed between young whites and their
This charming film tells the story of Hompi and Charles, two men who want to marry. A tribute to the South African constitution, which outlaws discrimination, also in terms of sexual orientation, My Son the Bride makes it clear that, however liberal our constitution, prejudices aren’t easily overcome, especially when family is involved. Amusing and
Ndipiwe Mjekula grew up in the privileged environment of Johannesburg’s leafy suburbs. Educated at a posh school, he’s more at home cruising around in his dad’s flashy Audi and sipping beers around a high-society braai than leading the rural life of his forebears. But now Ndipiwe must go to the bush to be circumcised. The
Beverley Ditsie is a feisty lesbian activist from Soweto; Simon Nkoli was a hero of the struggle against Apartheid—who also happened to be gay. This is the story of their tireless battle against prejudice in any form, an effort which played a pivotal role in ensuring constitutional protection of gay rights. The film also explores
Rather than succumb to despair in a neighbourhood so poor that their children often have to go hungry, the fisherwomen of Ocean View, near Cape Town, brave the dangers of the sea to put some food on the table. Through a series of intimate interviews, the film takes viewers into the hearts and minds of
A whacky take on the geography of Apartheid in Cape Town. Using the Black River as both metaphor and embodiment of separation and displacement, Edwards constructs poetic tableaux of water and sound to convey how the city’s musical traditions, often markers of ethnic identity, reinforce the ghettoisation of culture or serve to bring people together.
Our synopsis in 2001: Andile “One by One” Tshongolo has literally boxed his way out of the township. This film documents his struggle, his gruelling training regime and relationship with trainer Steve Naude, and his physically demanding job as a groom in Trudy Houareaus stable. All in an effort to achieve a better life for
This remarkable video greeting project—in which messages from Mozambican refugees living in South Africa were recorded and then shown to relatives in remote villages back home—offers a unique glimpse into the lives of families torn apart by war and economic necessity. Mothers learn of sons who have passed away, wives discover their husbands have taken