From political exile in France, Breyten Breytenbach came to South Africa in 1972 on a special visit to introduce his wife, Yolande, to his family and to the country of his heart. On this trip he was informed by the South African state that he would no longer be accepted into the country after his
A celebration of music in the struggle, Amandla! looks at how changes in the lyrics, rhythms and melodies of liberation songs reflected the radicalisation of black resistance in response to ever harsher crackdowns by the Apartheid state. In the context of the defiance campaign era of the 1950s, jaunty ditties warned “watch out Verwoerd, the
A visually arresting exploration of the fate of music after China’s Cultural Revolution, during which all Western music and even Chinese traditional music was branded “bourgeois” and counter-revolutionary A new generation was eager to learn once music academies were opened again, and we see how a rich new world, so long suppressed, inspired five composers.
In Cape Town’s Pollsmoor prison, powerfully brutal gangs known as the Numbers reign supreme. In a groundbreaking act towards a peaceful change in the system, the prison’s first black chief warden, Johnny Jansen, opens the door to a film crew. They document conflict resolution workshops and the inmates of Cell 191, where the crudely tattooed
June 1983. Four seemingly random murders occur across South Africa. Police eventually find evidence which links all four to a renegade couple, Charmaine Phillips and Peter Grundlingh, who are on a road run across the country with their baby. NYU film graduate Blecher has constructed a part murder mystery, part ‘dear diary’ account of South
At an intersection of roads from Uganda to Tanzania and from Kenya via Rwanda to Zaire, some half million refugees from Tutsi-Hutu violence stream in to create a boomtown called Benaco. The newcomers whose roles in the Rwandan genocide are unknown mean big business and a wave of petty crime. A single white wedding dress,
Remarkably, the CIA never put hand to the extensive 8mm footage of the group that they filmed of themselves, here inter-cut with contemporary interviews of the group, friends and family. Daniele, now a fortune-teller and future consultant, reading tea cups, appears endlessly amused by the quixotic idealism of his youth… This film is a revealing
While Che is idolised, the reality of his activism is often lost behind the icon. Dindo’s film gives substance to the legend. In 1961 Guevara became a minister in Castro’s government. In this capacity, in Algiers in 1965, he delivered a powerful speech indicting socialist powers for exploiting the Third World and, in effect, colluding
We are pleased to present a ‘work in progress’ about Cape Town’s Black River and the musicians who live along its banks. This is a hugely enjoyable exploration of musical styles and musicians’ fantasies. Musings on the much-maligned river provide ingenious links between the four segments. Close-up camera work provides a feast of visual detail.
Documentary meets Art House meets home video in this hard-hitting, hyper-real ride through the lives of eight Swiss teenagers as they face the challenge of entering life-after-school. With a “mother-fucker” and a roll of the eyes they take us on a breakbeat journey through their classroom, bedrooms, nightclubs, their secrets, their telephone conversations, their politics.
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
With personal histories as a starting point and a healthy dose of irony, seven young filmmakers examine concepts of what it means to be ‘Swiss’. The sons and daughters of immigrants, Italians, Indians, Egyptians and Moroccan Jews among them, and with the ‘cultural baggage’ of their ancestors, they address issues of immigration, emigration and duty
Oscar winner Jayanti has directed a most intimate and revealing glimpse of the troubled soul of crime writer James Ellroy. During a series of meals and eerie night drives with LAPD homicide detectives, Ellroy mulls over gruesome unsolved murders – his mother’s included – reconstructing in chilling detail one crime scene after another. It’s an
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
A portrait of the women’s organization in India, called SEWA, that holds to the simple yet radical belief that poor women need organizing, not welfare.
Conductor’s baton poised to strike and one fist raised vengefully in the air – this image is now part of the Karajan legend. “He could prolong a measure with a simple movement of the arm. His technique was breathtaking”, Christa Ludwig recalls. Ten years after the death of the Maestro, some of the great artists
Avoiding the ‘shopping malls and fake piazzas’ of Gauteng, the film follows the road that runs through the province’s history and present. The journey to find out “why we are here” is a task Hofmeyr takes on with commitment and humour. He meets a housing activist named Rasta, who represents people fighting eviction from an
Zimbabwe has betrayed the hopes many placed in its success after independence in 1980. Desai’s odyssey to the country he knew and loved, Desai traces the calculus of Zimbabwe’s rapid decline into civil chaos, economic disaster and starvation. He visits war veterans [who call themselves settlers], farm workers and white farmers in a sincere attempt
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
This story transports you from Verwoerdian South Africa and Sophiatown in the 50s, to Harlem in the 60s, under the growing influence of Malcolm X, and the seventh floor of a building in New York from which Nat Nakasa, one of South Africa’s most visionary journalists, plunged to his tragic death, only a year after
The rhetoric of sainthood that surrounds Nelson Mandela is built on legendary details. This very sainthood erases other details and presents no mean challenge for the documentarist. Bestall’s ‘intimate portrait’ has approached the task by NOT interviewing the most authoritative source – the man himself. He appears only in archival footage, some of it very
1989 marked an unprecedented event in modern history, it was the first time a country put to the vote whether or not it wanted an army. While celebrations for the 50-year commemoration of the outbreak of World War II are well under way, a more liberal Swiss element collects thousands of signatures to support the
Procedure 769 is the bureaucratic euphemism for the death penalty in California, USA. This film focuses on eleven witnesses to the execution of convicted murderer Robert Alton Harris. Among the observers are San Quentin’s former prison warden who supervises the execution and the family of one of Harris victims. Also present are a journalist; official
Real Lives tells of the extraordinary events in people’s lives. Compelling and entertaining, the series offers a rare depth of insight into the diversity of South African stories. First is the riveting account of beautiful Erica of Omsk in Siberia, who sent her photograph to EuroClub, a matchmaking agency. She’s looking for a better life.