Father Geek here with Dr. SOTHA's 101st report for our weekly Africa-AICN Column. Soooo just sit back relax and join Head Nurse Hollis and Rigobert Song on the journey thru a film world far far away in the land beyond beyond...

DR.SOTHA back for another Africa-AICN. Nurse Hollis has been stationed in South Korea in the hope of locating the eel dragon which, if found, will prove to relieve dislocation of the toe. This eel dragon has in the past proved hard to nail down since it harbors dangerous telepathic powers convincing its hunters to shoot themselves in the eyes if they get too close. I have fashioned an anti-telepathic headband for Hollis which should see her return to South Africa with the eel dragon and minimal psychological brain meltdown.

To talk to Hollis via webcam before she goes one on one with the dragon email us at My Lab's Jet Heli-port and we’ll set-up a time and place before she takes off.

SOUTH AFRICA

* A passenger carrying 1,400 blackmarket DVD copies of Men In Black II as well as 2,400 pirated copies of other, mostly recent, movies was arrested at the Johannesburg airport this last weekend by South Africa's Federation Against Copyright Theft, Screen International reported on its website, ScreenDaily.com, Authorities also nabbed an additional two passengers on Tuesday who were trying to smuggle in another 3,400 pirated DVDs.

* South Africa's Coronation Capital and Irish production company Little Bird are to set up a financial services company that will structure and raise finance for international film producers. The two companies recently signed an agreement to produce a feature documentary on the legendary 1950s music of Sophiatown which will be produced by Little Bird's James Mitchell and directed by Pascale Lamche. The partners have approached South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for financial support. The funding, which was structured by Coronation, comes from pre-sales to UK, French and Danish broadcasters and is budgeted at $605,000 (R6m), half of which will be spent in South Africa. Little Bird will contribute $76,000 (R750 000) of this, while the IDC will also contribute a portion. The Sophiatown documentary has already been sold to the BBC and to French and Danish broadcasters France 2 and TV2, respectively. Negotiations are under way with German! and Scandinavia broadcasters.

Coronation Capital's film interest would have two components, offshore and local, said Rob Lowdon, a director at Coronation Capital. He says that offshore, Coronation was looking to establish a joint venture with Little Bird to set up a financial services company that would structure and raise finance for international film producers. Coronation and Little Bird previously collaborated on the Werner Herzog feature Invincible, starring Tim Roth. Little Bird has set up a South African operation and through a development fund will finance productions filmed locally for international distribution. The collaboration was inevitable as Coronation already have an offshore presence in Dublin, where Little Bird is based. "We are trying to attract foreign film and television productions to South Africa because production costs are so cheap relative to internat! ional production costs,' said Lowdon.

Coronation has the view that film could become a high growth sector in SA and have positioned themselves accordingly. Coronation has a 28% equity stake in the SA based facilities company Sasani, which is listed on the JSE. "SA should be a unique destination for international film makers, provided we can perform and provide the service required. SA has some great advantages, including relatively low cost base, weather, locations, time zone, etc. SA is already a major destination for commercials, we hope this can happen for long-form too," says Lowdon

Other South African film projects in the pipeline are The Trial Of Nelson Mandela, about the Rivonia trials, and Valley Song, based on an Athol Fugard play to be directed by Harry Hook.

"There are extraordinary stories and locations in South Africa,' says Little Bird's James Mitchell, "But there is a lack of expertise in how to market these film products internationally. There are huge opportunities for European producers. Production costs are significantly cheaper and there is first-class infrastructure. 'South African is one of the best kept secrets in the film industry,"

NORTH AFRICA

* I now hand you over to Rigobert Song:

Happy 4th of July to all my American comrades, any day that celebrates independence and liberation is good in my books. Two of the films that I review you in this column are ironically about both these themes in an African context. But before I get on with my reviews, remember to email me at rigobertsong@hotmail.com with your African Film musings.

Africa Dreaming

Africa Dreaming is a landmark in African film, a series drawing together for the first time broadcasters, television producers, film directors and writers from across the continent.

Africa Dreaming is designed to give Africans a rare opportunity to speak directly to each other in their own words and images. It is also the first continent-wide media project in which South Africa has played a leading role. Africa Dreaming may be a harbinger of what South Africa's advanced telecommunications infrastructure can contribute to the long-term goal of creating a regional film and television industry.

Series Executive Producer Jeremy Nathan (In a Time of Violence) asked for script proposals for 26 minute dramatic shorts on the broad theme of "love in Africa." Six programs were selected and produced from South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Senegal and Tunisia; two are reviewed this week, with the following 2 next week:

Sophia's Homecoming (Namibia)

Directed by Richard Pakleppa & Produced by Bridget Pickering In Nama with English subtitles

Sophia's Homecoming reminds us that the devastating personal effects of the massive social dislocations caused by apartheid can never be erased. Sophia, like so many other women, had to become a self-reliant provider for her family, working as a domestic for a white family in Windhoek for twelve years. When her husband, Naftali, finally finds a job, she returns home with the dream of resuming her former family life. She quickly discovers that during her absence her sister Selna has replaced her in the affections of her children ö and her husband. Naftali reluctantly admits that he prefers Selna; he is ashamed with Sophia because she has had to support the family. Sophia pressures Selna to leave but she confesses she is pregnant with Naft! ali's child. Sophia realizes that she alone has developed the strength to make a new life for herself and returns with her three children to Windhoek, an ironic homecoming.

Sabriya (Tunisia)

Written & Directed by Abderrahmane Sissako – Produced by Dora Fourati In Arabic with English subtitles

This film explores the impact of the modern world on the traditional male society of the Maghreb. It is a film about men who prefer to live life as an abstract game and the free-spirited woman who changes all that. Said and Youssef have fulfilled a life-time dream by opening a "chess bar" in the middle of the desert. The men sit around drinking palm wine, playing board games and composing love poetry to imaginary women. All this changes with the arrival of Sarah, a sexually liberated, uninhibited métisse who easily lures Youssef into an affair. Soon he is dreaming not about chess but about opening a coffee bar in Genoa. The friendship is destroyed, the bar sold; Youssef, dressed in Western clothes, waits to leave with Sarah; will she show up? Said boards a train and sits down next to a Westernized woman bearing a resemblance to Sarah....

AFRICAN AMERICAN

* Shad Moss, the 15-year-old rapper known as Lil' Bow Wow (he recently dropped the "Lil'"), has been telling writers interviewing him about his new movie Like Mike that acting comes easy and naturally to him. Several critics are saying the same thing. Megan Turner in the New York Post says that he "makes a triumphant crossover into movies with this basketball Cinderella story, revealing a naturalistic acting style and a magnetic charm that the camera adores." Michael O'Sullivan in the Washington Post acknowledges that he fairly dreaded having to sit through the movie. "That being said, I liked Like Mike," O'Sullivan writes, largely because of "the outsize charm of its 4-foot-8-inch corn-rowed protagonist." Loren King in the Chicago Tribune proclaims: "A screen star is born in pint-sized rapper Lil' Bow Wow." And Jami Bernard in the New York Daily News writes that "Moss is a miniature Mr. Charisma, who should drop his day job immediately and go right into acting. The kid's got game." Not all the critics agree. Christy Lemire of the Associated Press comments: "Bow Wow is a cute little pup and he has sufficient presence and basketball talent, but he should stick to his day job." Liam Lacey in the Toronto Globe & Mail calls him "a handsome little guy with corn-row hair and a self-confident manner and no discernible acting ability." And Mike Clark in USA Today concludes: "Diminutive rapper Bow Wow is better than a lot of non-actors who've wangled leads in major studio releases, but it's better not to oversell the earnest energy he brings to Like Mike."

* The sixth annual Urbanworld Film Festival is scheduled for Aug. 7-11 in New York and is bookended by the world premiere of Fox 2000's urban marching band comedy "Drumline" and the closing-night comedy "Barbershop" from MGM, starring Ice Cube, Eve and Cedric the Entertainer. The fest, a showcase for films by black, Latino and Asian talent, presented by HBO, will also feature special screenings of Nick Broomfield's controversial documentary "Biggie & Tupac" and the edgy urban drama "Paid in Full." In all, more than 60 films are to screen, with the full roster set to be announced next month. All screenings will take place at the Loews 34th Street Theater.

* Jennifer Lopez and Will Smith are reportedly planning the ultimate collaboration - they'll star together in a movie and do a joint soundtrack. The singing and acting superstars have penciled in a romantic comedy together, which will begin filming early next year, and the Men In Black II star wants to produce an album with the Latin bombshell to support it. "We're talking about doing a whole album together to support the film," Smith tells the New York Post. "It's still a little premature, but that's the idea."

DR.SOTHA REVO & OUT