Well, Afro-geeks it's time for another dose of medicine for what ails you most from our good Doctor down in Benoni, Dr. Sotha. Father Geek feels this week's dosage should put you over the top, but if it doesn't just click the "More AICN" box to the left, then the Africa-AICN icon and you'll find yourself staring at a hatful of past prescriptions that should take your mind off your film woes...

DR. SOTHA here (pardon me, while I briefly go off topic), I am counseling thousands of South Africans as we speak at the awful shock and disappointment of having lost out at the opportunity of hosting the 2006 Soccer World Cup.

Now let me be the first to congratulate the Germans, I'm sure they'll put on a great show, but understand that Africa has never hosted such a prestigious tournament, and in my opinion they deserved to win it. How long will it take before Africa is taken seriously. It all came down to one vote, I'm *&%$*ing pissed off FIFA-you damn cowards.

Now send me your videos, thoughts, conquests, FIFA delegate's severed heads, to that HOT babe behind my reception desk , Thank God I have film and medicine to make me forget.

SOUTH AFRICA

* "Mission Impossible 2" has had the biggest opening day in the history of cinema in South Africa with 3.5 million Rand (about $650K). I say so what, why should I back a film that allows John Woo to direct only the final 30 minutes, in a running time of close to 2 hours. A criminally underused Hopkins, and a completely wretched plot, 'VIP' thin characters, make it an undeserved triumph in this country (I know this is old news, but a tirade was in order).

* HIGH EXPLOSIVE is a South African / Canadian co-production, with director Timothy Bond (TV veteran of shows such as "Goosebumps" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation") at the helm. The Plot goes like this: Medical and de-mining personnel for the United Nations must escape from war-torn Angola before revolutionaries kill them. Peter Jobin wrote and Patrick Bergin (Sleeping with the Enemy), Nina Muschallik and Ian Roberts will star.

* Peter Jobin is also writing QUEEN'S MESSENGER for director Mark Roper. Gary Daniels, Teresa Sherrer and Alexi Jones will star.

* THE LONG RUN with Nthati Moshesh and Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine, 13th Floor) playing a track coach for a talented track team, will be directed by Jean Stewart (III) ( T.V series Cracker)

* Now onto South Africa's very own Jerry Bruckheimer, I'm talking about Danny Lerner, the prolific producer and co-owner (and occasional writer - Delta Force 2) of B-grade production house Nu-Image. He has three projects on the go starting with SPIDERS aka COBWEBS, a horror film in the mold of "Arachnaphobia" (Frank Marshal your royalty check is in the mail - DR. SOTHA) starring David Carpenter (III), Leslie Harter and Corey Klemow. Gary Jones will direct.

Next up is a film called REPLICANT with action director Ringo Lam (Maximum Risk) taking charge. Even more disconcerting is the fact that Jean-Claude Van Damme is attached (which now days almost certainly guarantees mediocrity) along with Michael Rooker. Brace yourself.here's the logline: "Serial killer thriller 'with a twist'" (Like "The Quest" right?).

But the one I'm most looking forward to, is TOBE HOOPER's (Poltergeist) next project titled CROCODILE. A horror film about (you guessed it) Crocodiles. Personally I'm rooting for this one, even if it has a lot going against it. Tobe Hooper is one of those guys I used to idolize. I mean this guy made "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Poltergeist" (not Spielberg damn it), and in my book they're both classics. This has already received an NC17 and then an R after it was resubmitted to the MPAA. Release it uncut you slimeballs, it's the way its gotta be.

* South African production house Ballistic Pictures has entered into a strategic alliance with Roadhouse Productions, a Canadian company which has a strong relationship with Paramount. Roadhouse has lately become part of the Gun For Hire network which is backed by The Shooting Gallery. Gun for Hire is in Los Angeles, Miami, Toronto, New York and Vancouver. They are presently renovating its buildings in order to be able to run 12 feature film productions simultaneously.

* "SERGO" made me aware of a film called HILLBROW KIDS directed by Jacqueline Görgen and Michael Hammon. A co-production by Quinte Film und ZDF / ARTE. Here's the detailed plot synopsis from SERGO: "There once lived a family, not far from the hills of the Matopos. The mother and father were normal people like you and me but, for some reason, the children were different. They were made of wax...", so begins a story as told by an old woman who observes and reflects on the lives of the street children of Johannesburg. Many of these children come from the townships, townships that still bear the scars of apartheid's policies. Unlike their parents, these children are not prepared to be part of the meek majority of have-nots, are not prepared to be the born losers anymore. Poverty, alcoholism, broken families and brutality drive them to the streets of cities like Johannesburg to try and improve their lot. And, indeed, sometimes they are lucky. Then they feel strong, courageous and independent- after a strong dose of glue-sniffing- whilst they stare with longing at the wealth parading past them on the pavements of Johannesburg. Vusi, Shadrack, Bheki, Silas, Jane, the protagonists of this film, are children such as these who roam the streets, hoping and waiting for the lucky break. Alone, totally dependent on their own rescources, they and many others like them fight against all odds for the fulfilment of their modest little dreams.But in their search for a happier life, they are in the process of losing what is left of their future.And so the story teller on the hills of Johannesburg is left telling her legends to the ghosts of the past.

* That bastard of a diseased species, DR. STRANGELOVE is back with a review of Gavin Hood's "A REASONABLE MAN" starring Nigel Hawthorne (Henry V) and Vusi Kunene. (and for the record, I am a certified Doctor, as far as I can tell, he is NOT, the prude either got away with medical certificates, or that's the strangest autopsy I've ever seen - DR. SOTHA)

DR. STRANGELOVE here, and despite what has been said above, I am a highly valued member of the Hypocratic oath. Yes, my methods are slightly bizarre, but then I'm no ordinary doctor, and so what if I use blunt scissors, instead of a scalpel? Forget it, onto "A REASONABLE MAN" directed by first timer Gavin Hood. A Reasonable Man tells the story of a city lawyer who comes across the case of a herdboy from remote, rural Zululand, who has killed a one year old baby in the mistaken belief that he was killing an evil spirit, known throughout Southern Africa as the "Tokoloshe". Dark Secrets which lie buried deep within the lawyer connect him to the boy. He takes the case and enters a world of African witchcraft and mysticism to discover the truth about the killing - and himself. At this point you could be thinking, sounds a bit like "Angelheart", got that whole film noir thing going on. Well you wouldn't be that far off the mark. Gavin Hood plays the corporate loyal who begins to unwravel the mystery, and defend the boy. Hood and the viewer descend into the world of witchcraft and African mysticism, as he undergoes an exorcism of his own soul, while trying to save Sipho (the boy accused). It soon becomes clear that Hood has personal reasons for taking on the case, his own demons still plague him from his days as a bush soldier in the Angolan War. These intricately woven plots and characters inject the film with alarming depth and pathos. In a strange way, it has shades of Adrian Lynne's "Jacob's Ladder", emulating rather than imitating. The relentless modernization of society cannot bury the deep African roots that have guided the tribes of Africa since the dawn of time, and so mysticism seems to defeat the logic of science once again. Nigel Hawthorne delivers a solid performance as the stubborn judge. He has an understanding of African witchcraft, but it is a narrowminded view and he struggles to find a place for it in his civil and educated set of values. However he does raise some serious and telling points of debate. The judges argument is that a man cannot be merely excused of his actions because he holds certain beliefs which result in the death of an innocent child, whether the child is believed to be a Tokoloshe or not. The moral fiber of this debate is echoed ambiguously through the trial: where do you draw the line between justice and a personal belief system? Vusi Kunene plays the prosecuting attorney and gives a steely turn, masterly manipulating her mannerisms to heighten a scene. She's on the right path for stardom if she continues like this. Gavin Hood (who is an actor by and large) is a filmmaker with a promising career ahead of him. In a country where filmmakers, or more importantly story tellers, are few and far between, it's refreshing to see a talented individual come out of the woodwork. That's it for another week of demented thoughts from DR. STRANGELOVE.

NORTH AFRICA

* SAID DIBINGA a promising Kinshasa born, Congolese filmmaker working in Los Angeles has two projects in the pipeline: "IronRain, MetalStorms" - about a mutant who was exiled to another Earth, where along with his father, they subgegated humanity. During humanities surrender, they figure out away to send him back to the Earth he originally came from. He returns with no memory of his past, but slowly his memory returns as his army comes through the breach that he came through. "Marjean Holden" (Doctor Sarah Chambers on Babylon 5's "Crusade"Arina in Beastmasters, is a recurring charactor, The Philadelphia Experiment II, and the "Rubecon" movie of the week for theUPN network premiering this fall). "Richard Biggs" (the chief doctor on Babylon 5, and Lorraine Toussaints boyfriend on "Any Day Now", will also be starring in it. Benny Tjandra, who played the villian Juntao in "Rush Hour", will be playing a plasm-flame fuled charactor named Python. Said is writing, producing, and directing. Lensing will begin next spring in Los Angeles, Boston, Paris, Prague, and South Africa. The budget for IronRain is $5 million. The special-effects director,Chris Mantabe, creates the effects for the computer-generated series "The BeastMasters". His second film "Le Femme Repertoire", is about a group of female assassins that are hired by a foreign government to hunt down, and bring back a quantum nuclear-engineer, wanted for mass murder in London. Marjean Holden will be playing one of the lead assassins named Deco, along with a new actress, Claudia Jordan, playing her killing partner Sandy. Actors on this feature represent countries as diverse as Benin, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, South Africa. The budget is $3m. Location shooting will take place in Los Angeles, Boston, Rhode Island, Paris, Cape Verde, and the Seychelles Islands. There is a comic-book/graphic novel on the book being released in conjunction with the film in Fall 2001.

* NIGHT OF FATE is a film directed by Abdelkrim Bahloul co-produced in Algeria and France. "Lukulele" sent me a synopsis: "Sixty five years old Abdelkader Silimani, an Algerian Muslin living in France, inadvertently witnesses a murder, closely escapes from the murderers by hiding out in a mosque. The black leather dressed masked murderers, with their firearms in hand, do not hesitate to enter the mosque full of praying men looking for the eyewitness. They leave empty handed but are determined not to give up their search. Detective Leclerc is assigned to the case. As he searches for the eyewitness who stays mute with fear, the detective slowly discovers the Northern Paris Muslim community and its traditions. For the first time, the French detective is exposed to the contradictions and challenges facing minority communities as they struggle to living in a new culture with a different set of values and religious beliefs".

* KUKURANTUMI ("The Road to Accra") a Ghanain film Directed by King Ampaw concerns a small village near Accra, translated as "the place where everything is too heavy to pick up." The film explores the tensions between village and city life in the story of one family's struggle with joblessness.

* MONDAY's GIRLS Directed by Nigerian filmmaker Mgozi Onwurah, provides a uniquely nuanced look at tradition in today's Africa through the eyes of two young Waikiriki women from the Niger delta. Although both come from leading families in the same large island town, Florence looks at the Iria initiation ceremony as an honor, while Azikiwe, who has lived for ten years in the city, sees it as an indignity. They represent sharply divergent views of the relationship between the individual and traditional society in a changing Africa. The Iria ceremony itself dates from the 13th century and has marked the passage of well-bred Waikiriki girls into womanhood. The film's real interest is the young women's response to the rituals. Florence, who is Monday's granddaughter, welcomes the ceremony as admitting her to adulthood. For her, the Iria conveys status and provides an honorable identity within the larger community. Azikiwe, sees it differently. Her parents have promised her money to return for the ritual but she has agreed to participate only in the parts she likes. When she refuses to bare her breasts in public, the whole community feels attacked; the bowler-hatted chiefs meet, her father is fined and she is flown back to the city the next day. Azikiwe, distant behind her tinted glasses, defines herself through her freedom to make individual choices not her status in the community. (Thanks to "Rigobert Song")

AFRICAN AMERICAN

* African American writer Denise Singer (Railroad), is working on a new screenplay titled "DIGGING DEEPER" about a lounge singer who comes across a contraption that inspires her to write and sing her own lyrics. The contraption is then revealed to have originated from the Renaissance era. (Think "My Science Project" meets "Jumanji").

AFRICAN COAXIAL

* Underdog Entertainment has launched the Granny Lee website in conjunction with the broadcast of its outrageous new documentary, "Metamorphosis: The Remarkable Journey of Granny Lee". Born Leonard Christian Du Plooy in 1919, Granny Lee became one of Johannesburg's most famous drag queens and club goers. He began life as a coloured male and was buried as a white woman. The Granny Lee website is billed as an "interactive homage to the fabulous legend of Lee" and is a virtual extension of the documentary itself. Listen to quotes in her own words; download the documentary trailer and access further information on the making of the documentary. Visit the website at www.grannylee.co.za . (Thanks to "John Hartie")

* The finalists for the Kora All Africa Music Awards 2000 will be announced on Friday, 30 June 2000. The awards ceremony will be held at Sun City (South Africa) on 18 November 2000, and will be broadcast live to 380 million viewers on the continent and parts of Europe and North America. South Africans can see the live broadcast this year on e-tv.

* Following on their very successful collaboration earlier this year in Johannesburg, the Buskaid Soweto String Project (BSSP) and Ster-Kinekor Pictures have again joined hands for a unique charity concert on July 6 at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town. The film Music of the Heart, starring Meryl Streep, has provided the inspiration for this touching synergy between film and music. The Cape Town concert has in part been made possible by the generous support of actress Gillian Anderson, star of the hit television series, The X-Files. She heard about Buskaid's activities on a radio program in the United States and decided to become involved. (Thanks to "Dlamini")

* Billed as "the first truly pan-African television network", InterCom Afrique Television (ICA-TV) is to launch in July 2000. The free to air network will be advertiser-supported, allowing the local broadcaster a percentage of advertising inventory. Programming, comprising a predominant mix of African, African American and Caribbean films / television product. The service is a joint venture of InterCom Afrique Entertainment (a programming and production firm), Panafnet (the French company which developed MMDS in West Africa), and a Lebanese-owned post-production facility, Image Resource.

"rockojinx" (how's that new lung I transplanted for you?) got the answer right to last weeks question, the actress to play the Borg Queen was Alice Kriege. This weeks question: What's the name of that famous voice who played opposite Richard Harris in "Cry the Beloved Country"?:

Thats it for this week. One more thing about "MI2", why do they feel like they have to cast a European actor to pull off an Afrikaans accent, that's right I'm talking about Dougray Scott's henchman. It's laughably bad. Just hire the real thing. Send me your promotional tie-ins, brains, syringes, electromiagrams, X-rays,etc. to AfricaAICN@hotmail.com