Hey folks, Harry here... I'm in the mix of San Diego's Comic Con... and Father Geek wore out his ankle... and is laid up trying to recover... Needing the infamous needle of Dr Sotha... instead, I simply had to read him, Sotha's column in a very sing song slant to the dutch accent... and the melodious tones and beautiful writing of Dr Sotha... and his ankle is currently glowing like Mrs Frisby's amulet. Sigh... Sotha... you're a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Now... check him out...
Hi there limb fans, DR. SOTHA here for AFRIC-AICN #7. This Friday you’ll find a veritable amount of cool and scrumptious news from Africa. I don’t mean to say it’s as good as this months "Perform Operations in New Positions" best seller amongst the medical community, but certainly I will strive to get better. DR. SOTHA wants all you burgeoning filmmakers, writers, actors, actresses, gophers, electricians, and porn stars to e-mail him with your success stories at AfricaAICN@hotmail.com
Nurse get that needle out of your breast we have a column to run…
SOUTH AFRICA
* Charles Sturridge, who directed the much loved Brideshead Revisited and more recently Dava Sobel’s Longitude for Britain’s Granada television, is to adapt J M Coetzee’s Booker prize winning novel of last year, DISGRACE, for Granada’s film arm. DISGRACE is the story of David Lurie, a 52 year old professor at Cape Town University who is fired for seducing one of his students. He takes refuge at his daughter Lucy’s farm in the Eastern Cape, but as soon as he has settled into the role of farmhand, he and Lucy fall victim to an attack by three men. The film will be made by Sturridge’s new company, FirstSight Films, and wil be released next year. Sturridge says he "fought for the right to make the film" ever since he read the novel. "Part Western, part love story, it twists together elements of physical and emotional violence to create a unique visual tale set amid the uncertainties of present day South Africa", he says. Coetzee is the only author to scoop the prestigious Booker Prize twice.
* HARRY POTTER. By now I’m sure at least half the world has read the new Harry Potter novel by aclaimed writer JK ROWLING TITLED "HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE". Described as the biggest event in publishing history, 3.8 mil in the US and 1.5 mil in Britain and quite suprisingly 300k in South Africa has already sold before the pages have even been read. The previous 3 books have sold more then 30 mil in 30 different languages. Such unprecedented success has forced the New York Times to revise its best seller list to give non Potter page-turners a chance, as Rowling’s works have occupied the tops spots for more than a 100 weeks. It seems that Harry’s true nemesis is not the evil Voldemort but Bible Belt campaigners who want to prevent the books from occupying school shelves. They claim the book glorifies occult powers? Chris Columbus you stand at the threshhold of a new beginning, you fuck this one up, and you will be the scorn of half the world. Have fun. (Have you heard the rumours that they may cast a South African as Harry Potter? No, neither have I - DR. SOTHA - sorry couldn’t resist).
* Producer JOHN STODEL (Boesman & Lena) is developing a screenplay revolving around a huge sports event in South Africa that could make or break a legendary team legacy that spans decades. Conspiracies, match fixing, blackmarketeering and revenge all play a part in the proceedings. At the heart of the story is an unerring commitment from an impoverished young kid to his boyhood idol, who seems to get help from the metaphysical world. A South African "Field of Dreams" of sorts.
* Gabby Fracinelli is set to direct her own screenplay, "The Canal" based on Italian immigrants living in Johannesburg, South Africa. It chronicles the semi-autobiographical path that was taken by Italians in the 60’s, their dreams of a new beginning, their hopes of a perfect utopia. It climaxes with the harsh reality that they are now subjected to. Yes, there was and still is a mob that operates within the heart of JHB, which had its hands full of illegal shipments of alcohol and drugs. (I vote she changes the title to "Gangs of Joh’burg - DR. SOTHA).
* The Southern African Film Festival (SAFF) has been approached by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, to identify and select African feature films for ZTV's new African Movie of the Week slot. As promoters of African films SAFF would like to participate practically in such a development. The idea is to start with Anglophone feature films, with subtitled programmes to be considered at a later stage. Documentaries, short films and drama series are also welcome and will be screened at different times to the features slot. ZTV has indicated it would be willing to pay the following rates: Feature Film (US$ 600); Drama series, 30 minutes (US$ 175); Drama series, 60 minutes (US$ 300); Documentary, 30 minutes (US$ 150); Documentary, 60 minutes (US$ 250). For more info contact Isaac M Mabhikwaon on email saff@internet.co.zw.
* The Writing Studio in Cape Town will facilitate two creative 5-day scriptwriting workshops in August. There is a Sunday afternoon workshop starting on 30 July with the other sessions on August 6, 13, 20 and 27 and a Saturday afternoon workshop starting on August 5, continuing on August 12, 19, 26 and September 2. Both workshops take place from 2pm - 5pm. The workshop examines the writer and his craft, the world of the screenwriter, the language and visual dynamics of film, evaluating film, and the writer and his audience (Does Paul Anderson know about this? - DR. SOTHA)
* IMAX Has finally reached Johannesburg. The IMAX Experience reached Gauteng with the launch of the Nedbank IMAX Theatre at the East Rand Galleria on 11 July. This event marks the start of a formal partnership between Nedbank and Millennium Expotainment, developers of the IMAX brand in South Africa. They are currently screening the documentaries "Olympic 2000" and "Snowboarding", "Everest" is set to premiere in a few months. South African investors were so impressed by the IMAX experience that partnerships and co-productions are in the works to develop documentaries and features in the format here in South Africa. (Thanks to Nick Psaros).
NORTH AFRICA
* Filmmaker Suade Debongo of Malian descent is in pre-production on a multiple (see Altman) character driven thriller, that revolves around a black magic, voodoo event that takes place in the Sudan every ten years. All the characters are somehow interconnected through an intricate woven plot, that sees them all land up in the same supernatural plateau that they had all experienced in the past, but had, through some device, forgotten. The characters include a streetpeasant, prostitute (there’s always the one - DR. SOTHA), homicidal chef, incompetent police officer (like there’s any other kind) and a delicious nurse (hey if you need casting on this Suade, my nurse has the credentials - DR. SOTHA). LILA FILMS is financing.
* ARCHE DU DéSERT, L' is a Nigerian / France co-production written & directed by Mohamed Chouikh starring Hacen Abdou, Messaouda Adami and Shyraz Aliane. It won awards at the Locarno International Film Festival. "MOLOKO" sent me this review: Another film by an Algerian director, Mohamed Chouikh, opens with an abused woman seeking sanctuary (see The Polish Bride) - only it's from her own tribe, after she and her exogamous lover have been apprehended at nothing more stimulating than petting on the sand dunes. She is not so fortunate as the ex-whore of The Polish Bride. Held down forcibly and examined for her virginal intactness, she is ordered by the tribal elders to do penance under house arrest, chained by her ankle. Her lover, badly beaten, but in the safety of a desert "city" largely built of sand, where life with fellow reprobates at least dances to a livelier rhythm, sends her love signals by a tortoise with a candle on its shell: a sort of "Keep the home fire burning". L'Arche du Desert is hard to judge. Though dealing with - and condemning - the tribal feuds that have recently made a bloodbath of Algeria as bad as Kosovo, it's a very sophisticated production bearing all the right logos of Foreign Ministries, cultural bodies, European film funds etc. Its photography glows like the palette of Matisse: the colour coordinated vestments of men and women are an aesthetic feast. The occasional hiccups in a story line, too packed with folkloric detail to be easily sorted out, don't matter: the message comes through loudly and clearly -killing is bad, people are mad. Unfortunately, it's delivered through the mouth of a child who's witnessed the domestic cruelties but been spared the vengeful massacre inflicted on the villagers, and resolved already not to pinion his future wife (or wives) by the ankle. Fine: except that Algeria's violence needs more than a child's understanding to unpick its internal strife. The reality, one must assume, is even less sentimental than this smoothly liberal tale of folly and futility.
* "Le Magique" Directed by Azdine Melliti starring Ahmed Chebil. Here’s the review from DR. STRANGELOVE: Hello purists, how’s your liver. That’s how we greet each other in the medical profession. `Le Magique,'' a fascinating if slight film from Tunisia, concerns the brutally lonely adventures of a 10-year-old boy who lives in a dirt-poor North African hamlet and dreams of becoming a Hollywood-style film maker. The movie is in French with English subtitles, Deanie (Ahmed Chebil) has a miserable life of poverty with his parents and siblings in a hovel two hours' walking distance from teeming Tunis. The beleaguered parents, with too many mouths to feed and no money, have fallen into a cycle of violent outbursts against their kids. The family longs to move to a better life in France. But in order to get ticket money, Deanie's parents must sell their few possessions to a rich relative who derides them as losers. The parents, sadly, are able to get only enough in fares for themselves and Deanie's two brothers. So the boy is left behind with pocket money to fend for himself until his parents can send for him. Alone in the empty old house, Deanie struggles with nocturnal fears and the distress of being essentially an orphan castoff in his own village. One day he makes a bold venture into the city, where he is coaxed into accepting free admission to a movie theater (the usher turns out to be a pervert). Deanie also sees the underbelly of Tunis, a realm of prostitutes and street hustlers. But mostly, the boy sees a movie projected against a stone wall -- it's a first for him, and a moment of wide-eyed wonder. The film that's playing is Stanley Kubrick's 1960 epic ``Spartacus,'' (do I hear cries of plagiarism in Stone’s "Any Given Sunday", or is that plagiarism of plagiarism, ahh forget it - DR. SOTHA) and it has such a profound effect on Deanie that when he goes back to his village, he organizes his own play based on the film, with neighborhood children as actors. The young actors, however, grow impatient, because they have no idea what a movie is or what Deanie hopes to accomplish with his elaborate scheme of mock weapons and crudely made costumes. It seems odd that no adult in the community bothers to look in on the boy.``Le Magique'' ultimately manages to touch on the spirited single-mindedness that is a part of movie making, even at a most primitive level. That’s another week of demented thoughts from DR. STRANGELOVE.
* Organised by the UNESCO Zimbabwe Film & Video Training Project in association with SACOD, the Regional Documentary Production Workshop is scheduled to take place in Namibia in October 2000 for 12 participants. Selection of participants will be the responsibility of UNESCO/ZFVTP in close collaboration with SACOD. Applicants must be between 20 and 30 years old and must have done at least one documentary. They must submit a detailed CV and a tape of previous documentary work in whatever capacity and must be part of an organisation where documentary making is a priority. The deadline for submissions is 31 August 2000. Submit to either Debra Mugobogobo at UNESCO/ZFVTP, PO Box HG 435, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe. Tel: 263 4705 644; Fax: 263 4 795 014 or email: dmugobo@unescofilmtrain.org.za or
AFRICAN AMERICAN
* Our favorite character actor Don Cheadle is currently shooting the digital film "Manic," a drama about troubled teens struggling to overcome their demons in a mental institution. Cheadle stars as a reformed addict-turned-psychologist, who bonds with the teens."Manic" is the first feature to be shot with the PD150, Sony's new small-format professional digital camera. He wrapped on Soderbergh’s "Traffic" and will shoot "the mean looking" "Ocean’s Eleven" next year. He will star opposite Nicholas Cage, Tea Leoni and Bo Derek in Brett Ratner’s latest "Family Man" about a fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife. That’s not all, he’s also got Allison Ander’s latest "Things Behind the Sun" next year with Rosanna Arquette, about a music journalist and his childhood girlfriend who is now an up-and-coming musician share a dark secret, her rape, which continues to harm them.
* The new hit spoof flick "Scary Movie" has already scared up a deal with NBC and will air sometime on the network in year 2003. Now if you’ve seen this film, you’re probably wondering how in the world it could play on TV with its sexual gross-out scenes, right? Well according to reports, the film’s director, Keenen Ivory Wayans has that covered. Apparently, he shot alternate footage on many of the questionable scenes because he was looking ahead to its TV potential. (I’m really interested to see how this fares here in South Africa - DR. SOTHA)
* Clifton Powell ("Next Friday," "Rush Hour") will join Morris Chestnut ("The Best Man") and Tamala Jones ("For Your Love") in the Screen Gems romantic comedy "The Brothaz." Powell is set to play Chestnut’s father in the film, about a group of men who question women and relationships when one of the men announces he’s getting married. The film is executive produced by Doug McHenry, who’s currently producing and directing Whoopi Goldberg in "Kingdom Come." The next gig up for McHenry is producing "New Jack City 2." (For more visit netnoir.com)
* CMS Entertainment's Black and Brown Shorts, a monthly non-competitive showcase of short films made by African American and Hispanic / Latino filmmakers is accepting entries for its year-long series. The non-refundable entry fee is $10 and there is no deadline. Entry forms can be download from www.blackandbrownshorts.homestead.com/HOME/htmlor leave your fax number at (888) 857 5114. Materials can be sent to CMS Entertainment, c/o Black and Brown Shorts, 287 South Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211.
(IndieWIRE.com)
AFRICA COAXIAL
* DANCING IN THE MILLENIUM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE . South Africa will be presenting "Dancing on the Ashes of Apartheid". The conference is a gathering of dancers, archivists, choreographers, critics, educators, ethnographers, performers… in Washington DC to encourage dialogue and growth in dance and related areas of study and interest and promote the visibility of dance in our time. Also for increased support of dance as a cultural practice, as an art form and vital educational tool.
* In recognition of the continuing need for training and development, MCC Logical Designs has instigated a Film Training Initiative (FTI) together with other industry players. FTI is funding and running the winter courses formerly funded by the Consultative Training Trust and run by the Camera Guild. The course fees are subsidized by approximately 50% by MCC Logical Designs and a limited amount of part, or full subsidies, exist for disadvantaged and deserving cases, motivated in writing. The courses carry the approval of the Commercial Producers Association (CPA). MCC Sasani, Filmlab, Videolab, AFM, Filmair, and Magus Vision assisted. For registration details contact Paul Hambides at MCC: Tel. (011) 258 5000, Email: paulh@mccjhb.co.za, Fax. (011) 258 5090
* SABC1's phenomenally successful homegrown soapie, Generations, has topped the ratings for the month of May. Produced by Morula Pictures, Generations received the highests ratings for both local and international programmes in South Africa. The series is seeking syndication across Africa and parts of Europe (Pray your country passes - DR. SOTHA).
* Discovery Channel Global Education Fund (DCGEF) and Solar Light for the Churches of Africa (SLFCA) formed a partnership to provide under-resourced
Ugandan and Tanzanian schools with solar power, lights and technology-based educational tools at an event held on 21 July at St Jude Primary School in Luwero, Uganda. The event highlighted the progress being made to bridge the international digital divide affecting many African communities and bringing advanced technology and information to children and adults. The event also marked SLFCA's 1000th solar installation in East Africa and this is the first in a wave of schools to receive solar power and DCGEF resources in the next two months. South African-based digital satellite provider MultiChoice is also partnering in this initiative by providing the sites with free monthly satellite subscripts for select channels. MultiChoice-Uganda, a new sponsor for DCGEF learning centres is also donating satellite equipment to St Jude Primary School. (Thanks to Rigobert Song)
The solution to last weeks question was THERON (as in Charlize) which if scrambled up gives you throne or hornet. That old adage of "what’s in a name" seems to be obsolete. Nobody cared, or got it right, so all you bastards missed out on attending this year’s "post mortem" bash at the prestigious Jan Smuts morgue. Oh well. Care to try this week?
A geographic question this week, how many countries are there in Africa?
Fairly simple.
That’s it for this week folks, again I’d like to encourage all you Dark continent natives to send your flight vouchers, money, jewelery, needles (blunt or otherwise),screenplays, cocksixes, pitches and nostrils to AfricaAICN@hotmail.com
