El Cosmico here, with our pal Dr. Sotha, giving us yet another fine edition of Africa-AICN. Give it to them, Sotha.
DR. SOTHA here for another week of prozac for the soul. As I walk through the ICU ward checking breathing rates and heart beats, I realize that if it were not for this column, I'd be losing my mind. That's right, even renowned Doctors like me, have a record (when I say record, I don't mean "record"‚) of psychological problems. But enough about me, I want all you blossoming film people to e-mail me at Africaicn@hotmail.com with your wills to live.
Nurse, for God's sakes that's not how you use a stethoscope..
SOUTH AFRICA
* I guess it's official, Nelson Mandela will be played by Morgan Freeman. Caught this on Reuters, and it came out of the man's mouth. Actor Morgan Freeman admits he's surprised he was asked to play South African leader Nelson Mandela - because he doesn't care for politics. Freeman has signed up for the $45 million Gandhi (1982)-style epic about the former-president's life, to be directed by Elizabeth director Shekar Kapur, after President Mandela asked for the "Shawshank Redemption" star himself. He says, "I didn't choose the film, it chose me. Mr. Mandela finished his book and said when it was published that if he had his choice, he'd choose me. I was flattered and honored. I'm not politically-minded really... Obviously I have attitudes and opinions, but I'm not really big on campaigns and soap boxes. I tend to be less direct, less confrontational." (Here here - DR. SOTHA)
* South African scribe Dane Nkonkwa is working on a new screenplay titled "Digweed" about a private dick who is assigned to an absurd case involving chimps, condoms and helium (what exactly does this equal? - DR. SOTHA). Dane says he‚s modelled the main character "Digweed" on Bill Pullman‚s character in Jake Kasdan's brilliant "Zero Effect". (Casting should be interesting on this one).
* This week the Western Cape's status of South Africa's California gained further recocgnition with the launch in Cape Town of the Cape Film Commission, A non-profit company that will market and develop the Western Cape as a World-Class location for film, Television, Video and new media production. The South African industry has grown phenomenally in the past few years. Of more than 1 000 Film & television commercials in a year shot in South Africa, more then half have been made in the Western Cape. More International films have been shot there this season than at any other time in the region's history. - Thanks to ERO (I say Fox needs to build a Tipperton Studios down here, you'll get more for your dollar. - DR. SOTHA).
* "YELLOW CARD", produced by Zimbabwe's Media For Development and directed by John Riber, is proving that local can also be original, out-running all the commercial competition in the past 12 months. The movie has grossed well over Z$2 million at Zimbabwean cinema houses since its launch on April 27. Weekly receipts show that the love-and-sex exploits of a township teenager are still attracting audiences country-wide as distribution was extended to provincial centres (Bulawayo, Mutare, Kwekwe and Gweru). At Ster-Kinekor's Harare-downtown Eastgate complex, Yellow Card entered its 14th week breaking box office records. The film took Z$154 000 in its first seven days at the Kine while the Eddie Murphy / Marin Lawrence film, Life, grossed only $54 000 in its first weekend. (Anybody whose seen this, and would like to type out a review, please do so, and send it to me - DR. SOTHA)
* Due to last minute interest, the closing date for MultiChoice's Vuka! Awards 2000 has been extended to Friday 4 August 2000 at 09h00. The Vuka! Awards, one of MultiChoice's social responsibility projects, is a call for filmmakers to produce Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for causes that are close to their hearts and in return MultiChoice offers free airtime to flight these entries on selected DStv channels. Entries can be delivered to the Full Circle Corporate Communications at the Josephine Mill, 13 Boundary Road, Newlands or contact them at 021-6853260, fax 021-6853276 or e-mail jfcircle@mweb.co.za.
* Sithengi 2000, the 5th Southern African International Film & Television Market, will be held from 13 to 16 November at the Spier Estate in Stellenbosch, SouthAfrica. Sithengi is Africa s premier media and entertainment event. It is an integralpart of the international Market and Festival circuit and is the only annual event of its kind in Africa. You can register on-line at Sithengi's website - http://www.sithengi.co.za. For further information contact the Registration Co-ordinator on tel: (+27 21) 430 8160 or fax: (+27 21) 430 8186 or email registration@sithengi.co.za.
* Burgeoning African filmmakers listen up: Anyone wishing to apply for Funding from the National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) can access application forms from the Screen African website on www.screenafrica.com.
* Reindeer Games (will the real John Frankenheimer please stand up - DR. SOTHA), the new release starring Ben Affleck and South African Charlize Theron, went straight into the number three spot at the local box office. It made R723 170 (little over a 100K, about the same amount spent on lunch with the Miramax execs - DR. SOTHA) in its first week (21 -27 July). Reindeer Games trails The Patriot and Mission Impossible 2 and is ahead of the ballet drama, Centre Stage, and Frequency (starring Dennis Quaid. Figures courtesy of SAFACT / MPA (SA).
NORTH AFRICA
* Libyan filmmaker, Bitite Deora, is developing a dark comedy titled "Balls" about a fictional town‚s sexual antics in the face of a mounting revolution. The characters are lost in their own world of sadomasichismm, bondage etc. to even notice that the country is on the brink of a civil war. Deora is looking to shoot in Hungary and Ukraine.
* A couple of Burkina Faso films came to my attention, thanks to the always alert "Rigobert Song". The first one up is called "BUUD YAM" written and directed by Gaston Kabore. It stars Colette Kabore, Amssatou Maiga and Severine Oueddouda. Here's the synopsis from "Rigobert" (who is doing his best to acquaint you with the African experience): "In an early 19th century African village, Wend Kuuni - a young man, lives with his adopted family after his mother was killed as a witch. When Pughneere - his adopted sister - becomes ill, the villagers suspect Wend Kuuni. In order to save Pughneere's life (and his own) he must set out on a journey to find a healer. His quest brings him in contact with people around him and is a journey of self-discovery." (This one's been out on the market for a few years, try and find it).
The next one is from internationally renouned filmmaker Idrissa Ouedraogo called "Le Cri du coeur" (The Heart's Cry) written by Jacques Akchoti and Robert A. Gardner. As far as I know this film never received North American distribution, and it's a shame; "This is Idrissa Ouedraogo's sixth feature, the film works to deliver a haunting metaphor for the demons within all of us, what happens when a stranger in alien territory, isolated by western ideals, starts seeing Hyena‚s in the street's of France? Our protagonist Moctar was born in France, but his heart belongs to Africa.. At age five, he and his mother, Saffi, had to move to Africa when Ibrahim, Moctar's father, could no longer afford to feed three mouths. Now, after years of separation, the family is reunited in France. Moctar is struggling to adjust to say the least. He wants to return to Africa; everything about Europe seems wrong. Then he begins seeing a hyena roaming the streets of Paris. Even the most open minded individual thinks he's lost the plot. However, his path crosses with Paulo, a man Moctar meets on the streets,Paul sees something inside of this man, that leads him to believe. We soon learn that Paul has issues unresolved from his past, and so the two men work off of each other to find redemption. Ouedraogo, as with all his films, balances the isolation and dettachment with real pathos and sentiment. All the characters (and there's a few of them) are deftly orchestrated, and most importantly ring true. In many ways this is a simple tale of a dysfunctional family riddled with doubts and fears like any other. Definitely one of the best showcases of African talent this side of the Atlantic."
Then there's "Guimba, un tyrant une" (Guimba the Tyrant) written and directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko starring Fatoumata Coulibaly, Habibou Dembele and Lamine Diallo. "This sumptuous epic, set in a legendary past filled with flourishing cities, proud courts and gorgeously costumed nobles, provides a biting allegory of present-day African politics. The Shakespeare-like story of a mad king's descent into self-destruction captured the prize for Best Film at the Pan-African Film Festival. Briefly shown at the Seattle International Film Festival, this exotic historical drama was co-produced by Burkina Faso, Germany and Mali - though the government of Mali tried to shut it down before the filmmakers were finished. Reportedly officials didn't appreciate the parallels between modern Africa's dictators and writer-director Cheich Oumar Sissoko's portrait of a pre-colonial despot, Guimba Dunbuya, whose excesses and abuse of power affected the town of Sitakili, which is now part of Mali. Sissoko stated his purpose in making the film: "If Africa accepts a political change, it has to really change. If we're going to play democracy, we must really play it." Roger Ebert raved about the film calling it "a riotously colorful, irreverent satire on the ways of tyrants, told in the style of the ``griots,'' or village storytellers, who are part of West African tradition".
* The 3rd Biennial Conference of African Broadcasters / Mini Market Africast 2000, will take place from 26 to 28 October 2000 at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Nigeria. The theme of the conference will be "Africa in World Broadcasting: The Millennium Challenge". The talkshop will be an opportunity to review developments on the African scene and map out news directions for the future. For further information, contact The Conference Co-ordinator, Bright Igbako, NBC, Plot 807, Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Asokoro, Abuja, PO Box 5747, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria. Tel: +234-9-3147521, e-mail: info@nbc-ng.org, website www.nbc-ng.org. (Thanks to "Dlamini")
AFRICAN AMERICAN
* Time to congratulate Eddie Murphy, the days of "Harlem Nights" and "Vampire in Brooklyn" must seem like a distant dream. "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" made over $42 million dollars this past weekend, making the comedy sequel numero uno at the box-office. The numbers were so high that "Nutty II" marks Murphy's best-ever opening, topping the $33 million for "Beverly Hills Cop 2" over the four-day Memorial Day weekend in 1987 and the $29 million three-day gross for "Dr. Dolittle" in 1998. The sequel also beat out the $25.4 million opening weekend of the original "The Nutty Professor" in 1996.
* Whoopi Goldberg (how's Hollywood Squares working out for you? - DR. SOTHA) and Barbra Streisand are set to produce the Lifetime network's upcoming movie "What Makes a Family." (Kleenex is financing this, no? - DR. SOTHA) Brooke Shields recently signed on the dotted line to play the film's lead role, as a lesbian who fights to raise her child after her partner dies. Goldberg will also have a supporting role in the film, which is based on a true story. The film is slated to air sometime in January.
* Sidney Poitier has inked a deal to star in the CBS TV movie "The Last Brickmaker in America." The movie centers on Poitier's character, who must cope with the loss of his wife and eventually, the loss of his job. He copes by becoming a role model to a 13-year-old boy. The veteran movie actor, who is 73, is no stranger to TV. He last appeared on CBS as the lead in 1999's "The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn." The TV movie netted a huge ratings draw for CBS, with a whopping 21 million viewers.
* Oprah Winfrey is being sued by two photographers, who claim that she used copyrighted pictures in her best-selling book "Make the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and Better Life" and was ordered to head to trial next month by a Chicago federal judge. Judge Ruben Castillo recently issued an opinion saying photographers Paul Natkin and Stephen Green own the copyright on 11 pictures in the book. But the judge added that only a trial can decide whether Winfrey was licensed to put them in the book. Winfrey claims she paid the photographers more than $250,000 for the license to use the pictures but anywhere she wants. However, the photographers say she only paid them to use in publicity information for her TV talk show. According to the Associated Press, Winfrey was unavailable for comment, but her attorney says that she will more than participate in the trial and even (Visit netnoir.com for more). (Does Oprah's book make book of the month on her bookclub feature, oh how the tears will flow - DR. SOTHA).
* The Cinequest Film Festival, to take place from 22 February to 4 March 2001 in San Jose, California, is to celebrate top-class films of African and African-American artists who embrace the maverick spirit. It is to showcase the under-represented African and African-American filmmaking heritage that has met many challenges, yet has still managed to make an astounding mark on the film industry. Legendary Civil Rights Activist Angela Davis will moderate a special Black Maverick Filmmaker Showcase Panel during the festival. For more information contact: Juliana Isaac, Special Projects Manager email: AKAJMI@aol.com or tel: (408) 995-5033 or fax: (408) 995-5713. Visit: www.cinequest.org.
AFRICAN COAXIAL
* One of South Africa's up-and-coming world-class stand-up comedians John Vlismas, who has performed at internationally renowned comedy festivals (Montreal, Melbourne) when he's not entertaining the crowds at home. Abrasive and wild, but wildly funny, John turns today's South African reality into something you just have to laugh at. Face it, your life is funny. John Vlismas was born in a small country called Zimbabwe, circa 17h15 Wednesday May 11th, 1973. Vlismas has been invited twice to the biggest comedy festival in the world, "Just For Laughs" held in Montreal, Canada. He was featured there during his last visit in the prestigious "Best Of The Fest" showcase show, and has been guaranteed on-going future invitations. So far he has produced three one-man shows: "Mr Ballistic", "Man In Black" and "Aggravated Assault," all of which received critical and audience acclaim. He also hosted a popular live music and chat show on M-Net called "live @ five" for two years. According to Suzy Bell of the Daily News, Vlismas has "the imagination of Salvador Dali, the energy of Robin Williams and the audacity of Beethoven's Ninth - John Vlismas is a timebomb." (Best described as South Africa's Tom Green - make of that what you will - DR. SOTHA)
* The major changes made to SABC2's (South African Broadcasting Corporation) scheduling in October 1999 have paid off - the channel now boasts an increase in both ARs and ad revenue. Manager of Strategic Research for SABC TV, Alum Mpofu, stated today that the ARs for SABC2's top 10 programmes had risen significantly - the average Afrikaans AR is now 22 (up from 15), while the average Sotho AR has risen from 21 to 24. "During 1998 and the first half of 1999, SABC2 lost in the region of 500 000 viewers. Since the schedule change the channel's viewership has grown from 6.5 million to well over 7 million," said Mpofu. (Why don't you just show 5 reruns a day of such high calibre fare as "Days of our Lives" and "Bold & Beautiful" and then you'll really see the ratings jump through the roof - DR. SOTHA)
* "Sevende Laan", the SABC2 Afrikaans soapie which went on air in April this year, recorded the highest ARs in June for any locally made soapie. It scored an AR of 14.8, beating pay-TV station M-Net's Afrikaans soapie, Egoli (12 ARs). SABC2 announced today that creator and producers of the series, Danie Odendaal Productions, had been contracted to produce a further 156 episodes and that as from April 2001, Sevende Laan would go out four times a week, instead of twice weekly. (156 episodes, that's like giving Jean Claude Van Damme an exclusive 4 year writing deal on a spinoff of "The Quest").
* The first South African Music Week takes place from 28 August to 2 September 2000. Due to an overwhelming response to the country's first national South African Music Day held last year, this time the festivities will last for an entire week of activities that encapsulate, celebrate and highlight the country's true multicultural and diversely musicaltalents. As well as simply creating an awareness and celebration of local music, South African Music Week will comprise a conference on 30 August that will address critical issues facing the industry; a career programme for schools around the country; skills development workshops for music industry practitioners; and songwriting workshops for musicians. The South African Music Week Studio Recording Project will again give previously unrecorded musicians the chance to work in professional studios to lay demo tracks. For more info visit www.samw.co.za
Nobody got last week's question right, surprise, surprise. There are 37 official languages in South Africa (you'd be out of your mind if you think I'm going to list them). I was going to give the winner, Marlon Brando's lipo fat from the operation (imagine destroying building blocks from a home bomb made out of Brando's fat - ah but then you never thought of that, when it was answer time last week).
So onto this weeks question: which brand of cigarettes is banned in South Africa and why??
That's it for this week Space Monkeys, send all your scalpels, thighs, broncoscopes, nipples and forceps to Africaaicn@hotmail.com
