Father Geek filing Dr. SOTHA's newest report on the state of African Cinema. And its another good one full of film titles you may never have heard of, but should have. Once again geeks print out these titles and hand them out to video shop owners and managers. Give them to representatives of you local film festivals and university film societies, and let's shine a spotlight on African Film. There's lots of good stuff out there just waiting to be seen...
So there I was in trauma unit 5 performing a quadruple organ transplant when
this woman's eyes snap open and rip up the tubes, "Not the God damn tubes" I
shout, she runs out of the operating room screaming "death to the DemoNman
DR. SOTHA". "She's mad" I convincingly retort, "I don't know what she's
talking about". My staff look around dumbfounded (as per usual). We search
the premises but can't find her anywhere. Returning to trauma unit 5 we
discover a strange looking nipple-like portal. What could it be? Upon second
glance I discover that it is the new Apple keyboard. Turns out my client was
merely horrified at it's sexist design and had a subliminal outburst. That's
just another day in the Africaaicn hospital.
Now, send me your biological holes, nipples, crevices and innuendos to
Africaaicn@hotmail.com
Nurse, hot damn only the patients wear the backless robes.
SOUTH AFRICA
Now, send me your biological holes, nipples, crevices and innuendos to
Africaaicn@hotmail.com
Nurse, hot damn only the patients wear the backless robes.
SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA
* LONDON FILM FESTIVAL - November 1-16 "HILLBROW KIDS" will premiere at this years fest. J Silas, Shadreck and a growing number of street children driven from their homes and villages to seek fortune in the big city are subject to this inspired documentary. These kids have converged on Johannesburg from surrounding townships to seek solace from poverty and their families who have rejected them. But the future that awaits them is not the one they bargained for. They form a tight group who fend and care for each other when sick, and are continuously struggling against a hostile environment where they steal and beg whilst watching their dreams rapidly slip away. Michael Hammon and Jacqueline Gorgen followed and interviewed these children for over a year, revealing the legacies of apartheid and the trials and tribulations of street kids living in this menacing metropolis. It will play on Sat 4 November 13:45 and 18:30 (Send me your reviews - DR. SOTHA). Check out North Africa for more films at the fest.
* Digital 24P, epitomised in Sony's CineAlta, is changing the way movies commercials and quality television programmes are produced and distributed all over the world. CineAlta provides a digital 24P system that delivers pictures akin to traditional 35mm film. 24P is a real time digital high definition environment with 2k x 1k resolution running at the native film rate of 24 progressive frames per second. Lucasfilm, Panavision and Sony set out to develop a system for shooting the next two episodes of Star Wars. 24P was the logical choice and HDW-F900 was developed to meet the requirements of this very demanding production. The direct digital shooting will increase production efficiency by avoiding the timeless stage of film scanning required for effects work. Sony will present CineAlta at Sithengi 2000, the Southern African International Film & Television Market, in the Cinema Nouveau in Cape Town's V&A Waterfront on 15 November. Snippets of the most recently produced films and commercials in 24P will be screened. For more info contact Jurgen Muess on tel +27 11 620 8179 mobile +27 83 294 1394 or email By Clicking Here.
* WE WANT YOU (visualize a huge finger pointing out at you - DR. SOTHA) Universal Pictures & Hypnotic want the world's next great filmmakers! They're now accepting submissions for the Hypnotic Million Dollar Film Festival. The best new filmmaker will receive: A feature film production budget worth ONE MILLION DOLLARS plus a distribution deal from Universal Pictures & Hypnotic. Festival rules and submission form at: Their Site. The deadline for short film submissions is Thursday, November 9th.
NORTH AFRICA
* More LONDON FILM FEST PREMIERES. Thanks to "Neb Notle" for compiling this
great line up of African film.
KIN (Written and Directed by Elaine Proctor)
KIN (Written and Directed by Elaine Proctor)
This British film, set and shot in Namibia, brings together an international cast in a moving story of the pull between the past and the future, between the familiar and the uknown. Ann (Miranda Otto) lives with her brother, a Lutheran pastor, in the Namibian desert. Both share a love of the elephants which pass their farmhouse every night to drink at their well, and Ann is a committed worker for the wildlife conservation service. Her isolated but idyllic lifestyle is disrupted by two things. Firstly, the lucrative trade in Ivory which threatens the elephants; and secondly and more positively by her developing love for Stone (Isaiah Washington - True Crime), an American taking a sojourn from the cut and thrust of his LA Law firm. Making excellent use of fantastic sweeping desert locations, KIN also brings an informed perspective to portraying the co-existence of the local Himba community, the white settlers, the elephants and the American incomer. Best known for her film 'Friends', writer-director Elaine Proctor is a past recipient of the BFI's Sutherland Trophy for best feature (On the Line). It plays Sun 5 Nov @ 13:00 and Mon 6 Nov 15:30
ROOM TO RENT
Said Tagmaoui (Hideous Kinky) and Juliette Lewis star in this offbeat comedy about a young man's search for success, understanding love - and a visa. Ali is an Egyptian screenwriter determined to make a go of it in London. But England is not an easy place for a foreigner to break through. He has an illegal job as a waiter to try and make ends meet, but his student visa is about to expire, and his tendency for using his flatmates as source material for his scripts means he keeps on being thrown out of his lodgings. His prospects look bleak until he meets a woman who is convinced he is the reincarnation of her dead lover from the 30's.For his first English language film Khaled El-Hagar has drawn on his own experience as an immigrant to the UK. It plays on Sun 5 Nov 16:00 and Sat 11 Nov 21:00
BRONX-BARBES
Joint winner of the Special Jury Prize at this year's Locarno Film Festival, Bronx-Barbes draws on filmmaker and anthropologist Elaine de Latour's study of the ghettos of the Ivory Coast. In her first fiction feature, de Latour sketches a portrait of two boys in search of an identity, flirting with violence, prison and death. It is a raw and passionately made study of modern Africa and the chaos of city life. It premieres on Sat 11 Nov 16:00 and plays again Sun 12 Nov 16:00
FRAGMENTS OF LIFE (Fragments de Vie's)
A triptych of insights into contemporary life in Cameroon. A young graduate seeks work and ends up on the criminal fringe; a woman frees herself from a traumatic past in a violent, redemptive act, a man meets a woman and memories find physical form once again. The film eloquently and with great dignity makes a strong case for a systematic reimagination of Africa by Western viewers. Showing the modern equatorial city in all its messy and compromised richness, it reminds us that the continent is a long way from being a one-dimensional monolith of quasi biblical suffering. Written and Directed by Francois L Woukoache this plays on Fri 10 Nov 14:00 and Sun 12 Nov 14:00
OTOMO
Frieder Schlaich's thoughtful second feature film fictionalizes events leading up to a real incident which shocked the city of Stuttgard in 1989. In an apparently unpremeditated act a West African asylum seeker, Frederic Otomo, stabbed 2 police offices to death and injured 3 more. He was then killed by a bullet from one of the officer's guns. Very little was known about the assailant, still less about his motivations. That the invidious discrimination his experiences recalls Fassbinder's 'Fear Eats the Soul', a film made almost 3 decades ago, makes it all the more disturbing. It plays Sun 12 Nov 18:15 and Mon 13 Nov 13:45
SOUTH SIDE STORY (Sud Side Stori)
Wildly outrageous and wacky musical satire that takes on the very serious subject of immigration and racial discrimination in present day Palermo. Toni is a street singer , who models himself on Elvis and falls for Romea, a beautiful Nigerian prostitute. With affectionate nods to among other things, 'West Side Story', Roberta Torre's film is a loud, extremely colourful fantasy, grounded in harsh reality. Undoubtedly one of the most distinctive and original filmmakers in contemporary Italy, Torre confirms the promise of her award winning debut feature 'Tano da Morire at Venice. It plays on Fri 10 Nov 16:00 and Sat 11 Nov 18:15
BATTU
Director Cheikh Oumar Sissoko weaves a brilliant satire on the themes of punishment, greed, vanity and selfishness which are highly popular in West African folklore. Mour Ndiaye the director of Public Health and Hygiene has his eye on the vacant Vice Presidency of his country. The squalid beggars have been keeping tourists away, and he thinks of flushing them out of the city to improve his promotion prospects. He ruthlessly succeeds in ridding the city of the beggars and the tools of their trade. They are deported to a wasteland where they get together to form a successful cooperative, whilst his success puts him in a position of conflict with his superior, the corrupt and ruthless Minister Toumane (Danny Glover - Lethal Weapon) It premieres on Thu 9 Nov 20:45 and Sat 11 Nov 18:30
THE CITY (El Medina)
With 'The City', his 4th award winning feature, Yousri Nasrallah takes us into the lives of a small market community in Egypt who sees their livelihood destroyed when their popular Rod-El-Farag market is bulldozed to make way for corporate development. The central character is Ali, a young unemployed actor living with his parents who are market traders. Frustrated and desparate to work, Ali gets an opportunity to travel to France with a circus troupe. 2 years later we find Ali in France having overstayed his Visa and making a living out of fixing boxing matches. He is involved in a hit and run and has temporary memory loss, which indirectly helps him get back to Egypt. It screens on Sat 11 Nov 13:45 and Sun 12 Nov 18:15
CLOSED DOORS (El Abwab el Moghalaka)
Set at the time of the Gulf War, Closed Doors exposes the social and political variance of contemporary Egyptian soceity. The story centers on an 12 year old boy who lives with his mother, a maid, in downtown Cairo. They live humbly in a poor quarter of the city with the mother struggling to keep up with her son's school fees. At school the boy is not doing well and is frequently in trouble with his teacher. When his mother starts having an affair with his teacher, the boy is filled with jealosy and rage. The consequences are tragic. This enthralling and skillfully directed debut marks Atef Hetata as the new Egyptian talent to watch in the coming years. It screens on Fri 10 Nov 18:15 and Sun 12 Nov 20:45
COLOBANE EXPRESS
This is a humurous and engaging docu-drama about the colourful Senegalese buses which transport people from villages to the chaotic city center of Dakar. With a hand held camera, the Senegalese novelist Khady Sylla takes us on board to experience an unforgettable trip, a journey we share with the villagers on their way through fish markets and chicken farms, as the bus picks up market traders and their wares on the way to the capitol. Sylla represents a new generation of African women filmmakers whose work is subtly critical commentary on the state of their respective political economies. It screens on Wed 8 Nov 18:30
MOROCCAN CHRONICLES
In the old city of Fes lives a mother and her 8 year old son. The boy has just been circumcised and is very much in pain. The father left the family some time ago in search of work in Europe. Traumatized by the experience, the boy is comforted by his mother who tells him 3 stories of today's Morocco. Written and directed by Moumen Smihi. It will screen on Tues 7 Nov 16:15 and 20:30
THE SPIRIT OF MOPTI (L'esprit de Mopti)
Mopti, the bustling port town of Mali, is often referred to as the Venice of Africa, and has a special history. It has evolved out of a long, illustrious history and together with Timbuktu was a renowned center for trade, culture and Islamic learning. Mopti, meaning melting pot, expresses the place where the spirit brings together all the ethnic groups of Mali. Superb editing by Carol Equer-Hamy contributes greatly to Moussa Ouane's stunning piece of work. It screens on Fri Nov 20:45
A TRIP TO MY COUNTRY (Vacances au pays)
The award winning Cameroonian filmmaker Jean Marie Teno returns to the festival for the 3rd time with this candid trip across the country, retracing his youth from Yaounde, the capital, to his village of Bandjoun. Through interviews with many ordinary citizens as he drives south to his village, Teno challenges the definition of modernity in the culture and politics of Africa. It screens on Sun 5 Nov 20:45 and Tues 7 Nov 14:00
AUGUY
Winner of the best short film at the Festival Cinema Africano 2000. Auguy is a 12 year old African boy who lives with his sister in Brussels. His sister, who is desperate to make ends meet, is unable to afford his school fees. In despair the young boy walks out of home and school. Written and directed by Tunda Wa Munga Djo. It will screen with Spirit of Mopti.
* The African Studies Association is pleased to announce the screening of Ousmane Sembene's FAAT KINE at the African Studies Association Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. This will be the first public screening of the film, the latest offering from the father of African cinema. Ousmane Sembene has often examined the role of women in his films, however Faat Kine signifies a turning point as the central character is a woman in contemporary Senegal. Faat Kine is a 40-year-old independent single mother and successful businesswoman who runs a gasoline franchise. As she reflects back on her life, that of her mother and the future for her daughter, we recognise the difficulties facing women, the attitudes and institutions that have constrained them. In addition to the focus on women's condition, Sembene critiques the failure of the generation of men who have led Senegal since independence. But he celebrates the economic autonomy and success of people like Faat Kine who could point the way for the revitalization of Africa. For more info email: Right Here.
* Time for Rigobert Song
Hello there faithful readers. You like Portuguese food? Yes, well how about Portuguese movies. Still not sure, well allow me to pursuade you with a film called "FINTAR O DESTINO" (Dribbling Fate). In essence this is Africa's first real sports film, with a decidedly African twist. It is the story of an over the hill sports hero who holds onto his past so strongly he destroys his present. Think of Marlon Brando's famous lament from 'On the Waterfront', "I could've been a contender". At the same time this film explores a much more general tension, personal and political, between remaining true to one's dream or making the best of the limited opportunities around us. In Fintar o Destino this dilemma is posed in terms of an entire nation: whether Cape Verdeans should accept life on these isolated islands or should pursue their often unrealistic ambitions overseas. Indeed, this is a conflict faced by more and more people in the poorer countries of an increasingly mobile world.
Character and fate are geographic, bound up with unique history of the Cape Verde Islands. These ten volcanic islands located 300 miles off the most westerly point of Africa where were uninhabited until the Portuguese discovered them in 1462. They soon grew into a bustling port of call between Africa, Europe and the Americas developing a highly creolized mulatto population. Since the islands have never been economically self sufficient, emigration has been a central fact of Cape Verdean's lives. Islanders have established communities around the Atlantic; the largest one in Southern New England, most notably Amilcar Cabral, played a leading role in the liberation of their Islands and Guinea-Bissau from Portuguese rule in 1973.
In the film an old schoolteacher observes, "on an island men fear staying more then leaving." Perhaps this is the dribbling fate of the title. For many young men, the most exciting, if not realistic route off the island is to become a sports star, the illusory promise followed by so many inner city youth in America, poignantly depicted in Hoop Dreams. The film's opening shot symbolizes this as we see a boy hoeing the island's arid volcanic soil only to realize he is actually marking out a soccer field. For the older men who have not found a way off the island, the only remaining escape is to live vicariously through the fortunes of their favourite teams ignoring the mundane life all around them. The central character of the film, Mane', owns an unprofitable "sports bar" in Mindelo, whose denizens are overgrown adolescents seemingly with little to do but root for Benfica, a major Portuguese team. Mane' actually turned down an invitation to try out for Benfica in order to marry a local girl; as a result his whole life has been consumed by regret, sinking into alcoholism, improvidence and an unhappy marriage. Kalu, a talented teenager that Mane' is teaching, needs to decide whether to continue his rigorous training, emigrate to America, or pursue a beautiful island ingenue. Mane' develops an obsession that the only way Benfica can win the national championship, is if he is present in the stadium in Lisbon. He steals money which his wife has been saving, abandons her at home and flies to Portugal, where he inevitably learns the lesson that it is always dangerous to test one's dream against reality. Mane' finds an old friend and finds him a broken man living in a shack by the Tagus who pitifully asks him for change. Alberto, Mane's son, confesses he has always resented his father for neglecting his wife and children in favour of soccer fanaticism.
Unlike an American mainstream film, Fintar O Destino is not so simplistic or moralistic to suggest that Mane' will be converted from a dreamer to a man of practicality. Life is obviously a tension between these extremes and any world needs both. Mane's apologises for the neglect of his family but not for his life long romance with football and he continues to encourage Kalu to pursue the dream of becoming a soccer player. Our last image of Mane' is of him bicycling down a long pier heedless of Kalu's warning that there is no way off, following his dreams quixoticallyy towards that sea from which no one returns. No true sports fan should miss this, a passionate and heartfelt attack on the senses, that just might inspire you to aspire and doggedly chase your dream. An African "Billy Elliot" if you will. Contact me at Fieldhouse and let's talk African Film.
AFRICAN AMERICAN
* Comedian Bernie Mac ("The Original Kings of Comedy") is in negotiations to join the all-star cast of Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures' "Ocean's Eleven," a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack feature that Steven Soderbergh will direct. The project is slated to shoot in Los Angeles and Las Vegas next year. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Alan Arkin star in the story of an ex-con, Danny (Clooney), who gathers his old crew to pull off a robbery in three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously during a much-anticipated boxing match. Mac would play a blackjack dealer who helps Danny and the gang in their casino heist.
* Martin Lawrence is set to possibly join a club of the ultimate Hollywood elite -- movie stars who make $20 million per picture. Lawrence, who made a box-office bonanza with the critically-panned "Big Momma's House," is in early negotiations to ink $20 million-per-film for two pictures at Columbia. The two films are the action comedy "National Security" and "Blue Streak 2," a sequel to the hit 1999 comedy. If Lawrence pulls this off, he will be in good company with comic actors Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy and Chris Tucker. Meanwhile, Lawrence isn't doing too badly now, as he will collect $16.5 million to star next in the Fox time travel comedy "The Black Knight."
* Spike Lee, who mocked the TV business in his latest film, "Bamboozled", will now have a chance to, in Lee's words, "put up or shut up." After signing a one-year deal with Studios USA to develop comedies and dramas, Lee told the Hollywood Reporter:
"I'm elated that I'm getting a shot, being put in position to do something good in a medium I've been very critical of." (Not Spike Lee, surely - DR. SOTHA) He said that he plans to focus first on developing an hour-long drama.
AFRICAN COAXIAL
* AE Productions is staging three musical events featuring "Motown Disco" with music from artists like Gloria Gaynor, ABBA, James Brown and Diana Ross. The events will take place in Cape Town on 28 October, in Pretoria on 3 November and in Johannesburg on 4 November. (Flares and big hair are not optional but essential - DR. SOTHA)
Nurses for Answers. Crash_davis got the answer right to last weeks question, Carl Franklin directed Meryl Streep in 'One True Thing'(Nurse Ishallit will accompany you to your next annual general meeting, for professional motives ofcourse). This weeks question, 'Richard Pryor starred in Lynch's Lost Highway - TRUE or FALSE'
