Father Geek, Rigobert Song, and Dr. SOTHA here again with another info filled Africa-AICN column for your Friday morning and once more there are several film titles here that you need to bring to the attention of your local esoteric video and DVD dealers as well as your University Film Societies, and festival promoters. Spread the word about African film, and lets pump up the demand for that continent's motion picture product.

Now on to the man with the elixer to cure what ales you... Dr. SOTHA...

DR. SOTHA here for more gall bladder clamping in the erogenous zones of the filmic psyche. That's right it's time for Africa-AICN. Before I move on let me just say that I am officially and categorically not a single man anymore. I have discovered a way to bring "Florentine Blanc's" cadaver back to life from her fatal car crash in Nice, France of '74. Simple formula really, mix a Gerard Depardieu nose hair with a broken Juliette Binoche nail, and walla! SHE'S ALIVE and so am I. Standard medical practices. Textbook stuff really.

Now e-mail me your appetizing French delicacies to Our AICN Special Treatment Labs outside Capetown, South Africa.

Nurse, I believe the French are renowned for that very same thing.

SOUTH AFRICA

* Taken from the Hollywood Reporter -- A total of 81 short films from 13 countries will vie for top honors at the fourth annual Shorts International Film Festival, slated for Nov. 11-15 at New York's Cineplex Odeon Worldwide theater. Short films screening at the fest become eligible for Oscar consideration. Standouts at the festival include "Married to the Mob" writer Barry Sturgatz's directorial bow, "The Transformation"; James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") starring in the William Garcia short comedy "A Whole New Day"; Billy Bob Thornton lending his talents to Jeff Lester's existential "The Last Real Cowboys"; and David Allen Grier starring as a devil who challenges a mortal to race the clock to break all 10 commandments in James Zeilinger's "Damned If You Do." Other titles include ERIC SIMONSON'S docu on South African singing group LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO, "On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom," and Phil Bertelsen's "The Sunshine," a look at one of the Bowery's last remaining flophouses.

* "Dr Lucille", the feature film co-production between South African company Ballistic Pictures and Canada's Motion International has received a total of nine Gemini Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film stars Louis Gosset jnr (Irone Eagle 1-5 -there may be more, but I suspect nobody cares - DR. SOTHA) and Marina Orsini. The Geminis are Canada's version of the Emmy Awards. Among the Dr Lucille nominations are South Africans Michael Buckley for Best Cinematography and Ruy Phillipe for Best Costume Design.

* The children's fantasy film "Dazzle", produced and shot in South Africa by UK company Peakviewing Transatlantic and directed by local filmmaker David Lister was bought by Disney at the recently held MIPCOM television market in Cannes, France. According to reports, Disney is also considering three more Lister-directed Peakviewing films, namely "Meeksville Ghost", "Sorcerer's Apprentice" (a bit of corporate innuendo if you ask me - DR. SOTHA) and "Pets."

* Wondering what to do with that great Pilot episode you shot in the Summer of '84, DR. SOTHA recommends the South African Film and Television Market -- Among the many international buyers registered to attend the fifth edition of Sithengi, the Southern African International Film and Television Market (13 to 16 November - Spier Estate, Cape Tow) are: Leila Trainor, Vice President of Acquisitions, UPCtv, Netherlands. Trainor has to find 2 500 hours of niche programming each year. Fatma Bashir, Head of Acquisition, Nation TV, Kenya will be seeking new suppliers for African movies and if possible African soaps. Bashir is also looking for drama, mini-series and special Christmas programmes. Angela Richardson, Head of Acquisitions at Telecast, is looking for a wide variety of genres as well as co-production projects on wildlife which could be utilised as 3D specials. Meaza Zewda, Head of Acquisitions, Ethiopian Television is looking for feature films, musical programmes, children s cartoons / animation, as well as drama series and soap operas. Kennedy Bhandika, Head of Programming, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation is interested in original African comedies, dramas and soaps. Claire Colart, Head of Documentary at RBTF (Belgium) is particularly interested in quality home-made documentaries on current affairs and society to fit 3 x 52 minute documentary slots. Vladimir Vojir, Head of Co-Production and Damian Kausitz, Head of Documentary at Ceske Televize (Czech Republic) would like to establish new relations and contacts with African broadcasters and producers. They will also evaluate television programmes in development that will be pitched at the Sithengi Co-Production Forum. Irene Zikusoka, Head of Acquisitions for UgandaTelevision is coming to Sithengi to find drama and comedy series, as well as opportunities for co-production.

* You're a big producer with money to burn? (This does not mean you Mickey Rourke - DR. SOTHA)? Well why not check out Filminafrica.com which is an independent industry portal that aims to promote South Africa as a prime film and video destination for foreign productions. Content on the site will include an extensive shoot locations database, a comprehensive industry directory, industry news, an industry job billboard, and an interactive gallery showcasing the very best in local talent.

* "What Lies Beneath" (Michelle Pfeiffer / Harrison Ford) is still at the top of the South African box office, having amassed (If that's the right word? - DR. SOTHA) R3 612 920 to date. It is closely followed by Jackie Chan's western spoof, "Shanghai Noon", the 'old crocks' space flick, "Space Cowboys", "Where The Heart Is" (Isn't this like a few years past its sell by date? - DR. SOTHA), and X.Men.

NORTH AFRICA

* Ivory Coast filmmaker Sycobie Maloto is making BAJOTI - a multi layered character driven piece that follows three central characters along their journeys across the coast of Africa, each discovering new things about themselves and their relationships to nature. Maloto has compared the project along the same cinematic appeal to African autuer genius Ousmane Sembene's seminal works.

* Ladies and Gentleman.... Rigobert Song

Good day readers. I have a heartbreaking film for those who care about the plight of economic cancer in certain parts of the world. Think of this as an African film version of "Philadelphia" without the court case, if that's possible.

"EVERYONE'S CHILD" is an eloquent call for action on behalf of Africa's millions of parentless children. Though the tragic story of one Zimbabwean family devastated by AIDS may seem like syrupy melodrama, the film challenges Africans to reaffirm their tradition that an orphan becomes "Everyone's child." Similar to NERIA which called on women to exercise their newly won legal rights against patriarchal custom, broke box office records in Zimbabwe. This film is a gut reaction to the prediction that by the year 2001 there will be over 10,000,000 AIDS orphans on the African continent. At the same time, the film focuses attention on millions of other children left homeless by civil wars or abandoned because their parents could not support them. The script was based on a story by novelist Shimmer Chinodya, author of "Harvest of Thorns", and was directed by Tsitsi Dangarembga, author of the novel "Nervous Condition". The exceptional soundtrack features 12 original songs by Zimbabwe's most popular musicians, including Thomas Mapfumo, Leonard Zhakata, and Andy "tomato sauce" Brown. Leading Zimbabwean actors star in the film, but many of the younger roles were played by actual streetchildren trained in a special workshop.

It tells the story of four siblings, Itai, Tamari, Norah and Nhamo, whose parents have both died of AIDS. After a traditional funeral, the villagers, ignoring custom, shun the orphans because of the stigma of AIDS. Their guardian, Uncle Ozias, a struggling small business man, sells the family's plow and oxen to pay off their father's debts. Without the means to support themselves, the family inevitably disintegrates. Itai, the eldest brother, chasing empty promises of high-paying jobs, leaves for Harare where, alone and penniless, he inevitably takes up with a gang of homeless boys. Their clothes, music and attitudes identify them as belonging to an international fraternity of forgotten youth who look to each other for family and to crime for a living.

Itai's sister, Tamari, played with moving vulnerability by Nomsa Mlambo, is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Unable to afford food, deprived of affection, she is an easy victim for the predatory shopkeeper, Mdara Shagi. One night, Shagi brutally forces Tamari to leave the 2 younger children alone and accompany him to a club. In her absence the house catches fire and the younger brother, Nhamo, burns to death. It offers its audience no easy answers. If a Zimbabwean film can earnestly call upon the country's citizens to shoulder the burden of insuring adequate parenting of every child, one is left to wonder why American society with all its wealth regards this goal as hopelessly utopian.

This has inhibited the development of a commercially viable and hence self-reliant African film industry producing the comedies, romances, and action adventures Africans would pay to see. Sub-Saharan africa needs a commercial film industry similar to that in EGYPT, INDIA or HONG KONG. The fact that films like "Everyone's Child" can be both popular and contain serious social messages argues that there remains the potential for building in Africa a film-going public which looks to cinema for more than just a mindless diversion. E-mail me at rigobertsong@hotmail.com and lets talk about African Films.

* The Film Resource Unit (FRU) and Ice Media in collaboration with Ster-Kinekor is pleased to announce The Best of African Films, a selection of five landmark features and short films from the continent screening at Ster-Kinekor, Hillbrow. From 4 November until 16 December 2000, Ster-Kinekor Hillbrow will host the screening of an innovative selection of African films every Saturday at 8pm and 10pm. The programme also includes five memorable short films made in recent years. Forming part of the launch of FRU's complete African Film Catalogue, these screenings mark another in a series of ongoing initiatives to increase the appeal of African Films to broader audiences by Ster-Kinekor, Ice Media and The Film Resource Unit. Said Mike Dearham of FRU: "We are hoping to elevate the social status of African Cinema by screening these titles alongside commercial films from other countries, and hope to do so in many different ways looking forward." The screenings will kick off with Idrissa Ouedraogo's "Kini & Adams", followed by: Ramadan Suleman's "Fools"; Les Blair's "Jump The Gun", Nthsaveni Wa Luluri's "Chikin Biznis" and Gaston J-M. Kabore's "Buud Yam." Each feature will be accompanied by a bonus short. These encompass "The Foreigner" by Zola Maseko; Teboho Mahlatsi's "Portrait of a Young Man Drowning"; and three stories about the challenges of falling in love from the Africa Dreaming series "Gaze of the Stars" (Joao Ribeiro - Mozambique), "Sophia's Homecoming" (Richard Pakleppa - Namibia), and "The Last Picture" directed by Farai Sevenzo (Zimbabwe).

AFRICAN AMERICAN

* Ving Rhames is in final negotiations to star in writer-director John Singleton's coming-of-age project "Baby Boy" for Columbia Pictures opposite R&B singer Tyrese, who is making his acting debut in the title role. The project is scheduled to start production next month in Los Angeles. "Baby," written by Singleton, is about a young man (Tyrese) named Jody who has fathered a child but still lives at home with his mother and refuses to accept the responsibilities of adulthood. Unemployed, he spends his time with the mother of his child and another woman with whom he is falling in love. Rhames plays Melvin, the gentleman friend of Jody's mom.

* Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr.'s famous 'Show me the money' line from Jerry Maguire (1996) came back to haunt him on the set of World War Two epic Pearl Harbor (2001). One wise-cracking extra ruined the film's most sensitive scene - by yelling the line as Gooding Jr walked among the dead and injured. He recalls, "I was surrounded by about 1,200 men, 700 of them playing dead. There were explosions, so much smoke you could barely see, and we were being dive-bombed by Japanese fighter planes. "At one point there was a little lull in the action, and a voice from somewhere cut through all the noise, yelling, `Show me the money.' All the dead and dying extras totally broke up. I'm like, `Kill that guy.'"

AFRICAN COAXIAL

* Acquisition executives from Kenyan and Ugandan television stations, as well as from the European satellite broadcaster UPCtv , will be at Sithengi, the Southern African International Film & Television Market, to look for programming. To date 65 buyers from 24 countries have registered for Sithengi to be held from 13 to 16 November 2000 at the Spier Estate, just outside Cape Town. Irene Zikusoka, Head of Acquisitions for Uganda Television is specifically looking for drama and comedy series. In addition she will be investigating opportunities for co-production

No "Nurses for Answers" this week, I've promised them a weekend off (they've had a grueling schedule this week - believe me). The answer to last weeks question was True - Richard Pryor starred in Lynch's Lost Highway.

End of the Line. Sounds and colors blurred. Darkness comes. Prepare to evacuate web, but before you do send me your doctor's spouses to Africaaicn@hotmail.com