SA documentary that has touched a nerve – picked up by international festival

Mother City, the hard-hitting South African documentary about the politics of urbanism premiered internationally at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival, and at the prestigious Encounters South African International Documentary Festival where it played to sold out houses. Since then, it has been in demand by audiences and festivals eager to engage with its content throughout the country and abroad.

The film received special mentions from the juries at both these festivals, and was shown to a packed audience of industry peers at the recent Durban FilmMart.

It had a special screening at the CineCentre GrandWest, Cape Town on 30 August followed by a robust panel discussion hosted by Daily Maverick journalist, Rebecca Davis with Disha Govender, Head of Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre; Nkosikhona Swartbooi, activist; Brett Herron, former Mayco Member for Housing, City of Cape Town, and Anthea Houston, CEO of Communicare.  

The London Renters Union, a campaigning union with branches across the UK, requested a special for the opening of their Housing Justice Assembly 2024 in London on 30 August.

Given the dire housing and land needs a robust impact campaign is created by the film makers and activists seeking various opportunities to screen the film to a wide and diverse audience in order to trigger discussion.

Where to see Mother City,  next:

In Cape Town a short season will follow at The Labia Theatre in Cape Town on Sunday 8 September, 2.30pm and from Friday 13 to Thursday 19 September 8pm.

Johannesburg public screenings take place at the CineCentre Killarney Mall from Wednesday 18 September at 19:00 with a special screening with the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation with Daily Maverick’s Ferial Hafajee hosting a post screening panel discussion.

It will screen at CineCentre on Friday 4 October at 7.30pm, Saturday 5 October at 5.15pm and Sunday 6 October at 2.30pm.

International screenings and festivals include:

●      Sheffield: The Showroom Cinema in Sheffield 28 October

●      London: Bertha DocHouse in London requested to screen Mother City  29 October 

●      Namibia at the Film Week in Windhoek

●      In Germany, at Afrika Film Festival Köln, 

●      and in Switzerland and USA in the next four months.

Seasoned impact filmmaker Miki Redelinghuys of Plexus Films and veteran investigative journalist Pearlie Joubert, directed and produced the film with renowned feature-producer Kethiwe Ngcobo. Described as a beautifully observed, deeply human and often heart-breaking look at the politics of urbanism, the filmmakers spend six years documenting the activists of the dynamic Reclaim the City movement, as they transform two mothballed state-owned buildings in Cape Town’s into homes for more than 1000 people.  The Woodstock Hospital was renamed Cissy Gool House by occupiers and the Helen Bowden nursing home in the Waterfront, Ahmed Kathrada House  .

“This is a classic David versus Goliath struggle, where activists challenge the powerful forces of politics and property. It has touched a nerve wherever we have screened the film and resonates deeply with audiences worldwide – this is not just a South African problem,” says Pearlie Joubert, who recently  screened the film to the Renters Union in London.

“All over the world people who are living on the edges are talking truth to power, taking their fight like the Reclaim the City movement - to the streets, the courts, high-end events, and governments determined to make their voices heard. We are hoping this film will create the necessary impact for activists as well as those in power whose decisions affect them, we want each and every person who sees this film to be moved to action,” says Redelinghuys.

Link to ticket sales

 Cape Town: https://bit.ly/3AGbNPc

Johannesburg: https://bit.ly/3X4UzT4

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Compelling Line-Up of Films for Encounters South African International Documentary Festival

The 26th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, which takes place in Cape Town and Johannesburg from 20 to 30 June, features a compelling line-up of films from around the globe that promise to spark debate, stimulate conversations, and shed new light on controversial subject matter.

From the Congo to Kenya, USA and Europe, Lebanon to Japan with gripping tales of resilience to thought-provoking explorations of contemporary issues, these films reveal a rich tapestry of global storytelling and celebrate the power of documentary cinema to inspire, inform, and ignite change.

Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

The multiple award-winning Soundtrack to a Coup d'État, is a riveting documentary that delves into the complex relationship between music and political upheaval. Directed by Johan Grimonprez (Belgium/France/The Netherlands) jazz and politics are intertwined in this depiction of murky international interference in decolonisation and the Cold War.  It’s 1960 and against the background of jazz sounds of Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Nina Simone, a wave of decolonisation movements tear through Africa, and the struggle for civil rights marches on in the USA. Beat by beat, Grimonprez traces Patrice Lumumba’s rise to become Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister—and the meddling forces that conspired his assassination. Deeply researched, the film interweaves archival records, home movies, unheard speeches by Lumumba, and memoirs by Congolese activists and writers with the story of the Black jazz legends who defined the era. Pulsating with the energy of the period, this masterpiece of documentary filmmaking is a chilling indictment of the colonial impact on Africa. 

Moving to East Africa and keeping with the thread of international interference, the Kenyan film Our Land, Our Freedom directed by Zippy Kimundu, is a highly charged conversation about stolen land that follows a woman’s attempt to reclaim ancestral land. What begins as a search for her father’s remains soon turns into a tense national issue surrounding British colonialism, freedom fighters, and an unjust reality. It is pure grit, determination, and a genuine love for her people that keeps her going, pushing her to provide for those who did so much for her country yet received so little reward for their sacrifice. 

Black Box Diaries 

Of particular interest are two fascinating films from Japan: In a raw, riveting, and singular work, playing like a procedural thriller for social media, Black Box Diaries (Japan/USA/UK) directed by journalist Shiori Itō bravely investigates a case of sexual violence perpetrated against her—to bring her powerful, politically connected assailant to justice. As she pieces together evidence, she exposes the paralyzing roots of patriarchy in Japan. Her brave story is a reminder of how far the world still has to go in believing women, and the trauma of survivors. Her quest results in a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country's outdated judicial and societal systems. The film won the Human Rights Award at CPH:DOX in Denmark.

Johatsu – Into Thin Air

Then the beautifully photographed film - Johatsu – Into Thin Air directed by Andreas Hartmann and Arata Mori explores the phenomenon of people who disappear known as Johatsu or “the evaporated” in Japan where around 80,000 people vanish every year. Most are found or return home but thousands simply disappear. We meet people who have chosen to do this and those looking for them, as well as the people who help them so they can reset their lives in places where no one knows them. Johatsu provides an intimate window into the lives of those who have decided, for one desperate reason or another, that they need to start anew.

Hollywoodgate

In true “eyes-on-the-ground” and breathtakingly edgy filmmaking, Egyptian director Ibrahim Nash'at scores a major coup in Hollywoodgate (Germany/USA) when he is granted permission to document the transition of Afghanistan to Taliban rule after the US withdrawal in 2021. The Taliban took over one of the USA’s CIA bases with infrastructure of containers bearing the name "Hollywood Gate" filled with weapons enabling them to equip a new combat unit. Over a year, Nash'at follows the development of this unit and provides an authentic inside glimpse into the Taliban's rapid rise to power. 

Encounter screens “two must see” films that audiences might have missed:

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano, directed by Cyril Aris (Germany/Lebanon), is a heartwarming and lucid documentary. After a massive explosion devastated the port in Beirut in August 2020, a determined crew of filmmakers continued their project in an effort of resistance. Amidst the city's destruction and an economic crisis during COVID-19, this family of artists finds meaning and purpose through the transformative power of cinema.

The Mother of All Lies

The Mother of All Lies (Morocco/Egypt) is a poetic, captivating, and cathartic exploration of the lies and memories of director Asmae El Moudir’s family, surrounding the Casablanca Bread Riots of 1981. The period of repression known in Morocco as the “Years of Lead” is hardly discussed. Narratives of trauma, loss, and love are recovered here through exquisite re-enactments played by handmade figurines, sculpted by El Moudir’s father and dressed by her mother, placed in a scale model of her neighbourhood.

Cinemas that will screen the 2024 Encounters’ line-up:

In Cape Town - Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront, The Labia Theatre

In Johannesburg - The Zone @ Rosebank, The Bioscope Independent Cinema 

For more information go to: https://encounters.co.za/

Encounters is Supported and Funded by: 

The City of Cape Town, Bertha Foundation, National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, the University of Cape Town and the Centre for Film and Media Studies, Mail and Guardian (Media Partner), Al Jazeera Documentary, UWC The Centre for Humanities Research, Known Associates, Refinery, Institute Francais, Goethe-Institut of South Africa, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Heineken Beverages, DOK.fest Munich, German Films, Documentary Filmmakers Association, South African Guild of Editors, anima, Pressure Cooker Studio.

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Joy Sapieka - Joy Sapieka & Associates 

joyls@mweb.co.za 

joysapieka0@gmail.com 

Sharlene Versfeld 

sharlene@versfeld.co.za 

Hard-hitting SA documentary MOTHER CITY to open Encounters 2024

Encounters South African International Documentary Festival renowned for its commitment to showcasing diverse voices, insightful perspectives, and compelling narratives has announced the South African film Mother City directed by Miki Redelinghuys and Pearlie Joubert as the opening film in a line-up of local, African, and international films that are making waves or garnered critical acclaim at festivals worldwide. The fest takes place at venues in Cape Town and Johannesburg from 20 to 30 June 2024.

Sparking transformation, the beautifully observed film, Mother City is a deeply human and often heart-breaking look at the politics of urbanism. The filmmakers follow activists of the Reclaim the City movement over six years as they make Cape Town’s abandoned spaces their home, and use it as a base from which to lobby for the needs of the working class.

In a classic David versus Goliath battle between passionate activists and politics and property power, Nkosikhona (Face) Swartbooi and his peers take to the streets, the courts, the fancy dinner functions, parliament and the homes of the people in power to get their voices heard. They travel to Barcelona to meet the Mayor who has successfully turned Barcelona’s housing crisis around, searching for solutions to the ever-growing housing crisis in Cape Town.

The film offers an opportunity to walk in the shoes of the oppressed and dispossessed, to understand the real struggle for people needing homes closer to work, education, and recreation and are not simply banished to the outskirts of urban areas. It grapples with the rights for access, and fairness to be able to actively participate in an urban economy. It lays bare the struggles of people who are often vilified and “othered” for trying to rightfully claim a space to live with their families. 

“Mother City has been selected as our opening film, as it represents the heart of what documentary film-making is about,” says Festival Director Mandisa Zitha. “Dedicated, tenacious, and vociferous in its approach to following a group of activists over a long period, to capture their challenges and frustrations, and indeed their successes. It speaks to the power of film in exposing the arduous journey so many in this world have to embark on to effect change. It is also a universally powerful story of the triumph of the collective.” 

“I have always thought of Mother City as a love letter to the city I call home and love very deeply,” explains Miki Redelinghuys (Plexis Films) documentary filmmaker and impact producer. “But love can also be painful in as much as it is beautiful. This film is an expression of many diverse lives observed through our lens and we hope our audience leaves inspired with a vision for building a shared democratic South Africa. We are extremely grateful that we have been able to share this story.”

Pearlie Joubert, acclaimed investigative journalist who’s spent years as a news producer for ITV, Sky News and the BBC adds, "When Miki and I started filming Mother City, we dreamt that our film would shift permanently, the way one million visitors to Cape Town see this city and her policies. Now so many years later, we have only witnessed how politicians and property developers have formed and cemented an impenetrable wall keeping the poor out and away. Mother City is our ode to how “gatvol” we are of this status quo."

Mother City is produced by Kethiwe Ngcobo, Pearlie Joubert, and Miki Redelinghuys and will have its World Premiere at the Sheffield Doc Fest in the UK in June before its African premiere at Encounters on 20 June.

The following cinemas will be screening the 2024 Encounters’ line-up:

In Cape Town - Ster-Kinekor V&A Waterfront, The Labia Theatre

In Johannesburg - Ster-Kinekor Rosebank Nouveau, The Bioscope Independent Cinema 

Encounters is Supported and Funded by: City of Cape Town, Bertha Foundation, National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa,  University of Cape Town and the Centre for Film and Media Studies, Mail and Guardian(Media Partner), Al Jazeera Documentary, Known Associates, Refinery, Goethe-Institut, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Heineken Beverages,  Documentary Filmmakers Association, German Films, South African Guild of Editors, anima, Pressure Cooker Studio

For more information go to: https://encounters.co.za/

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Gripping Line-Up of African and South African Doccies for Encounters

 GRIPPING LINE-UP OF AFRICAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN DOCCIES FOR ENCOUNTERS

Documentaries centred around belonging and home, where roots formerly were and where they are now, of relationship - money- and life’s transactions, of defiance, of sacrifices, found love and success feature in a gripping selection of African and South African documentaries for the 24th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, which takes place in cinemas in Cape Town and Johannesburg from 23 June to 3 July 2022.

Looking for roots, winner of the 2021 DOK.horizonte prize at DOK.fest München 2022, No Simple Way Home (Kenya/South Africa) directed by Akuol de Mabior, is a personal film in which de Mabior pays tribute to her parents and her home country – South Sudan. Her father, John Garang de Mabior, was a revolutionary leader whose movement led to the foundation of South Sudan, and her mother, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, became one of the five vice presidents of the country's so-called unity government in 2020.

In No U-Turn, celebrated Nigerian filmmaker Ike Nnaebue retraces his steps of a journey he made almost 30 years ago, to flee Africa, to find out what motivates people today to expose themselves to the dangers of a passage into an uncertain future. Described by Anietie Ewang, Researcher, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch as “a strong documentary that provides answers to questions around the motivations for migrating and experiences on the journey.”

Zimbabwean director Rumbi Katedza explores the phenomenon which saw the Diaspora population transact well above $1 billion in 2021 providing a huge boost to the local economy, with the bulk of these made through mobile phones. In Transactions, a delightful yet sobering film, the filmmaker personalises these numbers by displaying the humanity and complexities behind official figures. The film follows a Zimbabwean family with members scattered across the globe.

Among Us Women (Ethiopia/Germany) directed by Sarah Noa Bozenhardt and Daniel Abate Tilabun  holds a light to health centre staff in rural Ethiopia who are fighting maternal mortality. Appealing to women to give birth in the clinic they are battling against the odds, with traditional reservations and practical obstacles.

Joseph Dégramon Ndjom’s The Prison Promise (Cameroon/France) follows a couple who fell in love in prison, and after their release reunited with one of their family’s in Cameroon’s rural countryside to try to find their way back into society. The film offers a portrait of love and community as the couple navigate their reintegration into normal society, highlighting the role of the family and of community in rehabilitating people who have had challenges with the law.

The Double Futures of Athlone (SA) is a delightful film by Premesh Lalu that provides an intimate snapshot of a bygone era that continues to live in the hearts and imaginations of many of Athlone’s residents. At the film’s centre is the Kismet theatre, which once acted as both the local bioscope and as a performance venue for the rich musical talent of the time. A delicate account of history, in the film’s own words, “what’s left of the memory of the future”.

In  current news, as debate rages around the relevance of the Afrikaans Taal Monument, Gideon Breytenbach’s The Voice Behind The Wall (SA) comes as an interesting exploration of the politics of the language for the people who speak it. The Voice Behind The Wall is a conscientious examination of the Afrikaans music industry and the racial imbalances that still persist almost 30 years since the abolishment of Apartheid. Poet and rapper, Churchil Naudé, stands as a surrogate for a whole community of ignored artists, whose voices are now oppressed by the very same media industry that was guilty of using its powerful platform to further the white cause during apartheid. These voices, a whole community of voices behind the wall.

The Radical (SA), directed by Richard Gregory, is an intimate portrait of the world's first openly gay imam - Muhsin Hendricks - who was a fashion designer who determined that Islam could be interpreted more compassionately, and became the religious leader at the centre of the global queer Muslim movement. Despite death threats and opposition, he established a radically inclusive mosque in Cape Town. Now, he fights for the rights of LGBTQI+ Muslims in what he calls a “care-frontational” manner in the African countries where they are outlawed.

South African director Riaan Hendricks’ Tear Salted Sea weaves together accounts of sailors operating on the South African coastline to reveal how they relate to the sea as a community of people. This captivating and heartfelt account features interviews with survivors of a storm in which some died, to reveal how the sea has shaped their paths 10 years after its tragic events.

Nominated for the IDFA Award for Best First Feature in 2021, One Take Grace is an engagingly idiosyncratic film that introduces us to 58-year-old Black South African woman who has worked as a domestic worker and decides in her 40s that she would like to become an actress. Shot over 10 years by multidisciplinary artist and director Lindiwe Matshikiza and collaborators, the result is an immersive adventure in surrealism, although strongly linked to the lived reality of the many South Africans who work in other people’s houses at the expense of their own family life.

Lobola, A Bride's True Price? (SA) follows the journey of eSwatini filmmaker Sihle Hlophe who, faced with the impending approach of her marriage, questions the notion of lobola in the face of her feminist beliefs and her anti-patriarchal stance. Will she turn her back on Lobola or will she embrace it? 

Manche Masemola, a Pedi girl died for her Christian beliefs at the age of 15 in Sekhukhuneland. Having become widely popular after her death, she is depicted in a statue above Westminster Abbey, London’s Great West Door. In this intriguing documentary Manche, The African Martyr, Meggan Raubenheimer and Manche descendant Letebele Masemola examine the events surrounding her death through interviews with the people who were familiar with the story and those from her village. Masemola, who drives the narrative, reflects on this bold story as a journey to her ancestral homeland to rediscover her identity in relation to her cultural beliefs.

The following cinemas will be screening the 2022 Encounters’ line-up: In Cape Town - The Labia, The Bertha Movie House Isivivana Centre Khayelitsha, Bertha House Mowbray. In Johannesburg-CineCentre Killarney and The Independent Bioscope.

For further information go to the Encounters website www.encounters.co.za;  follow on social media or contact Joy Sapieka & Associates on +27(0)73 2125492 joysapieka0@gmail.com / Joyls@mweb.co.za

Buddha in Africa - Award-winning documentary for Cape Town

Media Release

Award-winning documentary for Cape Town

The award-winning documentary, Buddha in Africa, directed by KwaZulu-Natal filmmaker Nicole Schafer, which scooped the Best SA Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival in July, and won an Audience Choice Award at Encounters in June this year, is coming to Cape Town in August. It will be screened at the Silwerskermfees, the Labia Theatre, Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education in Mowbray and Isivivana Centre in Khayelitsha.

Buddha in Africa follows Enock Alu, a Malawian teenager growing up in a Chinese Buddhist orphanage, who feels torn between his African roots and Chinese upbringing. Set against China's expanding influence on the continent, Buddha in Africa provides a unique insight into the forces of cultural soft power on the identity and imagination of an African boy and his school friends growing up between two cultures.

Buddha in Africa is an international co-production with Momento Films in Sweden, has the Paris based sales company CAT and Docs representing the film internationally and AfriDocs as its African broadcast partner.

The film’s latest Best SA Documentary Award automatically qualifies it for a consideration for an Oscar nomination, as the DIFF is one of the qualifying festivals for the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences.

The Silwerskerm screening takes place at the Theatre on the Bay on Friday 23 August at 12:15.   Full day pass: R175.00

https://online.computicket.com/web/event/kyknet_silwerskermfees/1326589081/624439394

The Labia Theatre screening takes place on Sunday 25 August at 2:30 pm. The filmmaker will be in attendance for a Q&A after the event.  Tickets R60.00. Limited Seats. Book online: http://webtickets.co.za/event.aspx?itemid=1493520470  

The Documentary Filmmakers Association will screen the film at its docLOVE event at the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education, in Mowbray on Thursday 29 August at 6pm. Those interested in documentaries as well as learning more about the DFA are encouraged attend. Free entrance. Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education, 67-69 Main Road, Mowbray. Free entrance. Contact: mikiinthecity@gmail.com or theresa@steps.co.za

The Documentary Filmmakers Association will present another DocLOVE event at the Bertha Movie House at Isivivana Centre on Wednesday 4 September at 6pm. Free entrance. 8 Mzala Street, Khayelitsha  Website: https://isivivanacentre.org.za Facebook: Bertha Movie House

 NOTE: The film will also screen at the HILTON ARTS FESTIVAL (13 - 15 September 2019) in KwaZulu-Natal.

Trailer Link Facebook:

https://facebook.com/buddhainafrica/videos/2409166019303775

For more information like and follow the film on Facebook: buddhainafrica      

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Inspiring Sudanese documentary gives a human face to al-Bashir's victims - at the DIFF

Inspiring Sudanese documentary gives a human face to al-Bashir's victims - at the DIFF 

One of the most uplifting films at this year’s Durban International Film Festival is also an indictment of Sudan’s current president, Omar al-Bashir.

Beats of The Antonov, directed by Hajooj Kuka gives a human face to the victims of al-Bashir, who was allowed to leave South Africa last month, flouting a court order and international convention.

The documentary tells the story of the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan, who fought with the South for independence but now remain trapped in a civil war in the North.

The Antonov in the title refers to the planes that drop bombs on the civilian population there. As Nuba Reports wrote in The Daily Maverick just after al-Bashir’s escape, “As South Africa dissects the implications of President Omar al-Bashir’s visit, and his illegal departure, it’s worth remembering that although the International Criminal Court wants him for crimes committed years ago, the Sudanese president is still in power – and he’s still dropping cluster bombs on civilians.”

The documentary depicts al-Bashir not just as the kind of leader who drops bombs on unarmed civilians, but also as a racist, dividing his country along racial and ethnic lines, waging war “against all the African elements in Sudan.” As CityPress wrote in their review, al-Bashir’s "quest for a purely Arab state leaves the other 156 cultural African groups unaccounted for. Bashir calls these people 'black sacks' and vows to wipe them out.” 

According to The Mail and Guardian, the ANC described the decision to aide al-Bashir’s escape as “choosing African unity over the law.” But after watching the film, you’ll be left asking whether a stand for African unity shouldn’t rather be a stand with the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains, not with those trying to Arabicize them. The documentary is not anti-Islamic; it just argues that you can be Muslim without needing to be culturally Arabic, that you can embrace being an African Muslim rather than forcing everyone to be an Arabic one. 

This may all sound like unlikely source material for the most uplifting film at the Durban International Film Festival, but Beats of the Antonov is a celebration of the human spirit and of the Sudanese people South African president Jacob Zuma failed to protect when he had the chance. These are people who laugh after surviving an air-raid, who dance all-night to stay awake while on sentry duty; this is a place where music is as integral a part of society as water, food and air, a place where there is no separation between the musicians and their audience. 

As refugee Insaf Rawad says in the film, “Culture protects us. If people don’t release their pain, they will become miserable, without these parties to lift their spirits. When people are anxious and disturbed, dancing helps them get over it.”

Similarly, ethnomusicologist Sarah Mohamed says, "Truly there is an alternative Sudan, other than the fake one presented to us in the capital Khartoum. There is a happy smiling Sudan that loves life.”

Beats of the Antonov has charmed audiences around the world, even winning The People’s Choice Documentary Award at The Toronto International Film Festival and four other international awards. Sudanese filmmaker hajooj kuka directed and shot the documentary over two years, at immense personal risk. He also produced alongside South African Steven Markovitz, as a coproduction between Sudanese production company Refugee Club and South African company Big World Cinema. South African Khalid Shamis edited the documentary with Hajooj Kuka in Cape Town. 

“I urge all South Africans to see this film,” says Steven. “This film turns the notion of Africa as a continent of victims on its head and shows the incredible resilience of Sudanese people at a time of great adversity. They deserve our support ’’

Hajooj Kuka will be attending the Durban International Film Festival, where Beats of the Antonov is in competition. The documentary premieres on Saturday, 18 July 2015 at 6pm at Suncoast. 

Watch and embed the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi3ronTd3xg. 

What people are saying: 

"I was quite wrong about where Beats of the Antonov would take me… Despite its vicious political plot, Beats of the Antonov is a story of triumph. The very thing that the dominant regime wishes to stamp out – black African identity – is what saves these people from complete desolation. By gathering to make music in local languages, and pass on these cultural practices to a new generation, they sing their identity into being: a defeat of the Bashir project.” Binwe Adebayo, CityPress

"Every now and then, it seems as if there is nothing new out there. Everything seems derivative, repetitive or just plain bland. As a filmmaker, I sometimes go through moments of extreme lack of inspiration; and even question my choice of career. And then an unexpected spark happens to light the way. Beats of the Antonov… is such a spark… Kuka paints a beautiful picture of music, war and identity in the Blue Nile and Nuba regions, and the film is unlike anything I have ever seen… Beats of the Antonov and its infectious music stayed with me for days after viewing it… With more films like this coming from African directors, we could be witnessing the start of a new canon of African film.” Dylan Valley, Africa Is A Country

‘’Beats of the Antonov is a true standout…’’ Variety

“Equal parts war-documentary and visual ethnomusicology project…  a nuanced portrayal of cultural identity, the trauma of civil war, and what it means to be Sudanese today.” OkayAfrica

"With agile camerawork that dances amongst the colourful scarves of mothers and girls, that huddles in lamp-lit tents and dives into trenches to escape a passing bomber, filmmaker and war reporter Hajooj Kuka weaves a thread where life daily teeters on a knife edge and, nonetheless, goes on.” Encounters programmer Jenna Bass

"Despite the loss and brutality that these people have faced, they remain joyful and are almost always singing. They have lost their homes, loved ones, and livelihoods and yet they remain singing and laughing because they are still alive and have survived another day.” Mia Pepler, CreativesJoint

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Dear Mandela tours to informal settlement communities - April 30 - May 25, 2015

Award-winning film tours to informal settlement communities

April 30 - 25 May 2015

Dear Mandela, the multi award-winning documentary film, directed by Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza, will be screened in informal settlement communities on a national tour, to help highlight human rights issues and inform and educate people about their rights.

The film, which premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in 2011, follows the journey of three friends living in Durban's vast shantytowns who refuse to be moved from their shacks after the South African government begins to evict of shack dwellers in an endeavor to 'eradicate the slums'. From their humble homes, the three take their pleas to the highest court in the land as they invoke Nelson Mandela's example and become leaders in a growing social movement, known as Abahlali baseMjondolo. The film is at once inspiring, devastating and funny, offering a new perspective on the role that young people can play in political change and is a fascinating portrait of South Africa coming of age.

Winner of multiple awards, including Best South African Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival and a nomination for Best Documentary at the African Academy Awards, Dear Mandela has screened in 35 countries and been translated into 10 languages.

The national tour, is being launched at the Constitutional Court on Thursday, 30 April, with remarks by Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Dikgang Moseneke and a post-screening panel discussion and Q&A session with Justice Zak Yacoob, Abahlali baseMjondolo Founding President, S’bu Zikode and Youth Leader, Mazwi Nzimande. Thereafter will be screened in communities in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg facing similar challenges as those faced by the members of the Abahlali movement. Each screening of the tour will be followed by a Q&A and debate with AbM Founding President, S'bu Zikode and Youth Leader, Mazwi Nzimande. Both leaders have been directly affected by the wave of state repression. As documented in the film, S’bu’s family home at the Kennedy Road Informal Settlement was destroyed by ANC party loyalists in September 2009 and they were forced into hiding after repeated public death threats against him. They are currently back in hiding after more death threats, some coming from leaders in Durban. For the audience, the campaign presents an opportunity for these communities to engage with, and learn from, the issues raised and struggles depicted in the film.

The tour will also include accompanying workshops for community leaders, run by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI). Funded by the Ford Foundation, the project hopes to build a platform to connect the struggles of grassroots social movements and community based organizations, to equip these organizations with the necessary knowledge about their legal rights, and encourage them to partake in bringing about social change in their immediate environment.

“Ensuring that marginalised communities are trained and versed in their legal rights would mean that illegal evictions would be substantially curbed. Legal training and knowledge transfer would also result in pro-active community-driven claims to socio-economic entitlements, thereby enabling these communities to participate in the discourses of delivery from a legally secure position.” says Dara Kell. “The screening tour brings together community members and activists from all over South Africa to discuss forced evictions here, and around the world, connecting those at risk of forced eviction around the globe, and strengthening social movements working toward the right to adequate housing and dignity for all.”

Screenings are as follows:

Thursday, April 30: Launch at the Constitutional Court, Johannesburg, 18:00

Saturday, May 2: Workshop and Screening -  Masakane or Zandspruit Primary School (TBC) Zandspruit, Johannesburg

Sunday, May 3 Workshop and Screening - Evaton Community Centre, Evaton, Johannesburg

Saturday, May 9: Screening - Hindu Surat Foundation, 137 Dr Goonham Street, Durban CBD

Sunday, May 10: Screening - Silver City Community Hall, Umlazi Township, Durban

Saturday, May 16: Workshop and Screening -  Green Point Hall, Khayelitsha, Cape Town

Sunday, May 17: Workshop and Screening -  Community Hall, Sweet Home Farm, Phillipi, Cape Town

For more information and times, follow the tour on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Tumblr. (@dearmandela)

All screening information at: http://dearmandela.tumblr.com/ NOTE THIS URL TO BE UPDATED

This project is supported by the Sundance Institute, the Ford Foundation and Chicken & Egg Pictures. Sleeping Giant is a documentary and new media production company based in New York.

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More about the film

Watch the trailer in English: https://vimeo.com/26538549

What the critics said:

VARIETY: “Stirring…evocatively shot, lucidly edited.”

"GRIPPING, eye-opening…a call to action as much as it is an indictment of a government that has lost its way" - Charl Blignaut, City Press

"ENTHRALLING" - Mahala Magazine

"Leaves us with questions few have dared to ask about the new South Africa" - Marie Huchzermeyer, author of Cities With 'Slums'

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