Director: Dylan Valley Cast: Jitsvinger, Bliksemstraal, Blaq Pearl, Emile XY Year: 2010 Duration: 60 min
Director of Lost Prophets, the talented Dylan Valley returns to this year’s Encounters Film Festival with the well received documentary Afrikaaps. The UCT Honours graduate's documentary film was screened to a full house at the V& A waterfront Nu Metro this week.
I was expecting the film version of the Afrikaaps stage production, which I had not yet seen. Little did I know I was about to get schooled! The documentary breaks the stereotype and ideologies associated with the language of Afrikaans and the Cape Town coloured community. A language viewed by most South Africans as the language of the oppressor, is exposed to reveal the Khoi San and the Malay as the first to respectively speak and write the Afrikaans language. Just like the mixed nature of the language and the people who speak it, the film combines 3 stories in one. The cast of Afrikaaps’ story, Valley’s story, and the unknown story of Afrikaans are all mashed together to create something ground breaking. These stories are supported by constant reference to an Afrikaaps glossary of terms, the expert opinion of academics, and clips from the stage production. The underlying message of the film is presented by the repetitive use of a clip in which the Afrikaaps cast sings: “Kom Khoi san kry terug jou land, coloureds kom van Khoi san verstand” (Come Khoi San reclaim your land, coloureds come from Khoi San knowledge).
This documentary is essentially is the celebration and re-discovery of culture, language and heritage. As a South African, unaware of the country’s rich and complex history, Valley’s scholastic approach is eye-opening. This film is an opportunity to shift your mind set and re-educate yourself through Valley’s lens.
In this very South African documentary about the strained relationships between property developers and slum housed residents in inner-city Johannesburg, we’re taken on a pedestrian view of the “hijacked” buildings where slum lords and thugs charge the extremely poor (read car guards and domestic workers) tenants rent, but use the money collected for their own gains instead of fixing broken windows, plumbing and electricity. The doccie tries to draw some parallels and make social commentary about the government choosing to fix infrastructure in preparation for the World Cup, while a large demographic lived in absolute squalor. It’s pretty interesting as we’re taken through a series of case studies that are filmed in a refreshingly humane way, versus the usual “gritty” stance that most directors feel they need to take when filming Jo’burg. What’s also great is the fact that we get to listen to both the haves and the have-nots and in this way the viewer is presented with a more robust understanding of the problems that both parties have to deal with on a daily basis. Because of this, dare I say, gentle angle, it manages to humanise some of the property developers who are generally seen as heartless bastards. There’s a particularly lively scene where immigrants voice their opinion on being evicted from a block of flats; and are met by a completely rational and decidedly non-asshole response from the owner of the block of flats in question, which effectively highlights the problem from both sides of the proverbial tracks. It was these testimonials from the tenants of these slum apartments that made the film worth watching -they were quite heart-wrenching and one of the theatre-goers in my screening, burst into uncontrollable sobs when a slum lord insisted that an 8-month pregnant woman be woken up to clean up sewage so that she may earn her stay in the apartment block. It was really great to watch a documentary about our country, where we were enabled to empathise with fellow Saffas who lived without any ablutions, used illegal electricity and feared for their safety and property at every turn, which let’s face it is not a Joburg specific problem. On the flipside, testimonials from supposed experts were mostly trite; particularly the commentary from two gormless human rights lawyers who gestured a lot and used many words to convey their left-wing, bleeding heart stance, but managed to impart nothing of any substance.
Testimonials aside, the pace of the documentary was a bit erratic for my taste with the viewer not really being guided to a conclusion, which could be blamed on the narration. The film visuals were informative, emotional and honest, but then marred by the corny and forced emotional narration which, even worse, was conducted by someone with a displaced South London accent. What a Hackney accent is doing narrating an intrinsically South African documentary is beyond me. Later on, the narrator would make his debut on film, where his annoying narration was matched only by his smarmy on-screen presence.
So, basically, besides that guy and a few useless comments from “experts” it was a really honest documentary with uncontrived visuals and a message that wasn’t instructional. That’s possibly/probably because the documentary itself was a little confused with the point it would’ve liked to make, but it did leave you to think about the state of our country and fellow South Africans who live in sub-human conditions. I don’t know that this is going to win any international awards, but I do recommend you see it anyway if just to see how the other half lives, regardless of which half you are.
The cape flats were, undoubtedly, one of the sections of the Mother City that was left off the tour during the world cup. “Mario and the Rude Boys” is a powerful film that draws on the context of the 2010 Fifa world cup, exposing the stark contrast between the Cape Town that tourists see, and the one that is hidden away from them. It is a devastating account of life on the cape flats. This 52 minute documentary tells the tragic stories of five young men who battle with the legacy of hopelessness that has spread throughout their community.
Enter Mario van Niekerk; with nothing but the power of positive thinking and a dream, he reaches out to these men and others like them, showing them that gangs and drugs are not the answers to their problems. Directors, Michael Bardsley and Ayla Hilli, do not sugar-coat the hardships endured by Mario and his community. Instead, they force feed the reality to us using the compelling narrative in conjunction with a raw soundtrack and shocking imagery of youths taking drugs. The cumulative effect is incredible; we become so engrossed in the lives of the subjects of the film that we cannot help but feel their desperation. But surely it is in the darkness that light shines the brightest; shots of young people playing around with a soccer ball, and Mario’s many success stories give us an optimistic feeling that perhaps these young men can turn their lives around.
This film has the hardness of “Ross Kemp on Gangs” and yet it is as emotional as an episode of Oprah. Although “Mario and the Rude Boys” cannot be faulted for its candidness, it cannot be praised for its originality either. The subject matter, while gut-wrenching, is nothing new to the South African audience. This should not stop anyone from watching the documentary, however. It is definitely a must-see for every resident of Cape Town. Chalk up another winner from the Encounters Film Festival.
We believe in safe sex.... No disease no pregnancy and god damn it no injuries! ... So wrap and Strap up because shit's about to hit the fan! It's that time again, a week away from holidays and once more a super steroid super Film Society event looms on the not too distant horizon.
Due to the considerable amount of swing which Film Society possesses in political circles, we have had a chat to our friends in local government and have had Friday officially declared as a public holiday! This fortunate turn of events leaves no other option: a blow-out on Thursday night is imminent! But a safe one! So bring your pads, bring your knee guards, helmets, boxing gloves, shoulder pads, ball boxes and sports bras because it's about to get mighty Dangerous (Wadup Darkwing Duck!)
We promise an Extra steroid filled evening with FREE VODKA FREE MOJO EPIC MUSIC! and lots of protection.... So grab your helmet, grab your pads and grab tail and brace for the lace!
BOOYAH!!
Oh and Free entrance for those who dress to the theme
What a night! What a Team! What a Society! I know you all had an extra steroid filled time last week and we thought you'd remind all your beautiful little faces about how much fun it was with a video recap of the evening. Enjoy!
Pablo Escobar – the name incites images of secret jungle hideouts, lavish lifestyles, and overweight Spanish men doing lines of cocaine off large breasted, topless women. If that’s what you imagine when thinking of the notorious Colombian drug lord, then Sins of My Father is probably not going to satisfy you.
This documentary, forming one of the many fantastic films on offer at the Encounters film festival, explores the Escobar saga from the perspective of his family that were left to face the aftermath of his collapsed empire. More specifically the documentary follows the journey of Sebastián Marroquín (formerly Juan Pablo Escobar) son of Pablo and now exile of his native country. The film is essentially a story of redemption, as Sebastian seeks to reconnect with the sons of politicians, murdered in the wake of the intense violence inflicted on Colombia by the Escobar Empire. Filmed over the course of a four year period, the audience is witness to the emotional journey Sebastian embarks on, culminating in the climactic moment of meeting between him and his father’s former enemy’s son’s. Having been granted special access to the family’s personal archives, the documentary offers a rare glimpse into the personal life of Escobar, from home video’s of parties at the Mansion to a voice recording of the drug baron himself singing nursery rhymes – who would have thought?
I enjoyed the raw, ‘unpolished’ nature of the documentary. The incredibly moving footage that was captured over the four years, combined with original tapes of the family, meant that very little extra production value was needed. Some may criticise the film for losing momentum somewhat towards the end, although those are probably the people who were expecting more cocaine and strippers. In the end, the documentary offers a unique perspective on Escobar’s reign. If you want to do something ‘cultural’ with your Sunday evening – go watch this film! It will be showing for the third and final time this weekend at the V&A.
So UCT drew with Maties in what was an epic spirited affair which saw David versus Goliath or maybe David versus Egg, i don't know, Hockey's not safe, metal balls flying at you at the speed of light, now you know what it feels like to be a prostitute in an Android freqenting Whorehouse.... Anyhoo here are the results and photos of this wonderful affair
