Tuesday, June 12, 2007

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…and alt film is back. Now on Tuesdays!


June 2007 line-up

12/6: Outlawed & Hamas Behind the Mask
19/6: Loose Change (screening will be followed by an audience discussion)
26/6: Film Appreciation 101 (Part 1) & a South African cinema classic

plus a variety of music videos and short films during every show.

(Scroll down for more details of the films)


More about alt film

alt film is a free regular film screening event, at Zula Sound Bar. We play all kinds of interesting films to all kinds of interesting people.
A very wide variety of films, ranging from animation to documentaries to student short films to old school classics. And an equally varied audience, from the players in the film industry to tourists to musicians to students.

With a solid two-year track record of Sunday night shows, alt film is now moving to its new timeslot of 7-9pm every Tuesday night.

alt film is an interactive and open two-way platform, available to everyone to utilise in creative ways, to encourage dialogue and thinking about moving images.
It is there for filmmakers (dazzle the audience with your work, or simply get objective feedback from the public), and it is there for the general public (see a film show that won’t cost you a cent, and get an idea of what the local film industry is doing).
We wish to empower everyone involved to become more visually literate, and to cultivate an educated sense of quality with regards to the art of filmmaking.

We want to present as many South African films as possible, so feel free to submit your film for screening in this comfortable and sociable setting, with Zula’s sound system making the difference to your experience.
Let us know what you want to see – your input may just cause spontaneous reactions. Or just come over, sit down, and open your eyes.
The restaurant and bar provides the necessary culinary ingredients to keep your tummy happy. And if you wish to stay for some aural pleasure, Zula presents the Acoustic Sessions, a free musical jam session just after alt film.

alt film
Zula Sound Bar, 196 Long Street, Cape Town
7-9pm every Tuesday
No entry fee
altfilm@gmail.com
http://www.altfilm.blogspot.com/
(To get the alt film newsletters, send us an email with “YES PLEASE” in the subject line.
To stop getting the alt film newsletters, send us an email with “GO AWAY” in the subject line.)

Special thanks to:
* Vusa, Grant and the rest of the Zula team
* Zivia Desai Keiper (Tri-Continental Film Festival)
* Rustum August


Film descriptions

OUTLAWED: Extraordinary Rendition, Torture and Disappearances in the “War on Terror”

Dir: WITNESS (Produced in conjunction with 14 global NGOs)
US 2006
27 mins
Courtesy of Tri-Continental Film Festival

Outlawed: Extraordinary Rendition, Torture and Disappearances in the “War on Terror,” features the testimony of Khaled El-Masri and Binyam Mohamed, two men seized in the renditions program, who have suffered abuses at the hands of US government and at least four other governments in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Co-produced by a coalition of 14 human rights groups in the US and Europe, Outlawed presents the real life consequences of the U.S. government’s disregard for international legal instruments dealing with respect for fundamental rights.
It makes an outstanding contribution to the current international debate about renditions and secret detentions and features commentary from Louise Arbour, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael Scheuer, the chief architect of the rendition program and former head of the Osama Bin Laden unit at the CIA, Condoleezza Rice, and President George W.Bush.

Hamas Behind the Mask

Dir: Shelley Saywell
Canada/Palestine 2005
50 mins, Subtitled
Courtesy of Tri-Continental Film Festival

Hamas Behind the Mask is a journey inside one of the world’s most secretive and controversial political organizations. It documents the transition period during which Hamas is entering the political arena.
Interviews with leaders in hiding, militants and activists are juxtaposed with Israeli experts and victims, as the film examines how Hamas turned the once secular struggle for Palestine into a religiously motivated Jihad. What emerges is a portrait of a starkly resilient group.
Hamas Behind the Mask is a look at the people behind the stereotypical terrorist mask, who have become a major force in shaping the future of a Palestinian state and putting an end to the enduring conflict in the Middle East.

Loose Change

Dir: Dylan Avery
US 2006
80 mins
(Screening will be followed by an audience discussion)

Loose Change is a documentary film that presents evidence for a 9/11 conspiracy theory, arguing that elements within the United States government planned and executed the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The film was widely distributed via the Internet.
The accuracy and fairness of Loose Change has been disputed by the counter-video “Screw Loose Change”, “Popular Mechanics”, media outlets and independent researchers. On September 11, 2006 Dylan Avery and Jason Bermas appeared on "Democracy Now! the War and Peace Report", to debate James Meigs and David Dunbar, two editors of “Popular Mechanics” and the book “Debunking 9/11 Myths”.
The film was edited and then re-released in a second edition, then recut again. A further "final cut" version was originally planned for release on September 11 2006, but was delayed and is now pushed back to "the weekend preceding September 11th 2007.".

Film Appreciation 101

An alt film initiative! Every month we present a short class on the medium of film, covering a wide range of topics. By charting the history timeline of filmmaking, we hope to educate and foster a new sense of appreciation for this art form and also a positive reception and renewed interests in what’s happening in modern day cinema. Each class is structured around a period, movement or theme.

June 2007: Lesson 1: “The Beginning – Early Cinema”
In this class we will explore the early days of cinema, including the very first films produced in the 18th century, and also the start of filmmaking in South Africa in the early parts of the 19th century. Screenings include the first 24 frames ever captured by the Lumiere Brothers (a train going through a tunnel...bear with us, it gets better...) and Georges Meliès’ sensational sci-fi called A Trip to the Moon, which featured the most inventive spaceship we’ve seen in a very long time (this film was the inspiration behind Smashing Pumpkins’ award-winning video, Tonight,tonight).

Before Yesterday, before Tsotsi, and even before Mr Bones, South African cinema has been at the forefront of filmmaking on the continent. As a bonus feature, alt film takes you back to the times of SA screen heroes, the likes of Jamie Uys (contentious subject matter...never the less) and Katinka Heyns, by screening a truly South African cinema classic directly after the class.

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

awesome to know are back jin...keep going i have meeting with danish fil institute in getting film to u ..for viewing and habouring exchange between sa and dk