ALT film

2007-11-04T01:39:00.000-07:00

We've decided to put ALT FILM on ice for a while. After two and a half years of film sessions every week, it's time to restructure things. So we'll be off air for a few months. Hopefully to re-emerge in a new guise. Different locations, different frequencies, same name.

I'm glad to see that film has started to take off in all sorts of ways in Cape Town's society, from numerous film festivals to a large number of restaurants/lounges/bars with digital projectors, to the new and very exciting venture by The BlackHeart Gang called "Moving Picture Experiments" (7+ 8 November 2007, 7-10pm, Clifton 4th beach, free entry). Let this continue and grow! The most tragic part of film is that it ends up in a box in a cupboard, only to be forgotten. Chat to us if you want to create your own film festival - it is both more difficult and easier than you might think! Keep the film rolling!

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who has helped along the way, everyone who has supported us in one way or another, everyone in Zula Sound Bar and Coffee Bean, all the film industry stars who are passionate about film, film makers, film viewers... it has been an amazing adventure!

And watch this space... there will be more.

alt film

2007-10-03T06:47:00.001-07:00

And here we are at the start of October 2007, which means that we are at the start of a new chapter for alt film – we have moved to a new venue, with our new host being the legendary Coffee Bean in Rondebosch. We are very excited to work with Braam and his team!

alt film is still operating on Tuesday nights, from 7-9pm. There is still no entry fee to be paid. And yes, we are also still showing a lot more than what is written in this newsletter, just to keep things spiced up.

Situated just above the Pick’n’Pay in Main Road, this coffee shop and restaurant is also a hub of social and creative activity. Ideal for us, since alt film is an interactive platform for the medium of film, to encourage dialogue and thinking about moving images.
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.

As a launch night special, on 2 October all pizzas will be available for R25.

alt film

· The Coffee Bean, Rondebosch Village Centre (above the Pick’n’Pay), Main Road, Rondebosch, Cape Town
· 7-9pm every Tuesday
· Free entrance
· altfilm@gmail.com
· http://www.altfilm.blogspot.com/
· (To receive 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.)

OCTOBER 2007
2: Zula Days Revisited
9: Ryan
16: Lost Prophets
23: Death of Pelican-16
30: Film Appreciation 101 (Episode 1: “The Beginning – Early Cinema”)

*** 2 October 2007 ***

Zula Days Revisited

For our launch session at Coffee Bean, we will be screening favourite short films from the past two and a half years of shows at Zula Sound Bar (where alt film was born, took its first steps, and crashed its first car).

*** 9 October 2007 ***

Ryan

Director: Chris Landreth
Canada 2004
14 minutes (animation) + 45 minutes (doccie)

This two-part show deals with the life of Ryan Larkin, a gifted Canadian animator of the late 60’s and the early 70’s.

A true original animation genius, Ryan produced some groundbreaking work during his short career, before falling into the bottle and out of society.

The first part of the show consists of a breathtaking animated short film, with the director (Chris Landreth) interviewing Ryan in his later years.

The second part of the show is a documentary about the first part, showing the process of creating the animated masterpiece, and also shedding some light on the progress/regress of the creative genius that was Ryan Larkin.

*** 16 October 2007 ***

Lost Prophets

Directors: Dylan Valley and Sean Drummond
South Africa 2006
85 minutes

Cape Town hip-hop pioneers Prophets of da City (POC) burst onto the South African music scene in the late 80s, with a hard-hitting, Africanised brand of hip-hop. As the first rap group ever in the country, they inspired and influenced a whole new wave of local artists, and with a massive social and political focus, they quickly generated a large and dedicated fan base, locally and overseas. The very same focus, however, saw them banned in this country, and after a period of relocation overseas, the band drifted out of public view.

In 2006, UCT Film Students Sean Drummond and Dylan Valley set out to discover, ‘Where are POC, ten years later?’ Their journey took them all across the country, where they were able to spend time with former members, observing their lives today and allowing them to reminisce on past experiences, highs and lows. The result is LOST PROPHETS. The film looks back at the trajectory that catapulted a tight, clean crew to stardom, only to let them fall into relative and separate obscurity. To a pumping POC soundtrack, Ready D, Jazmo, Ramone, Gogga, Ishmael, and manager Lance Stehr, discuss the personal impact the band had ‘back in the day’.

Are friendships still intact? Which members are still riding the wave, and which have dropped out of sight? Does success come with a price? Are their lyrics still relevant? And should South Africa expect more to come from POC? Lost Prophets gives POC members a chance to offer their own answers to these questions, and many more.

Additional information:

Since re-editing and polishing the film this year (still on zero budget) the film has been to both the Apollo Film Festival and the Encounters Film Festival (Where it was rated no5 best South African film and competing with the industry standard and not other student films). Dylan and Sean now two UCT Honours graduates have started the production company Be Phat Motel in partnership with City Varsity graduates, and are working on a feature project as well as a documentary project.

*** 23 October 2007 ***

DEATH OF PELICAN-16

Director: Andrew White
South Africa 2004
60 minutes
Courtesy of the producer

Pelican-16 was one of eight Avro Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft commissioned by the South African Air Force in 1954. In 1993, a Shackleton enthusiast had the ambitious plan to restore one of these now decommissioned aircraft and turn it into a flying museum. The name of this aircraft: Pelican-16.

In mid 1994, after ten years on the ground and two years of restoration work this last Shackleton flew again. Following an invitation to take part in the 1994 summer air-show circuit in the UK, Pelican-16 and its crew of 19 took off from Cape Town and headed north. But then in the dead of the blackest night, high over the Western Sahara the unthinkable happened; two engines on the starboard side failed within a period of just ten minutes. The aircraft and its crew went down.

In an absorbing documentary, this remarkable story is told by the men who dared to dream. What makes this film unusual is that there are no re-creations; Real life footage was recorded by the crew as the story unfolded and together with vibrant testimonials, a crew reunion and new footage of Pelican-16’s flying replacement, Pelican-22, create a dramatic and moving story.

It is a story of courage, tenacity, professionalism and friendship which has become one of the greats in the annals of South African aviation. A central theme of the film, portrayed through the survival of the nineteen crew members, is the uncanny skill of the senior flight commander, Major Eric ‘Oompie’ Pienaar who put Pelican-16 down in the Sahara Desert in one piece, with no injury to the crew.

During the production of the film, Major Pienaar lost a long battle with cancer late 2002 and his ashes were scattered over Table Bay from the last remaining serviceable Shackleton Mk3, now resident in Cape Town. The memorial service on board, included in the closing scenes, creates a memorable and moving picture of gratitude and admiration by the crew for their fallen comrade.

*** 30 October 2007 ***

FILM APPRECIATION 101
Episode 1: “THE BEGINNING – EARLY CINEMA”

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.

This series was launched in the past few months in Zula Sound Bar, but we decided to start over again in The Coffee Bean. So, starting at the beginning…

Episode 1: “The Beginning – Early Cinema”
In this class we will explore the early days of cinema, including the very first films produced in the 19th century, and also the start of filmmaking in South Africa in the early parts of the 20th century. Screenings include 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).

2007-09-01T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Happy spring!

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALT FILM WILL NOT BE ON AIR DURING SEPTEMBER 2007.

AND, IN OCTOBER WE'LL LAUNCH AT OUR NEW VENUE - THE COFFEE BEAN (MAIN ROAD, RONDEBOSCH)!

Zula will most likely continue to do film screenings, but alt film won't be there any more.

MORE NEWS TO FOLLOW DURING THE MONTH...

2007-08-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

AUGUST 2007 line-up

7/8: “Stander”
14/8: “Where Is The Love” & “Getting It On” & other short films
21/8: “The Death of Pelican-16”
28/8: Film Appreciation 101 (Lesson 3 - 1920’s Avante Garde Cinema)

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

(Scroll down for more about alt film)

Film descriptions

STANDER

Dir: Bronwyn Hughes
SA 2003
115 mins
Courtesy of the producer

Stander is the gripping true story of the life of Andre Stander, the youngest captain in the Johannesburg Police Force and South Africa's most notorious bank robber.

Portrayed by Tom Jane (The Punisher, 61*) in a mercurial, star-turn performance, Andre Stander is a young, white policeman enjoying the comforts of middle-class married life in late-1970s South Africa, a country riven by Apartheid. Deeply affected by the indiscriminate killing he witnesses and takes part in during Riot Patrol, Stander wordlessly makes a decision to defy the very system he has spent a lifetime enforcing. Stander’s form of civil disobedience, however, takes an unusual form: a series of audacious, high-flying bank robberies, with the young officer oftentimes returning to the scene of the crime as the lead investigating officer.

Finally apprehended by his colleagues, Stander is jailed and subsequently befriends outlaws Allen Heyl and Lee McCall. Following a daring prison break, the "Stander Gang" commits dozens of bank robberies across the country, heists that grow increasingly bolder over time. In the eyes of the public, the Stander Gang's nose-thumbing disrespect for authority makes them into near-legendary folk heroes, modern-day equivalents of Bonnie and Clyde. To the South African government, however, the former police officer is a cause of embarrassment, and the Stander Gang becomes the most wanted men in the country.

Equal parts heist movie, love story, and historically accurate indictment of a corrupt political institution, Stander is the most riveting, uncanny biopic in recent history.

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.

August 2007: Lesson 3 - 1920’s Avante Garde Cinema
The age of revolutionary cinema! At this moment in time the best cinema wasn’t happening in Hollywood, it was occurring in Denmark, Germany and various countries around the world. In this section of Film Appreciation, we look at the images that changed cinema forever - from Eisenstein’s unique editing style, better known as the montage, Wiena’s use of Chiascuro lighting, Oson Welles’ framing and focus breakthroughs, and various others. And just for added fun, we’ll show you a few modern examples of how influential these cinematic advancements really were.

THE DEATH OF PELICAN-16

Dir: Andrew White
SA 2004
60 mins
Courtesy of the producer

Pelican-16 was one of eight Avro Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft commissioned by the South African Air Force in 1954. In 1993, a Shackleton enthusiast had the ambitious plan to restore one of these now decommissioned aircraft and turn it into a flying museum. The name of this aircraft: Pelican-16.

In mid 1994, after ten years on the ground and two years of restoration work this last Shackleton flew again. Following an invitation to take part in the 1994 summer air-show circuit in the UK, Pelican-16 and its crew of 19 took off from Cape Town and headed north. But then in the dead of the blackest night, high over the Western Sahara the unthinkable happened; two engines on the starboard side failed within a period of just ten minutes. The aircraft and its crew went down.

In an absorbing documentary, this remarkable story is told by the men who dared to dream. What makes this film unusual is that there are no re-creations; Real life footage was recorded by the crew as the story unfolded and together with vibrant testimonials, a crew reunion and new footage of Pelican-16’s flying replacement, Pelican-22, create a dramatic and moving story.

It is a story of courage, tenacity, professionalism and friendship which has become one of the greats in the annals of South African aviation. A central theme of the film, portrayed through the survival of the nineteen crew members, is the uncanny skill of the senior flight commander, Major Eric ‘Oompie’ Pienaar who put Pelican-16 down in the Sahara Desert in one piece, with no injury to the crew.

During the production of the film, Major Pienaar lost a long battle with cancer late 2002 and his ashes were scattered over Table Bay from the last remaining serviceable Shackleton Mk3, now resident in Cape Town. The memorial service on board, included in the closing scenes, creates a memorable and moving picture of gratitude and admiration by the crew for their fallen comrade.

WHERE IS THE LOVE

SA 2007
15 mins
Street Children of Cape Town & Innermedia

This inspiring screening involves both a music video about life on the streets of Cape Town, and a short documentary about the work done by the MylifE project.

In 2002, MylifE was born as a Section 21 Company (not for profit). The aim of MylifE is to prevent and divert young people from entering the “Cycle of Destruction” that exists on the streets, in the communities and prisons. The outcome of MylifE is emotionally, socially and economically independent young leaders and the creation of a deeper understanding of the challenges in this sector by wider society. http://www.mylife.org.za/

GETTING IT ON

Dir: Mpho Osei-Tutu
SA 2006
2 mins
Courtesy of the director

In the heat of the moment, a guy and girl take a brief moment to get… protection! A short film about what can happen to you if you don’t educate yourself properly.

Best overall Short Cut – 2006 Multichoice Vuka! Awards

More about alt film

alt film is a free film screening event, at Zula Sound Bar every Tuesday. We play all kinds of interesting films to all kinds of interesting people.

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.

Special thanks to:

The people of Zula ( http://www.zulabar.co.za/ )
Kelli Lakey
Chris Roland (Ichre Media - http://www.standerfilm.com/ )
Andre White (Shortfinals Productions - http://www.shortfinals.co.za/ )
Mpho Osei-Tutu

alt film
Zula Sound Bar, 196 Long Street, Cape Town
7-9pm every Tuesday
Free entrance
altfilm@gmail.com
http://www.altfilm.blogspot.com/
(To receive 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.)

2007-07-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

JULY 2007 line-up

3/7: Film Appreciation 101 (Lesson 1), PLUS Jump The Gun

10/7: White Working Class

17/7: The Future of Food

24/7: Zen & Zero, PLUS animation by the Black Heart Gang

31/7: Film Appreciation 101 (Lesson 2)

and 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 film screening event, at Zula Sound Bar every Tuesday. We play all kinds of interesting films to all kinds of interesting people.

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

Free entrance

altfilm@gmail.com

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)
Derek Serra (Controversi Films)
Charmaine, Luanne and Adrian (SAFeAGE)

Film descriptions

WHITE WORKING CLASS

Dir: Derek Antonio Serra

SA 2006

48 mins

Courtesy of the director

In this personal film on his father, director Derek Antonio Serra provides us with a glimpse into the life of an ordinary white working class man who has lived through much of the 20th century in South Africa.

Bill Serra is the son of an Italian immigrant who came to South Africa in 1903, three hundred years after the first colonial settlers set foot in Southern Africa. A simple man with a strong work ethic, Bill was never unemployed for one day of his adult life. We follow him as he revisits some of the major landmarks he helped construct during his lifetime. A great storyteller, he shares his memories of the trials and tribulations he and his men endured while building these landmarks.

Through these intriguing tales we gain an insight into the life of a typical white working class family struggling to make ends meet each day, a story seldom told in today’s politically correct South African documentaries.

CONTROVERSI FILMS

CONTROVERSI FILMS has established itself as a producer of cutting -edge, controversial social documentaries over the past 10 years with titles like CAPE OF RAPE, STREETLIFE-Virgins, CULTURECLASH and "nudecapetown".

Producer/director Derek Antonio Serra is a fiercely independent filmmaker, who owns his own HD cameras and edit suites, which enables him to make films outside of the "SABC commissioning censorship machine." He has produced and directed 10 documentaries in 10 years on budgets ranging from R 200 000 to R 2000 often using a guerrilla-style approach to filmmaking. Derek is considered a technical expert on low-budget digital production, and has offered HDV Masterclasses at the Sithengi Talent Campus and Zambian Film Festival on several occasions, as well as free Digital Production Workshops countrywide.

THE FUTURE OF FOOD

Dir: Deborah Koons Garcia

US 2004

88 mins

Courtesy of SOUTH AFRICAN FREEZE ALLIANCE ON GENETIC ENGINEERING (SAFeAGE)

(Screening will be followed by an audience discussion)

There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of countries around the world. A revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled grocery store shelves for the past decade.

The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization, are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed about the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply. Although shot on location in the US, Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what the world eats, as large multinational corporations seek control of the world's food systems.

After the movie we will have a discussion about GM Foods in South Africa.

ZEN AND ZERO

Dir: Michael Ginthor

Austria 2006

61 mins, Subtitled

Courtesy of the Tri-Continental Film Festival

It takes quite some ingenuity for five landlocked Austrians to get to ride the waves for three months straight, or at least the juggling of a few figures. In Costa Rica, they say off-roaders sell for double their price in LA, plus minus a couple of bucks. You just have to get them through 7000 miles of Central America.

With this in mind they fly into LA, buy used cars and drive down to Costa Rica - surfing along the way with plans, once they arrive at their destination, of selling the vehicles so they can afford to stay put and surf some more.

Ginthor’s metaphysical Hunter Thompsonesque road picture has a ‘70s feel and fine surf footage, but it’s the characters met along the way that make it stand out.

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.

July 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 18^th century, and also the start of filmmaking in South Africa in the early parts of the 19^th century. Screenings include 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.

Latest news: We will screen JUMP THE GUN, courtesy of the producer and Ochre Media.

July 2007: Lesson 2: Silent Classics

Still focusing on the evolution of early cinema, this week’s lesson will take a look at the silent classics, and stylistic innovations of that era. From the zany, heyday antics of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to breathtaking German Expressionism to the extraordinary technique of Surrealism in film, these images formed a vital part of the collective consciousness and style within modern cinema. Screening includes clips from German Expressionism classic, The Cabinet of Dr Caligri (which was the influence behind a Red Hot Chili Peppers music video), Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, Louis Bunuel and Salvador Dali’s masterpiece, Un Chien Andalou and a few other surprises.

2007-06-12T04:25:00.000-07:00

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

…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.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

2007-06-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

2007-06-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Watch this space for the launch of alt film on tuesdays...

2007-05-24T06:54:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT NEWS

alt film will be out of circulation, with immediate effect, until August 2007. This follows from a decision by our host, Zula Sound Bar, to not open shop on Sundays during winter, due to low attendance numbers over the past few weeks.

We will attempt to find an alternative venue for alt film in the meantime, and attempt to keep the show running during the next few months, until the numbers pick up again at Zula. However, there isn't a new home for alt film yet, so until further notice we will not do any screenings.

Thank you to everyone who's helped us with contributions, assistance and attendance over the past two years, it has been an amazing adventure so far!

Until later,

Francois
alt film

2007-05-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hi!

With no doubt left about summer being over, we are glad to bring to you a selection of longer films in May for you to warm up to.

During the first three weeks we will be screening documentaries from the 2006 Tri-Continental Film Festival, dealing with a number of socio-economical topics.

For the last Sunday of May we have a delightfully freaky scary film for you to bite your nails to – the 1994 version of La Machine.

And in all four May screenings there will be a healthy dose of short films to keep you entertained.

A big Thank You to:

Everyone at Zula Sound Bar
Zivia Desai Keiper (Tri-Continental Film Festival – www.3continentsfestival.co.za )

Zula Sound Bar at 194 Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa

7-9 pm every Sunday

Free entry

Warm and cold drinks provided by the bar, and food by the restaurant

see you there!

alt film

altfilm.blogspot.com

alt film was established to collect and screen* film being made by creative South Africans today, as well as work that most powerfully incorporates and describes the inevitable evolution of the medium.

ps if you know someone who wants to receive this info in a monthly newsletters, let them send us an email to altfilm@gmail.com with “YES PLEASE!” in the subject line.

The short version: May 2007

6 May: Bushman’s Secret (Doccie)

13 May: Favela Rising (Doccie)

20 May: Mardi Gras: Made in China (Doccie)

27 May: La Machine (Thriller)

6 May 2007

BUSHMAN’S SECRET

Dir: Rehad Desai

South Africa 2006

64 mins

Subtitled

When South African filmmaker Rehad Desai travels to the Kalahari to investigate global interest in ancient Bushmen knowledge, he meets Jan van der Westhuizen, a fasctinating Khomani San traditional healer.

Jan’s struggle to live close to nature is hampered by centuries of colonial exploitation of the San Bushmen and of their land. Unable to hunt and gather, the Khomani now live in a state of poverty that threatens to see the last of this community forever.

One plant could make all the difference. Hoodia, a cactus used by Bushmen for centuries, has caught the attention of a giant pharmaceutical company. It now stands to decide the fate of the Khomani San.

Bushman’s Secret features breathtaking footage of the Kalahari landscape, and exposes us to a world where modernity collides with ancient ways, at a time when each has, strangely, come to rely on the other.

13 May 2007

FAVELA RISING

Dirs: Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist

USA/Brazil 2005

80 mins

Subtitled

Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela united. Haunted by an infamous police massacre in his community in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most violent slums, and sick of the perpetual violence that plagues his people, former drug-trafficker, Anderson Sá, turns social revolutionary.

Through music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies the community of Vigário Geral, to counteract the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police, and forges a movement that brings hope to the ghettos and its forgotten youth.

But just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Anderson’s grassroots Afro Reggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic event threatens to silence the movement forever.

Favela Rising shows how the music and culture of Brazil's underclass transform into a catalyst for grassroots social change.

New York Latino Film Festival, 2005 – Best Documentary

Cinema Paradise Film Festival, 2005 – Best Documentary

Woodstock Film Festival, 2005 – Best Editing

Tulipanes Latino Art and Film Festival, 2005 – Best of Show

Roxbury Film Festival, 2005 – Audience Favourite Award

Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival – 2005 – Audience Choice Award

20 May 2007

MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA

Dir: David Redmon

USA 2005

74 mins

Subtitled

Mardi Gras: Made in China follows the "bead trail" from the factory in China to Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, poignantly exposing the inequities of globalization.

First-time director David Redmon cleverly illuminates the clash of cultures by juxtaposing American excess and consumer ignorance against the harsh life of the Chinese factory worker. The film confronts both cultural and economic globalism by humanizing the commodity chain from China to the United States.

Redmon follows the stories of four teenage women workers in the largest Mardi Gras bead factory in the world, providing insights into their economic realities, their self-sacrifice, and dreams of a better life, and the severe discipline imposed by living and working in a factory compound.

Interweaving factory life with Mardi Gras festivities, the film opens the blind eye of consumerism by visually introducing workers and festival-goers to each other.

27 May 2007

La Machine

Dir: François Dupeyron

France 1994

96 mins

Thriller

Marc Lacroix (Gérard Depardieu) is a psychiatrist, a student of the brain, with a rocky marriage, a mistress, and a ten-year-old son. He also has a secret laboratory where he's built a machine he thinks will allow him to penetrate the mind of any person hooked up to the machine with him. He tests it with Zyto, a psychopath who has killed three women. The machine fails and exchanges the men's brains. Zyto passes himself off as Marc, and Marc (now in Zyto's body) escapes from the asylum to the flat of his mistress. She tries to warn Marc's wife, exposing herself to Zyto. All are now in grave danger. Can Lacroix find a way to get Zyto back to the machine before irreversible damage is done?

John Woo directed a fantastic little masterpiece a few years later, called "Face/off" in Hollywood, with some obvious resemblances in the plot.

2007-04-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

I had the awesome pleasure to workshop with Elliot Grove the founder and director of the Raindance Film Festival. And there is befokte(awesome) things happening in the world of film. Also Raindance is open for enteries for 2007/8.
Dont be shy give it a try ....Best of luck Jinn Manson

And if u havent yet heard of JOOST check it out, a film maker and lovers playground on broadband.
stay in fast track. www.joost.com

2007-03-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

NEW LISTINGS BELOW

check it outPlease print and stick up in your neighbourhood cafe,shopping mall Notice boards anywhere u can.Many thanks for helping keep expression alive.

Hi!

With the days getting shorter and the nights colder, it's clear that we're heading straight towards the Alt Film Winter Sessions. More news in the May 2007 newsletter, but suffice it to say that there will be a whole batch of longer films and documentaries on the menu, including films from the 2006 Tri-Continental Film Festival.

We start April with a bang, in the form of the DVD and CD launch party of "Mr. Devious – My Life". Respect. Come along to learn from and about the man, Devious. Expect a large crowd. A very hip-hop crowd. And the press. The film screening will precede a night of music, with tribute performances by Natalie van Rooy, Blaq Pearl, Ace, Strategist & Troy, with DJ Eon on the decks. Not to mention the extra appearances and spontaneous entertainment!

Since X-CAPE is already with us, herewith a short description of what it is:

X- CAPE was initiated by the CAPE Africa Platform (CAPE) in 2006. As of January 2007, the coordination of X-CAPE has been managed in partnership with VANSA (Visual Arts Network of South Africa). X-CAPE is an artist-led programme of activities by artists and cultural practitioners from across Cape Town and South Africa to coincide with the CAPE 2007 art event from 24 March – 02 May, 2007.

alt film will be hosting the film screening aspect of this extended exhibition in April. Details about the films appear further down in this newsletter, and more info on X-CAPE is available at http://www.capeafrica.org

Note that we're adding a doccie about comic books and the superheroes themselves in April – a great chance to see the people and artists behind characters like Superman and Spiderman.

And ending the April screenings is a night of student film, provided by AFDA.

A big Thank You to our contributors:

John Fredericks (4 Wall Films)
Martina Della Togna ( Rainbow Circle Films)
Rob Robson & Moa Lindh ( X-CAPE), as well as all the X-CAPE participants
Peter Adolphs (AFDA)
Dale Yudelman

Zula Sound Bar at 194 Long Street ,

Cape Town , South Africa

7-9 pm every Sunday

Free entry

Cold and warm drinks provided by the bar,

and food by the restaurant

see you there!

alt film team

Alt film was established to collect and screen* film being made by creative South Africans today, as well as work that most powerfully incorporates and describes the inevitable evolution of the medium.

· ps if you don't want to receive these newsletters, simply reply with "go away and stay away" in the subject line, and we'll leave your inbox alone. promise.

· pps if you know someone who wants to receive these newsletters, let them send us an email to altfilm@gmail.com with "YES PLEASE!" in the subject line.

The short version: April 2007

1 April: Mr Devious – My Life (DVD & CD launch)

8 April: X-CAPE (Drama & comedy short films)

15 April: X-CAPE (A variety of short films)

22 April: Spyder-Man: Once Upon a Time the Heroes (doccie)

29 April: AFDA student films

1 April 2007

This evening is dedicated to the screening of the documentary about Devious, as well as musical tribute performances to this icon. Therefore the normal flow of alt film will be modified to combine the film screening with further events, including a Q&A session after the film, as well as live hip-hop acts, DJ's and more.

Mr Devious – My Life (DVD & CD launch)

Dir: John Fredericks

Duration: 48 min

SA 2007

"Mr Devious – my life" is the uplifting story of a talented son of Mitchell's Plain, South Africa, Mario van Rooy a.k.a "Mr Devious", who used his gift for music to inspire young people to rise above the stigma of poverty & gangsterism.

Mr Devious, an up and coming young South African hip-hop emcee tells his own story in this documentary film about his life. We track the journey from his humble beginnings as a kid in the Cape Flats to his rise to fame as a musician and hip hop artist, and later as he grows into the roles of dedicated father of two daughters, and educator and facilitator of youth at risk.

"My parents did not want to raise a gangster so we moved here to Mitchell's Plain which was a suburb at that time," Devious' voice enlightens the viewer over footage of Beacon Valley.

Monotonous rows of drab houses straddle the streets. Washing flutter in the breeze between the graffiti scrawled blocks of flats. Poverty and unemployment is rife and is evident by the scores of young people hanging around street corners as Devious continues his narration of the dynamics of the area. We capture the eerie stillness and underlying evil as the locals stare at the camera in avarice.

Ready D, Shamiema from Godessa and Shahien from Prophets of the City, share their insight as the talent of Mr. Devious rises to the attention of the music industry.

Mr Devious relates to us how he was offered a record deal if he in exchange would leave his wife and daughter behind. Realizing the record executives wanted to play God with his life he refuses to compromise and returns home, hooks up with his buddies and they record their own albums.

Reaching out to the youth and the community, inspiring them to take charge of their lives. Fiery and passionate he takes on the role of the spokesperson of his people. His lyrics are about every kind of injustices that his people have to endure, from aids, drugs, gangs, violence, social and juvenile justice. Mr Devious makes his voice heard, and becomes the Che Guevara of the Cape Flats who believed in Justice for all.

"Look at it now, you can't get away from it and you ask yourself why a ghetto. Things are much deeper than you think".

On the 23rd of January 2004, Mario died violently at the hands of a small group of gang members, the very same kind of youth that he dedicated his life's work to. In the end he died with colours flying as he made the ultimate sacrifice defending his dad who was being stabbed and robbed, leaving behind his wife Natalie, his two young daughters and an unborn child.

When Mario is killed it seems all hope is lost, but out of the darkness a strong voice emerges, as Natalie van Rooy, his wife and mother of his children picks up his spear, and makes meaning of his legacy.

The filmmakers present an honest deeply thought-through film that reflects the passionate life, death and legacy of Mr. Devious, an Icon of the Cape Flats and South Africa.

www.mr-devious.com

8 April 2007

Post Mortem 2010

Dir: Dale Yudelman

Duration: 5 min

SA 2006

During a morning talk show on a leading national radio station SAFM - three South Africans – Fanie, Robert and Angela call in to voice their opinion on the news of South Africa winning the Soccer World Cup 2010 bid.

What emerges is an unselfconscious social portrait as conversations illuminate some of the misgivings, old fears and hidden agendas that lurk within. Yet in spite of prejudice – an innocent and bold optimism reveals itself in the passionate way South Africans participate and relate to matters of national pride.

X-CAPE: Film Showcase by Citibird Creative Arts

Dir: Sandie Banda

Duration: 90 min

A selection of short films that use both drama and comedy to explore everything from HIV/AIDS, jealousy, hypocrisy and adultery, to blessings in disguise, golden secrets and more.

Their aim is to educate, entertain and enlighten the audience to take pride in positive living.

Includes the drama and comedy films The extreme, I don't know, Time for Everything, Out of order, Reaction, Tipex, Mundali, Tear and original colours & Complexities of Love Part I.

15 April 2007

X-CAPE: Various short films

Confessions of an Altered Boy

Anthony Sloan

Duration: 30 min

SA 2006

This film is essentially a filmed record of the recording of an Audio Drama (in the tradition of the Radio Dramas of the last century). It aims to express concerns, demonstrate possibilities, and create an experience of changing perceptions toward learning, teaching and being.

The filming and recording took place at the African Media Matrix building's television studios. Therefore the viewer gets the unique chance to see the faces behind the voices of the Audio Drama.

This film screenings links up with the Audio Drama session at the Labia on Saturday 21 April (also part of X-CAPE).

The Journey to Freedom Narrative

Dir: Gwen Miller

Duration: 30 min

Storytelling for reconciliation : Initially created for the 2004 National Celebrations of 10 Years of Democracy, this multimedia work combines animation, choir music and embroidered images to explore memory and the (re)making of history, while seeking routes towards healing and empowerment.

The ZET one-minute videos

Alite Thijsen

Duration: 60 seconds per video, 30 min total

Time may be limited, by certainly creativity isn't. These 60 second works by artists from across Africa combine sharp editing, contemporary visual language and traditional techniques. Created during workshops in Morocco, these short films relate to the process of globalization, economic and cultural relations.

I am an African

Dirs: Sonja Rademeyer & Assane Sar

Duration: 7 min

This collaborative work between Assane Sar (West Africa) and Sonya Rademeyer (South Africa) explores exchange - not only between individuals, but also across cultures and religions. The film comments on the artist's own identity within the African continent, what it means to be white and African.

X-CAPE after alt film ( 9pm onwards)

Not waving but drowning by Citibird Creative Arts:

Inspired by the famous Stevie Smith poem, this play offers a winsome yet devastating exploration into contemporary society.

22 April 2007

Spyder-Man: Once Upon a Time the Heroes

Dir: Michel Viotte

Duration: 100 min

France/Canada 2002

A detailed documentary about graphic novels, such as the Marvel comic books.

The film contains many interviews with the graphic artists themselves, discussing the history, the artists, the techniques, and the stories behind the stories of characters such as Spider-Man, Superman, the Silver Surfer and many more.

X-CAPE after alt film ( 9pm onwards)

Comedy Showcase by Citibird Creative Arts:

One and two man comedy acts that take the audience to various levels of laughter, while sending a message of love and unity.

29 April 2007

AFDA Student Films 2006

Nearly 80 minutes of student short films:

Charioteer (Alexander Alaka) – Fictional animation

Bottled (Siphiwo Sobopha) – Animation (including stop-motion)

Bitter Sweet (Daniel McArthur) – Animation

Lights Out (Clinton Jones) – 3D animation

Wearing my Mother's Genes (Fiela Jonck) – Drama

Hollywood in my Huis (Corne van Rooyen) – Comic drama

Together Alone (Riodan Allen) – Drama

Iziko (Paul M Cuba) - Drama

X-CAPE after alt film ( 9pm onwards)

Without a Kiss by Citibird Creative Arts:

An intimate love story that explores interpersonal relationships, abuse, as well as social and gender inequality.

2007-02-28T04:03:00.000-08:00

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ALt FILm – March 2007

Hallo everyone

This month alt film will finally bring you the much-acclaimed “And There in the Dust”, which recently also won the award for Best Short Film at the 2006 South African Film and Television Awards. Unforeseen events in February caused a cancellation of the planned screening, so we moved it to the second week of March. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused by this confusion.

But the opening act for March is the ICEBOX 02 film screenings. This portion of ICEBOX will feature a number of short films from home and abroad. Read more about this visual arts feast and the full program for ICEBOX at http://liquidfridge.co.za/?p=icebox_02_cpt (alt film is only involved with one aspect of the bigger picture)

alt film will be screening two more photography-related doccies this month, to link up with Month of Peoples Photography exhibition (MOPP) which concludes in March (MOPP info at http://www.nativesoul.blogspot.com/)

For those of you who missed the doccie about Long Street a few weeks ago, there’s another chance to see this film at the end of the month at alt film, along with two short student films.

March is also the start of the X-CAPE exhibition, which runs until May all over Cape Town. alt film will be hosting the film screening aspect of this extended exhibition in April – more news about the films in the next newsletter, and more info on X-CAPE at http://www.capeafrica.org/xcape.html

A big Thank You to our contributors:

* Lara Foot Newton
* Nicky Newman J
* Hein Bekker from ICEBOX and The Liquid Fridge, as well as all the ICEBOX participants
* Sonja du Plessis
* Terry Westby-Nunn

…and a special greeting to our friends in Denmark :-)

Zula Sound Bar at 194 Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa
7-9 pm every Sunday
Free entry
Cold and warm drinks provided by the bar, and food by the restaurant

see you there!
alt film
altfilm.blogspot.com

alt film was established to collect and screen* film being made by creative South Africans today, as well as work that most powerfully incorporates and describes the inevitable evolution of the medium.

· ps if you know someone who wants to receive the alt film newsletters once a month, let them send us an email to altfilm@gmail.com with “YES PLEASE!” in the subject line.

=========================

4 March 2007

ICEBOX 02 Cape Town

Liquid Fridge in conjunction with the CAPE AFRICA PLATFORM and the Multimediations CAPE Lab space presents a festival of contemporary creativity in audio/visual art. With the focus on the electronic, open and South African, ICEBOX combines music, film, video and interactive media through a programme of screenings, performances, club nights, workshops and an exhibition.

ICEBOX 02 Cape Town features music-makers, free thinkers and electronic tinkerers Bernhard Loibner (Austria), Brendon Bussy, Com.it, CY Cowboys, Garth Erasmus, Heather Ford (Johannesburg), Dean Henning (Durban), Julian Jonker, Rebecca Kahn (Johannesburg), Microstripe, MTKidu (Johannesburg), Radioboy, Story Boy, and many other proponents of eclectic sounds and plush pixels.

Films to be screened at alt film:

Breyani and The Councillors

Dir: Sally Giles
Duration: 22 min
SA 2006

Social movements are grassroots organisations that have no access to popular media. This documentary tells their story.

Trolleyboys

Dir: Daniel van der Merwe
Duration: 15 min
RSA 2006

André is a 17-year-old trolleyboy who pushes trolleys in a shopping mall in Mitchells Plain.

Candomblé - The Dance of the Gods

Dir: Frédérique Zepter
Duration: 43 min
FRA 2006

It is one of the world’s oldest religions. Known as candomblé in Brazil, voodoo in Haiti and santeria in Cuba. It came to the New World with the slaves.
Candomblé uses music as a call to the other world that forces the gods to come down to earth. And these gradually moved from the sacred to the profane: a lot of South American music today still uses the gods’ favourite rhythms.
This film takes the music as a starting point to enter the secret world of the religion, taking its farthest imprint, samba, to get to the traditional candomblé houses of Rio de Janeiro, where we will discover how man communicates with the gods through music, trance, dance and divination.

El Canto Del Grillo – The Song of the Cricket

Dir: Dany Campos
Duration: 18 min
ESP 2006

Joseba Perurena wants to start a new life together with his girlfriend. However, cutting ties with the past is never an easy thing to do especially when the consequences have not been fully considered.

Between You and Me

Dir: Patryk Rebisz
Duration: 5 min
USA 2005

The film captured an international audience and prestigious awards for its innovative approach to still photography. The technique utilised the burst mode - a photo camera’s ability to record a rapid succession of images - in telling a chance encounter. A young woman, snapping photographs in a big city, is attacked and loses her camera. The assault sparks the attention of a young man whose attempts to save her are in vain. In the end, her lost camera becomes his only clue to finding her.

SeNef Mobile Grand Prix at Seoul Film Festival 2006
Best Experimental Film at the Tiburon International Film Festival 2006
Best Cinematography at the Gotham City International Film Festival 2005
Best Short Film at the Vilnius Independent Film & Video Festival 2005
Best Short Film in the Experimental Film category at Big Apple Film Festival 2005

Animations by Tessa Comrie (RSA)

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11 March 2007

The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia

Dir: Jennifer Baichwal
Duration: 75min
Canada 2002

The meaning of art itself comes into question in this documentary about Shelby Lee Adams' controversial photos of families in Appalachia. This film considers aspects of artist, subject and critical response. It also brings to light the imprint that art photography and film create in our conscious

Like many photographers, Shelby Lee Adams has a favoured subject, and in his case he prefers to turn the lens of his camera on the poor Appalachian families of Eastern Kentucky. As a fellow Kentuckian, the Appalachians are an area and a people Adams knows well, but while his subjects usually live in devastating poverty, Adams was the son of a wealthy and privileged family, and as his work began to attract a worldwide audience, many began to question if Adams was attempting an honest portrayal of lives lived under near-tragic circumstances, or if the photographer was exploiting the naiveté of subjects and playing on stereotypes of the poor in the Deep South. The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia is a documentary which offers an in-depth look at Adams and his work, as well as the people he documents and the perspectives of other photographers

And There in the Dust

Dirs: Lara Foot Newton & Gerhard Marx
Duration: 8 minutes
RSA 2006

A highly creative animated film that combines various techniques such as stop motion, 3-D animation and live performance, for a small film denouncing the terrible story of Baby Tshepang, a baby girl of only nine months old who died in 2001 after being raped. The case brought to light hundreds of other just as horrible cases. South Africa was deeply shocked. A narrator’s voice tells us how people were upset and the impossibility of explaining such an act. Animation helps to deal with such an atrocious issue with great delicacy.

Winner: Best South African Short Film (Durban International Film Festival 2005)
Winner: Best Short Film (The South African Film and Television Awards 2006)

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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18 March 2007

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids

Dirs: Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman
Duration: 85 mins
India/USA 2004

In India, red light districts are booming in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Calcutta where millions of transient men live and work far away from their homes and wives. The oldest and the largest of these is Sonagachi in Calcutta where the women have organized into a sex trade union of more than 5,000 active workers and have spread awareness about AIDS and HIV, making Sonagachi one of the few red light districts in the country that does not accept clients without condoms. Subject to a class system that puts them on the lowest rung of Indian society, the mostly illegitimate children of the sex workers are also expected to "join the line" when they reach a certain age. Minor girls are the most sought after in the brothels and secure the highest price, making it very difficult for the parents to let them leave, especially when the only other alternative may be the starvation of their entire family.

In 1997, photographer Zana Briski was assigned to capture images of Sonagachi. While the women were reluctant to let her into their lives, the children quickly responded and Briski became a resident of the brothel for five years. During that time, she provided the children with point and shoot cameras, set up classes in photography, and trained them to document the harsh reality of their daily lives. The result is the Oscar nominated documentary Born Into Brothels, a film that takes us inside the squalid brothels and allows us to see the world through the eyes of some of its most vulnerable residents, five girls and three boys, ages ten to fourteen. Shot in dazzling color using a digital camera, we get to know the children through their photos.

There is Kochi, age 10, who is strong, resilient, tough, and sensitive. Avijit, age 12, seems to be the most talented of the group. He draws, paints, takes pictures and, through Briski's patient efforts, was able to obtain a passport to be a part of a photo-editing panel in Amsterdam. Shanti, age 11, is most eager to learn but is troubled and often feuds with her brother Manik. The others: Gour, Puja, Tapasi, and Suchitra all show a unique ability to find beauty in their ugly environment. The film documents Briski's uphill efforts to place the children in boarding schools to escape the cycle of poverty and exploitation. Some manage to find places in the schools but the biggest obstacle is shown to be the children's own mothers and guardians, often protective out of the sheer necessity for survival.

Born Into Brothels is a testimony to the transforming power of art and of one individual's ability to make a difference. Showing the children's art to Western audiences has helped to raise money for the Sonagachi children's education. It may also serve to make people more aware of the potential talent of millions of other third world children who struggle daily for existence on the streets, the orphanages, and the refugee camps of our teeming world.

Winner: Best Documentary Feature (Academy Awards 2005)
The list of other awards won is too long to fit in here.

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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25 March 2007

Goema/Kaaps/Afrikaans

Duration: 10 minutes
Dir: Sonja T. du Plessis
Genre: Short Documentary (Student Film)
RSA 1999

“Goema/Kaaps/Afrikaans” explores the musical and poetical language of performance-poet Loit Sols. The documentary investigates the formation and transformation of Cape Flats Afrikaans and displays Sols’ strong views about Afrikaans in the past & present political climate.
Interview in Afrikaans, currently no subtitles.
Filmed in 1999 as a student initiative -a 10 minute extract will be shown of this visual thesis.

Dawning Light

Dir: Sonja T. du Plessis
Duration: 10 minutes
Genre: Short Film/Psychological Drama (Student Film)
RSA 1999

Dawn is plagued by a memory of her past. In a dream she journeys into the basement of her childhood. She rediscovers an old letter and confronts the fear that haunts her most. A story of forgiveness, created as a product of an Xperimental Digital Video Production Workshop.
“She her self was not the light, she only came as a witness to the light.”

Tripping Down Long Street

Dir: Terry Westby-Nunn
Duration: 48min
Genre: Documentary
RSA

Spliced Knees Pictures is delighted to release Tripping Down Long Street, a 48-minute documentary, which was broadcast on SABC2 on 18 January 2007.

Long Street is the New South Africa. It flows through the centre of Cape Town and contains within its current (surging between the young and the old, the black and white, the African immigrants and the locals) all the hope, fear, sadness and small triumphs of a country coming to terms with its past and its fragmented present.

The documentary takes a haphazard trip up (and down) Long Street, Cape Town. We explore the Long Street lives of various characters who find themselves living, working or partying on the street. It’s a snapshot into where Long Street is now

Legendary tailor, Mr Price, who owns a chaotic shoe-box sized shop on Long Street and has been on Long Street for 32 years, is the thread that holds the film together: “Things are always changing on Long Street,” he says, “everything changes”

For the last half century, Long Street has been a bohemian hang out, where the artisans of Cape Town congregated. There were electricians, a dairy, a boerewors factory... Only a handful of artisans remain, such as the affable Italian barber, Carmine Mosca, Mr Price the tailor with his quiet ways, and Marge, the scatty masseuse from the Long Street Baths. Significantly the film documents the last of the Long Street artisans, and looks at the urbane new culture that is taking root on Long Street.

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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2007-02-16T01:25:00.000-08:00

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LAST MINUTE NEWS: 18 FEBRUARY 2007

Please note that due to damp-proofing activities at Zula Sound Bar on Sunday 18 February 2007, our host venue will not be open for business, and therefore there will also be no alt film screening.

We will re-schedule the films that were lined up for another Sunday in March. This includes:
* The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia
* And There in the Dust

We apologise for any inconvenience that this might cause.
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2007-02-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

AlT FilM - February 2007

Hi everyone,

First of all, please take note that THERE WILL BE NO alt film SHOW ON SUNDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2007. Don’t ask why. Full details of the other three weeks appear a bit lower down in this newsletter.

We are honoured to provide you the opportunity to see the much-acclaimed “And There in the Dust”, which recently also won the award for Best Short Film at the 2006 South African Film and Television Awards (18 February 2007)

Another highlight in February is the animated short film “The Tale of How” by the BlackHeartGang, who raised the stake in South African animation by quite a few bars with this fascinatingly strange and strangely fascinating masterpiece (25 February 2006)

If you’re reading this you probably enjoy nice images entering your eyes. Moving images, most likely. So I’d like to mention that apart from the moving images at alt film this month, there will also be a large number of photographers’ work on display from 14 February to 14 March all over Cape Town, as part of the annual Month of Peoples Photography exhibition (MOPP) –more info at http://www.nativesoul.blogspot.com/

For this reason, alt film will be screening a number of photography-related doccies in the next few weeks. Moving and still imagery combined!

A big Thank You to our contributors:

Nicky Newman – you’re my hero!
Jannes Hendrikz, Ree Treweek and Markus Wormstorm of the BlackHeartGang => www.theblackheartgang.com
Levi and the Healing Power of Nature team => www.healinpowerofnature.co.za
Lara Foot Newton
Peter Adolphs, Quinton Lavery (AFDA)

Zula Sound Bar at 194 Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa
7-9 pm (nearly) every Sunday
No cover charge
Cold and warm drinks provided by the bar, and food by restaurant

see you there!
alt film

alt film was established to collect and screen* film being made by creative South Africans today, as well as work that most powerfully incorporates and describes the inevitable evolution of the medium.

ps if you or someone you know would want to receive these newsletters via email, send us an email at altfilm@gmail.com with “YES PLEASE!” in the subject line.

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4 February 2007

NO SHOW. Sorry.

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11 February 2007

Terminal Bar

Dir: Stefan Nadelman
Duration: 23min
USA 2003

A fascinating pictorial history of a New York City bar whose customers, from the hard-drinking working class Irish to the coiffed African American gay male, continually transform its focus during its 10-year reign

Winner: Aspen Shortsfest 2003 – Best editing
Winner: Atlanta Film Festival 2003 – Grand Jury Award for Best Short film
Winner: Sundance Film Festival 2003 – Short filmmaking award

Healing Power of Nature

Title: Bonding with the Beast
Dir: Clifford Bestall
Duration: 24 minutes

Craig Bovim is a well-balanced guy. But he has a big chip on his shoulder. Four years ago he was almost killed and eaten by a Great White shark. Now he is the sharks’ greatest supporter, challenging the multi-million Rand shark cage-diving industry, which he sees as having a negative impact on the Great Whites.

Craig thinks the shark cage-diving industry is run by a bunch of macho businessmen. They certainly don’t take kindly to anyone, like Craig, threatening their livelihood. But Craig is intrigued by why people are compelled to get close to Great White sharks, even to touch them. It seems to him that cage-diving is nothing more than the meddling of men and he wants to protect the sharks from it.

As the film progresses, Craig begins to understand the seemingly unconscious human need to be reminded that our true home is amongst the creatures big and small that share the earth with us. Humans need to find ways of understanding that we too are part of the food chain. And Craig, given his experience, understands this better than most.

‘Bonding with the Beasts’ throws light on the extraordinary and unexpected process known as biophilia: the uncanny ability special encounters with nature have to heal us.

Freedom Days

Dir: Quinton Lavery
Duration: 12min

Paul’s girlfriend gets killed during an attempted hi-jacking. He is haunted by the memories of the night that it happened. Keenan, a young coloured medical student, is having doubts about his multi-cultural relationship with Carla, a young white artist who works in a curio shop. All their lives collide when Paul goes on a race-based killing spree.

Critic's Choice film, 2nd Annual AFDA Cape Town Film Festival.
Nominated for 11 AFDA awards 2005.
Won Best 3rd Year Film Production, 2nd Annual AFDA Cape Town Awards.
Official Selection 6th Apollo Film Festival 2006, Victoria West, South Africa.
Official Selection 14th Chilean International Short Film Festival 2006, Chile.
Special Mention Jury Award – 14th Chilean International Short Film Festival.
Official Selection 5th Annual Kingdom Film Festival 2007, Durban .
Nominated for Best Student Film - 5th Annual Kingdom Film Festival 2007, Durban.

The Making of “The Tale of How”

Dir: The BlackHeartGang
Duration: 10min

The Tale of How

Dir: The BlackHeartGang
Duration: 4.5min

“Otto is deaf
Otto means eight
Otto means death
To the Dodo's he ate”

“The tale of how” tells the story of the Piranha birds (or Dodo’s as they would be known to you). The piranhas are born from the blossoms of a tree growing on Otto the monsters head (Otto is a giant octopus with a broken heart.) Otto is insane and eats the piranhas. They're not happy and decide to escape. A very clever, wise and magical being then appears to them… Eddy the Engineer! Eddy is a white mouse, with flowers for a tail and he sails around the ocean on a bunch of bananas. Together they trick Otto, and the piranhas escape.

If Hieronymus Bosch and Terry Gilliam had a lovechild, maybe it would resemble this film. The visuals are a lush and organic pastiche of 2D and 3D elements, with a hand-crafted attention to detail that makes every still a joy to behold.

Equally impressive is the soundtrack. Composed and recorded by The Blackheart Gang, the music was written especially for this piece, and its lyrics tell the story in an operatic style that is refreshingly original.

Best Independent Film at the Bradford Animation Festival Awards 2006
Named in the top ten at Nicktoons Network Animation Festival 2006
Received an honorary mention at the Woodstock Film Festival 2006
Won Best Animation at the Right Eye Short Film Festival 2006
Selected as the opening flagship piece for Resfest 10’s world tour

Music video for "Running With Scissors" – Womb

Dir: Quinton Lavery
Duration: 4min

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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18 February 2007

The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia

Dir: Jennifer Baichwal
Duration: 75min
Canada 2002

The meaning of art itself comes into question in this documentary about Shelby Lee Adams' controversial photos of families in Appalachia. This film considers aspects of artist, subject and critical response. It also brings to light the imprint that art photography and film create in our conscious

Like many photographers, Shelby Lee Adams has a favoured subject, and in his case he prefers to turn the lens of his camera on the poor Appalachian families of Eastern Kentucky. As a fellow Kentuckian, the Appalachians are an area and a people Adams knows well, but while his subjects usually live in devastating poverty, Adams was the son of a wealthy and privileged family, and as his work began to attract a worldwide audience, many began to question if Adams was attempting an honest portrayal of lives lived under near-tragic circumstances, or if the photographer was exploiting the naiveté of subjects and playing on stereotypes of the poor in the Deep South. The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia is a documentary which offers an in-depth look at Adams and his work, as well as the people he documents and the perspectives of other photographers

And There in the Dust

Dirs: Lara Foot Newton & Gerhard Marx
Duration: 8 minutes
SA 2006

A highly creative animated film that combines various techniques such as stop motion, 3-D animation and live performance, for a small film denouncing the terrible story of Baby Tshepang, a baby girl of only nine months old who died in 2001 after being raped. The case brought to light hundreds of other just as horrible cases. South Africa was deeply shocked. A narrator’s voice tells us how people were upset and the impossibility of explaining such an act. Animation helps to deal with such an atrocious issue with great delicacy.

Winner: Best South African Short Film (Durban International Film Festival 2005)
Winner: Best Short Film (The South African Film and Television Awards 2006)

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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25 February 2007

Naked States

Dir: Arlene Donnelly Nelson
Duration: 80 mins
USA 2000

Photographer Spencer Tunick travels the U.S. in search of volunteers to pose nude for his outlaw photo-shoots, all of them done out in public and often without legal permits. This documentary chronicles Tunick's logistic nightmares, his brushes with the law, and the free-spirit-volunteers who discard their inhibitions for his artistic vision, and their own personal concepts of self-gratification

There are moments of undeniable beauty and grace in witnessing some of the transformative tales of those who freely posed nude for photographer Spencer Tunick during his five-month trek across the United States. One man communicates his own epiphany post photo shoot by noticing that being naked doesn't really reveal who a person is - it's the clothes, rather, by which a person defines himself.

In elevating his work above porn, Tunick often photographs the nude in large numbers. Placing the subjects against the background of daily life, amid urban streets or modern architecture, and in glorious black and white, some moving and timeless images have been created. The body of work Tunick has produced through this documented project alone will serve as noteworthy in the timeline of 21st century artisans.

Overlooking pacing and editing, the film (which oftentimes resembles an episode of MTV's "Road Rules") stands as a testament to artistic integrity and persistence of vision.

Winner: AFI Fest 2000 – Documentary Award
Winner: Florida Film Festival 2000 – Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature

Barren

Dir: Quinton Lavery

Duration: 24min

“Barren” is a murder/mystery in which three characters, a Cop, a Security guard and his Wife, come together to find out if they are suspects, or victims, in the serial murder of three pregnant women. In 24 minutes of tension-filled South African life that shows the hardships of living in a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world and at least three serial killers active today, “Barren” takes a step back to examine this in a way that brings mystery and suspense to the audience in the most emotionally entertaining way possible!

Nominated for 2 AFDA awards 2006.

Won Best 4th Year Film Production, 3rd Annual AFDA Cape Town Awards.

Official Selection 5th Annual Kingdom Film Festival 2007, Durban .

Manga, animation, shorts, music

2007-01-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

aLt fILm – JANUARY 2007

Hi!

…and we’re into the next number, 2007 this time. I hope it’s a great year for you all! But season’s greetings is so last week, so we can go back to normal now and I can tell you about this month’s line-up at alt film! Full details of the listing follow after my ramblings below.

We are screening a number of student films this month, from AFDA, UCT and City Varsity. These range from 1 minute to 26 minutes in length, and covers topics from illegal hopscotch tournaments to relationships.

We will screen more episodes from the HEADWRAP and Healing Power of Nature series too.

“HEADWRAP is a challenging factual series that brings together Cultural Documentary and Reality TV. It’s “Faking it” without the pretence and “Survivor” without the make-believe. It’s more documentary than Reality TV, but draws on the successful elements of Reality TV.”

“Healing Power of Nature’s short films examine the various, eclectic and multi-faceted ways in which different groups of people in South, and southern Africa, are using their contact with, and preservation of, wilderness to reverse the destruction … to heal the wounds of the past.”

Apart from that, we fill in the gaps with music vids, short films from way interesting folk like Jan Svankmayer, manga (remember RoboTec?), and animation.

One further item: If you’ve ever seen any of the amazing Jasper animations, you might want to help Jasper’s creator (Jan C de Wet) to create more of these films, by reading his request:
There's an outfit called Metacafe who pays cash for popular videos, and I've posted 4 of the Jasper clips so far. If I can start to generate some income I'll be able to make more of them which would be great. The threshold to reach is quite high but I'm guessing it's just a matter of getting a high enough ranking to get more visible. So if you have some time it'd be cool if you checked out http://www.metacafe.com/user/3392614/juantoo/ , viewed the videos and gave them a ranking by clicking on the 5th orange star where it says “your ranking"”.

A big Thank You to our contributors:
Liezel Vermeulen and Plexus Films => info@plexustv.co.za
Levi and the Healing Power of Nature team => www.healinpowerofnature.co.za
Rossouw Nel (UCT), Bela Lukac (AFDA), Vincent van der Zee (City Varsity)

Zula Sound Bar at 194 Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa
7-9 pm every Sunday
No cover charge
Cold and warm drinks provided by the bar, and food by restaurant

see u there!
alt film

alt film was established to collect and screen* film being made by creative South Africans today, as well as work that most powerfully incorporates and describes the inevitable evolution of the medium.

· ps if you don’t want to receive these newsletters, simply reply with “go away and stay away” in the subject line, and we’ll leave your inbox alone. promise.
· pps if you know someone who wants to receive these newsletters, let them send us an email to altfilm@gmail.com with “YES PLEASE!” in the subject line.

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7 January 2007

Usuku Lwam

Director: Bela Lukac (AFDA)
Duration: 12 minutes
(“Usuku lwam” = “my day”)

Tshepo, an unemployed youth, has to travel from Nyanga, a township on the outskirts of the city, to Cape Town for a job interview. Faced with unexpected obstacles along the way, decisions need to be made.

What do you do in a world where money means everything and you have nothing?
The film is a portrayal of some issues that the ‘new’ democratic South Africa has to face, such as crime, unemployment and xenophobia.
Tshepo, being young and black, and statistically the one who should be empowered, is left with two choices. To work, which is hard to come by and probably has little financial reward, or become a tsotsi (gangster), which means going against social norms and ethics.
The gritty feel of the film gives a true reflection of South Africa’s township reality.

HeadWrap

Title: Rebirth
Artists: Ntombi Nala and Churchill Madikida
Duration: 25 minutes

Fresh from the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Standard Bank Young Artist for 2006 Churchill Madikida travels to Eshowe in KwaZulu Natal to collaborate with South Africa’s foremost exponent of Zulu beerpot ceramics, Ntombi Nala.
HEADWRAP challenges them to work together on making a pot, from grinding and mixing the clay to firing it on an open fire as well as documenting the process with video.

(More details about the artists at the end of this newsletter)

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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14 January 2007

UCT film production class of 2006: Short films

In this session alt film will screen the results of a four week long workshop at UCT, in which the theme of “Dumped” was explored.
Intentionally left open to interpretation, the students expanded on the subject through clever use of the key elements of filmmaking, namely editing, lighting and sound; culminating in the final product.
(These 24 films will be screened in one session, in the order as they appear below.)

Week 1: Editing (Duration: 1 minute per film)
* Ethan Hawke
* 15
* La Hoop
* Lunch
* Puppy Dreams
* The Trumpeter
Week 2 :Lighting (Duration: 1 minute per film)
* Blondes on Blondes
* The Cannibal Bride
* Patricia
* Static
* Sushi Blackout
* Taylor (Part 4)
Week 3: Sound (Duration: 1 minute per film)
* Chopped
* Life at the Water Hole
* Troubled Waters
* Master of the Dancing Shoes
* Tinnitus
* Last Man Standing
Week 4: Final product (Duration: 5-7 minutes per film)
* Claudia Hart
* D-Day
* Ten Percent
* Dumped
* uRepunzel
* Maybe You Can Become His Girlfriend

HeadWrap

Title: Carving Into Myths of African Art
Artists: Justice Mokoena and Phillip Rhikotso
Duration: 25 minutes

Justice Mokoena is a young art lecturer at the University of Pretoria School of Teacher Training. Despite wearing a teacher’s robe he is a keen artist and student. The questions in his work relate to identity and the concept of African Art. Justice is challenged to leave his urban reality and travel to the small village of Daniel near Giyani in Limpopo Province to meet and collaborate with master woodcarver Phillip Rhikotso.
Phillip is illiterate and self-taught. His work is a response to the mythology of the Tsonga people and as joint winner of the 2004 Brett Kebble Awards he has proved to be one of the most important commentators on traditional Tsonga woodcarving.
Will Justice’s questions be answered in terms finding a definition for African Art? How will Phillip Rhikotso respond to collaborating with an artist whose work is informed by academic principles? Will they be able to bridge the generation gap?

(More details about the artists at the end of this newsletter)

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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21 January 2007

Healing Power of Nature

Title: Bonding with the Beast
Director: Clifford Bestall
Duration: 24 minutes

Craig Bovim is a well-balanced guy. But he has a big chip on his shoulder. Four years ago he was almost killed and eaten by a Great White shark. Now he is the sharks’ greatest supporter, challenging the multi-million Rand shark cage-diving industry, which he sees as having a negative impact on the Great Whites.

Craig thinks the shark cage-diving industry is run by a bunch of macho businessmen. They certainly don’t take kindly to anyone, like Craig, threatening their livelihood. But Craig is intrigued by why people are compelled to get close to Great White sharks, even to touch them. It seems to him that cage-diving is nothing more than the meddling of men and he wants to protect the sharks from it.

As the film progresses, Craig begins to understand the seemingly unconscious human need to be reminded that our true home is amongst the creatures big and small that share the earth with us. Humans need to find ways of understanding that we too are part of the food chain. And Craig, given his experience, understands this better than most.

‘Bonding with the Beasts’ throws light on the extraordinary and unexpected process known as biophilia: the uncanny ability special encounters with nature have to heal us.

HeadWrap

Title: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tang
Artists: Msindisi “The Tiger” Mva and Acty Tang
Duration: 25 minutes

Msindisi “The Tiger” Mva is a Capoeira teacher from the tiny village of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape. His dance crew get together in the town hall three times a week to practice their Brazilian fighting moves.
Acty Tang is a leading member of the First Physical Theater Company, a contemporary dance group from Grahamstown. Acty draws on the obscure form of Japanese “Butoh” dancing for inspiration.
Headwrap challenges Acty to travel to Hamburg and collaborate with the capoeiristas within the space of a single weekend. Can the slick moves and intellectual headspace of urban physical theatre interact with community-oriented dance sport in a rural setting?

(More details about the artists at the end of this newsletter)

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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28 January 2007

BloodNumbers

Director: Vincent van der Zee
Duration: 26 minutes

Syndicates! Manslaughter! Bobby socks!
The harrowing tale of how one man's attempts to uncover Cape Town's underground hopscotch scene ended in tragedy.

Ross, a young paparazzi minded documentary maker, discovers a hidden face of Cape Town. Far from the public eyes, adolescent girls gather under sinister eyes to compete on makeshift hopscotch grids for money. Soon he is caught up in a web of teenage girls, syndicates, police investigation and a relentless pressure to win. Ultimately the pressure has to take its toll of its young victims...

Healing Power of Nature

Title: Prenessa and the Dolphins
Directors: Director: Jane Kennedy & Karin Slater
Duration: 24 minutes

It could be any normal family beach holiday, except for one thing: dolphins. This Durban family are visiting the idyllic beach, Ponta D’Ouro, in Mozambique with more than relaxation in mind. Swimming with the dolphins may cure 11 year old Prenessa, who was left unable to walk or talk after suffering from bronchial pneumonia as a baby.

Her brother Tharschen hopes a good experience with the dolphins will help Prenessa to express herself, “so we can know what she’s thinking and feeling”. But nature has other ideas and the determined family have to pull together as they wrestle with stormy weather, and the possibility that the mystical dolphins may be just out of reach.

HeadWrap

Title: Remixing Enjinears
Artists: Remix Dance Company and the Odd Enjinears
Duration: 25 minutes

Remix Dance Company is an acclaimed contemporary dance initiative that brings together disabled and able performers. Remix explores dance that values the honesty of the body and then surprisingly twists these tales and stories in a space to create dance performances of unusual and outstanding perspective.
The Odd Enjinears was founded and is directed by Mark O'Donovan, a qualified Electrical Engineer who later turned to sculpture with emphasis on motion causing repeated sounds. These off music machines reinvent theatre with no text, with a unique blend of sculpture, music, machines and performance.
Headwrap challenges Remix and the Odd Enjinears to bring movement and sound together. Will Remix and the Odd Enjinears be able to create something where man and machine meet?

(More details about the artists at the end of this newsletter)

Manga, animation, shorts, music

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HeadWrap artist profiles:

Rebirth

Ntombi Nala makes exquisitely crafted Iphangela and Ingcazi beer pots that represent the continuation of deep-seated cultural traditions. Ntombi lives in a rural area near Eshowe, and comes from a long line of potters. “This is my talent, it’s a gift. I learnt from observing my grandmother making pots”. She constructs very large clay beer pots in traditional shapes of ukhamba and uphiso using classic amansumpa decorative patterns. These take four to six weeks to construct and are fired in a pit. The sheer size of her pots means that risks are taken and Ntombi with her special talent, elevates accomplishment to a level few can reach. Her virtuosity is preserved in the pot to provide timeless enjoyment and admiration. “I would like Churchill to teach me what he is doing. I get a lot of people who film me but I never used a video camera”

Churchill Madikida is the Standard Bank Young Artist for visual art 2006. The award entails a solo exhibition of new work which opens at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in June 2006 and travels to major centres throughout South Africa until July 2007. He was born in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape in 1973 and now lives and works in Johannesburg, where he was until recently Collections Curator at Constitution Hill, leaving his post to work full-time as an artist. His work frequently explores the contemporary implications of Xhosa traditions, particularly the initiation ritual of circumcision, in media including video, photography and live performance. “If something affects me I then work it out through my work. My sister died of HIV/AIDS and I then made a video to talk about my feelings.” Mama Nala and Churchill agree to make the pot with the symbols of HIV/AIDS in order to increase awareness around the epidemic, putting faces and AIDS ribbons around the pot. Mama Nala is upset by the rate at which the young people of her community are dying because of HIV/AIDS. “Every week we are burying our own children”.

Churchill is worried about teaching Mama Nala how to use the camera since she won’t have access to the video camera after he leaves and she won’t be able to charge the batteries since she doesn’t have electricity. Building a clay pot from scratch is very challenging but soon Mama starts to call Churchill “Shesile” – “the fast one”. Mama then also teaches Churchill how to fire the pot on the open fire when it is completed.

Carving Into Myths of African Art

Justice Mokoena is not who he seems: His cool laidback dread-locked appearance fronts the questioning mind of an artist searching for answers around his ancestral background and identity. Originally from the Duiwelskloof area of the Limpopo province, Justice grew up with his grandmother in a township near Pretoria. His personal quest for identity has left him wanting to learn more about the history of his people, the XiTsonga. “Our president tells us we must record our history, but where must we learn it, where are the books?” he says. He is a sassed, media-literate urban youth: “People say, ‘why don’t you do African art’, what is African Art – a painting of three huts on a hill? I’ve never stayed in one of those huts, I live in a township, I don’t relate to that.” Justice is hoping to find answers about his history by collaborating with the 2004 Brett Kebble Art Award Winner Phillip Rhikotso. “I’m like a tree growing in a rock. I have no roots. Meeting Phillip will be like the ground for me. I don’t know enough about the mythology of my own culture.”

The fantastical sculptures of master woodcarver Phillip Rikhotso give form to the creatures that he sees in his dreams. The sculptures of human forms have bird-like features, men with big heads and eyes or the creatures with immense teeth are deeply rooted in Tsonga mythology. The execution of these creatures is done in a modern and thought-provoking style. Phillip feels the gap between traditional art and contemporary art forms is not that vast: “I welcome working with a young person from a contemporary age so that we can learn from each other. Before I won the Brett Kebble Award I was very poor and desperate. I was so desperate that I would sell a very good piece of work for 25 rand. After winning the award I feel good and I look after my family and I don’t want to be poor again. It has also given me the freedom to make more work and explore the stories of the Tsonga”.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tang

Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art which features slow playful fighting movements and a strong acrobatic style accompanied by music, initially developed by African slaves taken to South America in the colonial period between the 16th and 19th centuries. Beside physical strength and agility, capoeira philosophy emphasises respect, responsibility, cleverness, safety and liberty. The Hamburg Capoeira Group is led by the 23 year old Msindisi Mva, known as Tigres, with the help of the older students. The first time Hamburg saw capoeira was at a demonstration by two visitors in February 2003 and this sparked enough local interest to set up a class. The lessons were held in the old town hall, which after cleaning turned out to be an ideal space to train in. Hamburg in the Eastern Cape is, on first impression, not much more than a scattering of houses and ‘shacks’. It is the last village at the end of a dirt road, and sits on the estuary of the Keiskamma River as it enters the Indian Ocean. Capoeiristas are aware of how much they get out of training, but for the people of Hamburg, who have far fewer alternatives in life, they get more than most. It has become not only a source of sport and exercise, but also a means to greater personal development and sociability. It keeps the young people busy after school, and has opened a door into the wider world.

Acty Tang has been exploring creative and physical theatre expression since he first enrolled in the Drama Department at Rhodes University in 1997 and he is currently working on his Masters thesis. He is a central member of the First Physical Theatre Company based in Grahamstown, a dance company that is recognised as a prime mover in theatre innovation, creative collaboration and artistic education. Nominated for the Daimler Chrysler Award for South African Choreography in 2003, he is considered as one of the country’s most exciting young choreographers and physical performers. Acty’s style is dance-based, but also incorporates elements of avant-garde theatre, performance art and the fragile yet decadent aesthetic of Butoh theatre. Butoh developed in post-war Japan, breaking established dance form rules by giving more space to improvisation. White painted bodies, slow movements, bold head movements and contorted postures are characteristic.

Remixing Enjinears

The Remix Dance Company focuses on the contemporary dance genre, creating dance pieces that promote awareness and recognition of the expressive potential of the body. Since 2000 they have explored means of expression by a diversity of bodies in the core company, they also run children and adult education classes as well as teacher training. In 2002, Remix won the prestigious Arts and Culture Trust Award: Cultural Development Project of the Year for its education and performance work. Remix has welcomed many theatre practitioners into the project since this time who have brought with them skills in physical theatre, mime, puppetry and voice work which has broadened the depth of knowledge and exploration within Remix's work. Remix creates performances that are intriguing and intelligent. Wherever possible, Remix seeks to bring awareness and recognition to the expressive potential of the body. “I feel free in the wheel chair. At Remix anyone with talent can dance no matter what body they have.” says dancer Malcolm Black.

The Odd Enjinears was founded and is directed by Mark O'Donovan, a qualified Electrical Engineer who later turned to sculpture with an emphasis on motion which causes repeated sounds. Their work defies categorization and pushes audiences to stretch their imaginations and explore conceptually provocative work. Using musical machines, sculptures that vibrate and sing, the Enjinears approach technology with the sensibility of playful artists, musicians who are not creatively bound to limited musical notes and chords. The outcome is the creation of different sounds juxtaposed to the mechanics that echoes and vibrates integrating man and machine. Their defiance of definition or categorization, the Odd Enjinears make striking productions with curious technology. They reinvent theatre using no words, with a unique blend of sculpture, music, machines and performance. The performances are visually rich, conceptually provocative and in a word, unique.
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