This unique film event will see a diverse and exciting range of films screened across 49 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, to coincide with the Durban International Film Festival, the largest film festival in South Africa that takes place from July 17th – 27th.
The diverse range of stories from east Africa provide both historical and current insights into our amazing continent.
Coming of Age – Kenya
This coming of age story from Judy Kiginge depicts the three ages and stages of democracy as seen through the eyes of a girl growing up. The Kenyatta era, a time of great optimism and post-independence euphoria is reflected in the innocence and naivety of the young girl.
As Kenya enters its next era, of dictatorship under Daniel arap Moi, the gloom of oppression and confusion is reflected by teenage turmoil and finally, all grown up, we find ourselves in Kenyas third stage of democracy under Mwai Kibaki and wondering if democracy, with all its free speech and openness can ever really come of age.
Coming of Age will screen Monday July 21st at 19:30 (GMT + 2)
Open Heart – Rwanda
An Oscar-nominated documentary of eight Rwandan children who leave their families behind and embark on a life-or-death journey to receive high-risk open-heart surgery in Africa’s only free-of-charge, state-of-the-art cardiac hospital, the Salam Centre.
Open Heart will screen on Thursday July 24th at 21:00 (GMT + 2)
War Child - Sudan
War Child is an award-winning documentary that chronicles the shocking, but inspiring odyssey of Emmanuel Jal.
A former child soldier of Sudan’s brutal civil war, he is now an international hip-hop star sharing a message of peace for his war-torn land.
War Child will screen on Monday July 21st at 19:30 (GMT + 2)
Concerning Violence – Pan Africa
Concerning Violence is a bold and fresh visual narrative from Africa based on newly discovered archive material covering the most daring moments in the struggle for liberation from colonial rule.
This powerful footage is combined with text from Frantz Fanon’s landmark book The Wretched of the Earth - written in 1960 and still a major tool for understanding and illuminating the neocolonialism happening today, as well as the unrest and the reactions against it.
The film describes the uprisings that led to Africa’s decolonisation. Once again, Olsson concentrates on archive material filmed in Africa by Swedish documentary filmmakers and television journalists between 1966 and 1984.
Footage of liberation movements in Angola, the Frelimo in Mozambique and the struggle for independence in Guinea-Bissau are juxtaposed with documentary images of Swedish missionaries in Tanzania and a strike in a Swedish mine in Liberia.
Musician Lauryn Hill brings to life Fanon’s polarising texts which structure and provide commentary on the film’s visual material.
A glimpse of today’s smouldering conflicts along the old colonial borders shows that, even 50 years after Fanon’s death, Africa is still dealing with the consequences of centuries of European raids and interventions.
Concerning Violence will screen on Tuesday July 22nd at 18:00 (GMT + 2).
Coach Zoran & His African Tigers – South Sudan
As South Sudan approaches its third anniversary as the world’s newest nation, it is apt that one of the films to be screened takes a unique perspective on the country.
Coach Zoran & His African Tigers follows the country’s ambition to re-enter the world football stage with a newly formed national team.
South Sudan became an independent state in July 2011, following almost 50 years of civil war. Although still steeped in the memories of countless victims of violence, the new nation is seeking to make a place on the international soccer stage by forming its first national team.
The man called in for this task is the Serbian Zoran Djordjevic, a dynamic and hugely ambitious veteran coach.
The film follows the team over its first year, from the hunt for new players to buying a sheep called Champion as its mascot and the first international games.
Zoran’s aggressive and even dictatorial style soon leads to conflict with the chair of the soccer federation and several senior politicians.
As the euphoria of independence subsides, the team finds itself hit by bitter infighting, malaria and a financial crisis that threatens the state itself.
What follows is a darkly comic and original portrait of the birth of a nation.
Coach Zoran & His African Tigers screens on Tuesday July 22nd at 21:00 (GMT + 2).
God Loves Uganda - Uganda
The film follows evangelical leaders in American and Uganda, along with politicians and missionaries as they attempt the task of converting Ugandans to fundamentalist Christianity.
Through verité, interviews, and hidden camera footage – and with unprecedented access – God Loves Uganda takes viewers inside the evangelical movement in both the US and Uganda.
God Loves Uganda records the culture clash between enthusiastic Midwestern missionaries and world weary Ugandans.
God Loves Uganda will screen Thursday July 24th at 18:00 (GMT + 2)
No comments:
Post a Comment