Saturday 23/ Sunday 24 June 007
Tune Out>>
Tune out was the Kwacinema’s Weekend#1 documentary lineup. Intense, revealing and disturbing, the subject material switched from human tragedy to triumph, exploitation to revolution, shame at being part of the human race to the joy and ecstasy of being part of this world. It shone a torch down the dark caverns of our collective miseries and offered a light for all to attenuate, something to hold on to. It was heavy viewing for the projectionist.
As part of the Poverty and Inequality Festival, KwaCinema was proud to hostel Ejido – the story of how Europeans exploit event heir own for the sake of comfort and satisfaction. The Boy inside was an expose on Autism, teaching and sharing lots about an issue that does tend to lie latent in story telling. A world Without water confirms my decision to not consume Coca Cola products, as it present a far-too realistic tale of a planet that consumes more than is sustainable, and cares about profit above compassion. The privatization of water services in developing countries seems to result more often than not in poor people being excluded from their right to water. That a simploid creature like the human could think to claim ownership over water…..
Emmanuel’s Gift offered an uplifting mood to the evening, showcasing, of course, Emmanuel. E is a guy from Ghana born with one operational leg. In a bid to expose his countries disregard for the disabled (10% of the population has some disability), a letter is written to the Challenged Athletes Foundation, requesting a bicycle so that he can ride (one legged) across Ghana. From this point, the camera moves with Emmanuel, showing his trip across the country, his American visit to raise awareness, and his subsequent return to Ghana to champion the cause of the disabled. At first I tought E’s gift was his bicycle, but its actually about how much he gives to his people, the gift of aring enough to make a difference. This is a truly inspirational tale, one that makes me feel bad for being lazy, and not doing more than I am. It’s told in a way that pushes me to be better, and work harder, and appreciate my senses and limbs way much more.
Sunday’s line up was another assault on the conscience and senses, harrowing tales that show just how depraved man can be to his fellow man. Its not all bleakness and doom, as always, the human spirit tends to shine even in dark days. The closing film for Sunday was a really amazingly interesting documentary, the type that swing your emotion this way and that. I found myself feeling one way, being made to think I should feel another way, and eventually just feeling angry. It was Operation Filmmaker [screens at Gateway 01July at 2].
MTV shoots a short segment in Baghdad where they feature a young film maker standing in the shadow of his film school, now a shelled out building. This piece moves a production team to fly this young man out to serve as an intern on a movie set in Prague. Nina Davenport is assigned to cover his experiences, and within a short space of time every thing seems to go wrong. He is not happy, and it seems that the team did not research their subject properly. The story seems to want to go in one direction, but the reality of the young man and his motives eventually pull. It’s quite tense, its emotionally splitting, and ultimately a testament to the tenacity the documentator must hold to complete a story. Certainly, I learnt lots about the artform of documenting and allowing the story to unfold, and we had a great post movie dissection, even though the crowd was a bit small. Theres some vid clips of the session with audience and nina floating round. I will attempt to you tube it, or place it on the www.myspace.com/kwacinema portal.
Its back from reality and off to exotic locations from now til Saturday, when the flavor is Local, hip hop and bunny chow.
Peace to the square eyes
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