‘Bloodsucker’ — Bushido Bill

Report by Dumisa Lengwati & Taryn Isaac, School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University

You never know when a bloodsucker is in your midst…
Bushido Bill — an awesome Grahamstown band, mess around, gig, hang out and have lots of fun together. Shawn, the lead singer, starts dating Danielle after he notices her at a gig: a femme fatale, irresistibly gorgeous. However, she does come with a fatal flaw: she is a gold-digger of note! The men in the group, Shawn, Dylan and Dylan (drummer and guitarist) don’t mind a bit — they are entranced by her feminine wiles, her flattery, her sensual looks. But Chelsea, the bassist, a femme fatale in her own right, won’t have any of it. She gets increasingly jealous and angry the longer Danielle is in their group. Not one to upset group dynamics however, she decides not to do or say anything until it the negative effect Danielle has on Shawn are manifest — he spends all his money and attention on her until he has none for himself. He becomes drawn, dishevelled — a real mess. An epic battle ensues between the ladies, and the victrix will leave you surprised!

“Buddah Lands” – WordsUntame

Production by Lillian Magari & Noxolo Mafu

Music video from Afro-world Grahamstown band, WordsUntame

‘Ring around the riptide’ – The Fishwives

Production by Natalie Austin & Jason Randall

Grahamstown band, The Fishwives, showcase “Ring around the riptide”. Through interior and exteriors the scene moves the instrumental ensemble through various natural settings. The talents of the five-piece band and a fire act are combined in their usual practice room lit entirely by candle light. and sorrounded by all the instruments of multi-skilled musicians. The symbolism of rings move from inside the burning room to sunlight outside. The sun complimens the burning candles and moves from day to night. Fire is spun around as if a riptide and flames split the sky.

The Fishwives are Celery Burger, Lizzie-Lou Gaisford, Nicole Germiquet, Cal Thompson & Strato Copteros

Dream by CeeCee

Production by Deneesha Pillay and Megan Flemmit.

The song explores the story of a woman who realizes that the person she is dating is unfaithful to her, yet she still remains in the relationship. Because she loves him, she is willing to accept any part of him that he gives her. She wants him to ‘sell her a dream’. The music video depicts one woman who is in this situation of being cheated on.
Music by CeeCee featuring Carol Marikano and Papama Bacela

Sense-(re)-memory

Production by Raphaela Linders

Sense-(re)-memory deals with the reliving of memories triggered by the conventional five senses sight, sound,hearing, touch and taste.
The film follows Mardou as she experiences the strength of her senses and the memories that they trigger. She has to a certain degree lost control of her senses, everything she sees, tastes, touches, smells and hears brings up a memory that she does not necessarily want to remember. Mardou has even gone to the extreme of stripping all the objects around her of any visual stimuli. Her sensory memories are told through the eyes and words of four other people.

Project Joza

Production by Jack Kaminski

In the Joza township of Grahamstown, many artist entrepreneurs build and run their own home studios, recording and producing local music. Regardless of the township’s socio-economic environment, self-producing artists don’t record for financial stability, but rather as a means of empowering themselves and others. Project Joza is the story of three producers who make music for selfless purposes, all aimed at enriching the musical capital of their community.
Project Joza is the story of three self-producing artists; Azlan, Suffo and Steal. Azlan records and produces music of other performers to keep them from leaving Grahamstown in search of professional studios. Suffo produces music as a means of spreading certain messages to the children of his community. Steal runs his studio as a way of teaching other artists how to produce their own music.

The Big Mesh

Production by Katja Schreiber

While KwaZulu-Natal’s gill nets protect bathers from shark attack, the same nets threaten the province’s sensitive marine life.
The nets work as fishing devices, but rather than merely killing sharks — of which the vast majority are harmless to humans — they trap a wide variety of other marine animals as well. Dolphins, rays, whales, and even critically endangered turtles are all suffering. With bathers facing a 1% risk of shark attack, can the use of shark nets be justified at the expense of our rich marine ecosystem?

Conversations with Paul Myburgh

Production by Jacek Kaminski & Raphaela Linders 24min

“If you want to know then we must talk. There are no short answers, not if you really want to know” – Paul Myburgh.

After living with the Bushmen in the Kalahari Desert for over seven years, Paul John Myburgh shares his thoughts and concepts on their ancient wisdom with modern humanity. Filming numerous conversations with Myburgh, this documentary aims to convey some of his more fundamental philosophies from his film and book, and to remind modern humanity what we have forgotten from the knowledge and way of life of the /Gwikwe bushmen.

I seek a Safe Place

Production by Amaal Salie, Debbie Potgieter & Palesa Mashigo 24min

Over 500,000 Congolese refugees have flocked to South Africa over the past decade, escaping the civil war that has plagued the DRC. Many of them leave their countries with professional qualifications only to arrive in South Africa and are then forced to do menial jobs like car guarding. In addition to this, refugees are often victims of xenophobia and other forms of discrimination due to the misconceived Ideas about why they fled their country of origin. This documentary follows the lives of three Congolese refugees and attempts to change the stereotypical perceptions attached to foreign nationals in South Africa.

Xakhubasa: The White Pride

Production by Robyn Perros and Tassyn Munro 24min

An inside look into the lives of South Africans with albinism; a story of the challenges and the triumphs of living in a country where they are largely marginalized by others who struggle to place them into the proverbial “rainbow nation”. Albinism is a medical condition, yet the social manifestations of albinism are faced on a daily basis by those affected by it. Through the stories of Sphonakaliso Mpisi and Jake Scott, the many myths and misconceptions surrounding people with albinism are tackled in an attempt to bring an end to the ignorance that persists.

Paper Dragons

Production by Minette van der Walt, Katja Screiber & Kirsten Allnutt 24mins

South Africa’s patchwork-quilt of cultures ranges from Khoisan to Afrikaners, Cape Malays, Indians and many others in between. So where do Chinese and Taiwanese fit in? Do they fit in? Who are ‘they’? And what are they doing here? Paper Dragons is a documentary that explores the experiences of Chinese and Taiwanese descendants living in South Africa. The film delves Into the lives of seven individuals, taking the viewer on a journey of cultural exchange. From the rural Free State to Johannesburg’s second China Town, Chinese and Taiwanese communities have a presence that Is both nation-wide and historically significant.

8th Doc Film Fest

The Water Hole

Investigative report by Amaal Salie and Katja Schreiber

This is an investigative documentary which tries to examine the heart of Grahamstown’s on-going water crisis.
You open the tap. A guttural, gurgling sound escapes. You wait for the splutter of water in vain; the tap stays dry. No water.
In Grahamstown, this is an all too a familiar story. Frequent water outages have become the norm, yet with no less scorn or frustration than Eskom’s power cuts. With access to water being not only a right but a lifeline, the myriad problems and unsatisfactory service is both unconstitutional and inhumane.
This investigative piece explores the many questions surrounding the town’s unsatisfactory water service. Water experts and local residents give a holistic overview and explanation of the far-reaching water problems

Book Apartheid

Investigative report by Debbie Potgieter, Palesa Mashigo and Robyn Perros

This 10minute documentary investigates why only 0.5% of all books are accessible to the 800,000 visually impaired persons in South Africa due to copyright laws. The absence of these resources means that visually impaired persons face fewer educational and employment opportunities and higher illiteracy rates — making them one of the countries’ most economically and socially disadvantaged groups. The World Information Property Organization (WIPO) hosts a discussion to remove the strict copyright barriers that help create what is being called the “book famine” or “book apartheid.” We exammine how a bureaucratically burdensome treaty would do nothing to help end the book famine; but if a workable treaty were agreed upon, a new chapter would be opened for the inclusion of blind and print disabled people in our society.

Mud School Crisis – a decade of broken promises

Investigative report by Tassyn Munro, Jack Kaminski & Kirsten Allnutt

In 2004, former president Thabo Mbeki made a promise to eradicate all mud schools in the Eastern Cape, saying that “by the end of [2004], we shall ensure that there is no learner learning under a tree, [or in a] mud school.” But almost a decade later, such a promise is yet to be fulfilled. A team of Rhodes Journalism School TV students set out to investigate the reasons behind the delay in the eradication process, and whether Motshekga’s latest promise of 2015 will not merely be another broken commitment.
The investigation takes place primarily in two districts of the Transkei, namely Dutywa and Libode. These two districts have been effected differently by the eradication process, with Libode being more prioritised than Dutywa. As the investigation uncovers various reasons for the delay in progress, such as road works, contractors, material shortages and mismanagement of funds, the department of education is attempting to fast-track the eradication process through a programme known as the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASIDI).
Report by Tassyn Munro, Jack Kaminski & Kirsten Allnutt

The Capacity to Endure

Investigative report by Minette van der Walt and Raphaela Linders

Zwelendinga and New Rest are informal settlements nestled in a milkwood Forest on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. Residents of these settlements have been living in poor conditions for more than 40 years. Everyday they face tough issues with sanitation, water access and lack of proper housing. After service protests by the community, the local municipality has started to provide standard RDP houses to the communities. However it was soon discovered that these are not a viable option due to the informal settlements location within the milkwood forest. Minette van der Walt and Raphaela Linders went to investigate a proposed solution; sustainable development. The proposed plan is to build a prototype sandbag house as an alternative to the standard RDP houses.

The community’s reaction to the film and an update on the unfolding story are posted at http://youtu.be/ahBXcpTyZkY and http://youtu.be/RdkrHEWXQcM