SMGS Productions 24min
Dan ‘Joe’ Edmeades, Xoli Matomela, Hayley Mueller
Come on this journey with us; crossing through old divides, some virtual, some real. Charl and Johan take us through their lives, skating on the edges of society, slightly Vladimir and Estragon type characters, Fear and Loathing in Grahamstown. We journey with people who live lives that defy notions of boundaries, rules and borders.
fences-hi fences-lo
LIT UP Productions 24min
Dan Calderwood, Pippa Erlich, Jade Menenzies, Tasmin Vosloo
Judah Square in Knysna is one of South Africa’s largest formal Rastafari settlements. There is very little real understanding about the Rastafari movement. From an outsider’s point of view, Rastas are often seen as ganga smoking layabouts. This prejudice falls far short of reality. The spiritual values and ideals embodied in Rastafari should not be overlooked by modern society. At the same time, like any faith, it has complex problematic elements.
i & i looks into the lives of four characters living in Judah Square. Leah, Jackie, Shakashi and Maxi. They are four very diverse people with very different backgrounds. They are united however, in their shared identity as Rastafari. This documentary features different aspects of their lives as they live out their faith as individuals and culminates with the bi-monthly church ceremony or Binghi.
i&i-hi i&i-lo
Everyday people with alternative beliefs
FAB Productions 24mins
Ashleigh Nash, Demelza Bush & Gabrielle Gray
Matters of Faith is a 24 minute documentary that examines the beliefs, rituals and practices of “alternative” religions and the occult. Through five subjects, the audience is given a basic overview of each belief structure. The religions explored are paganism, wiccan, discordianism, satanism and the beliefs of Aleister Crowley. The film is not necessarily dark but hinges on a narrative thread of good versus evil and the serious effects of black magic.
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Demelza Bush 5min
“Andrè/a” is the very personal and touching story of Andrea Mulder, a male to female transexual living in Grahamstown with her wife and son. Andrea only came out as a transexual in her fifties and in this documentary she talks about learning how to live and behave as a female, the social pressures she faced to “be a man” while she was growing up as well as what it feels like to finally be able to be herself. The main aim of “Andrè/a” is to deconstruct society’s need to other people who are different from the ‘norm’ and prove that inside, we are all the same.
andrea-hi andrea-lo
Tasmin Vosloo 5min
In 1993 abortion was made legal in South Africa with certain limitations. Despite this, the number of ‘backstreet’, illegal abortions is increasing rapidly. Access to adequate healthcare is not always a viable option for women and the consequences are severe, with bogus abortionists and street doctors preying on desperate, uneducated and vulnerable women. Backstreet Abortions is an investigation into illegal abortions, specifically a man named “Dr Khan” who conducts “safe & pain-free” abortions at any stage of a women’s pregnancy.
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David ‘Joe’ Edmeades 5min
Alicedale is typical of many small towns in South Africa, a place of extreme poverty, with townspeople that are under-educated and unemployed. Alicedale lost most of its hope after the collapse of the railways in South Africa. However there are always certain individuals who strive to make a difference within their community. For the past 10 years Alicedale Community Richening Empowerment (CARE), an organisation directed by Pumla Gojela assisted by a few women volunteers has set out with a vision of creating community and social upliftment in Alicedale. This insert demonstrates the positive impact the organisation’s work is having on the children and women within the community.
care-hi care-lo