Shedding Light

Report by Charmian Africa

Sangomas have always been a crucial part of African culture. An estimated 60 per cent of the South African population consult traditional healers in the belief that they have the power to cure disease and wash away bad luck — but it all comes at price. Media headlines suggest that serious sangoma related crimes are on the rise but very little attention is paid to more common cases where people have been exploited by some sangomas for money. We find the case of Iris Morris who lost her life’s savings to a sangoma.
Charmian Africa’s portfolio is here

No Nukes at Thyspunt

Report by Tarryn Ross

We take a look at the proposed site where Eskom plans the second and largest nuclear power station to be built in South Africa. The site has been declared as unsuitable by locals and experts and this piece looks into the fears and distaste of the relevant stakeholders. We explore the environmental hazards and risks a nuclear power plant could pose to the sensitive area of Thyspunt and the surrounds of Jeffrey’s Bay and St. Francis Bay.
Tarryn Ross’s portfolio is here

Blanche’s Hedgehog

Reprot by Christopher Tucker

Blanche’s Hedgehog looks into the life of a woman living with cancer. Marianne Tucker, a pharmacist from Johannesburg, has been living with cancer for the past four years. She has always expressed that people should not be scared of death but scared of not living the life they have been given – to the full. It is this positive outlook on life that allows her to have the strength to go for weekly chemotherapy sessions and still get up for work.
Christopher’s portfolio is here

RU Disabled?

Report by Gabi Zietsman

How does a disabled person experience university? At Rhodes University, an event was held where students and staff could experience what it was like to be disabled for a day….
On 27 September 2012, able-bodied staff and students could experience one of three impairments, namely sight, mobility and hearing. In orange shirts with the bold slogan RU Disabled? The New Apartheid. Separate but equal? printed on the back, the participants went about their day as they faced new types of obstacles. Tim Stones, the disability advisor for Rhodes, is hard of hearing and believes that Rhodes is very much behind in their accessibility for disabled students. Adrian Hubbard, a wheelchair specialist at CE Mobility and paralympian, has been in a wheelchair since his twenties and talks about the importance of an accessible environment for equality. The third interviewee was one of the participants, John Vries, who is a student and experienced being in a wheelchair for the day.
Gabi Zietsman’s portfolio is found here

The Calling – Ubizo

Reprot by Enathi Mqokeli

The Calling is a fascinating part of the Xhosa and Zulu culture – which believes that the ancestors chose your life’s path. This piece shows the journey of Nondithini Samson, a lady who first questioned and then later agreed to accept the calling and the spiritualjourney. Even though she was sceptical she finally decided to accept it and acknowledge that she is the chosen one and there is nothing she can do. She has to submit to being a traditional diviner.
Enathi Mqokeli’s portfolio is found here

Port Alfred – The Recovery

Report by Candyce Bruce

Destruction was left in the wake of 2012 floods in Port Alfred. We look at the recovery process that people in the region currently face. A suburban resident recalls the Southdowns Avenue Bridge being washed away leaving the Southdowns area completely cut off. However, the community came together and rebuilt the road. This is juxtaposed with people who are housed at the Ingubo Community Hall after their houses were washed away. The ability to recover seems to lie only in the hands of the privileged.
Candyce Bruce’s portfolio is found here

Loaves & Fishes

Report by Candice Ford

Loaves & Fishes is an organisation in Port Alfred that gives monthly food parcels to families who are battling financially. This documentary shows the stories of two women who have been helped by the initiative; how their relationships and lives are being restored. Corrie Parsons is the main facilitator of Loaves and Fishes. The organisation gives out food to those in need, but more importantly gives them the helping hand that they need
See Candice’s portfolio here

Chevrolet Warriors Sunfoil Series Preview

Report by Justin Archer

The Chevrolet Warriors have recently embarked on their 2012/13 season and are focused on success in this year’s Sunfoil Series. While the Warriors are known for their recent success in the shorter forms of the game the team is motivated on doing well in the four day format and a lot of preparation has gone on during the off season to ensure they are prepared. The team is also buoyed by the return of Captain Davy Jacobs, after being sidelined from first class cricket for over two years. We assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team and look ahead at what’s to come.
Justin’s portfolio is found here

Making Mead

Report by Martin Bleazard

Making Mead
At an abandoned power station just out of Grahamstown, Dr Garth Cambray makes mead traded as Iquilika, the isiXhosa term for the alcohol made from the fermentation of honey. Here he takes us through the process and explains his philosophy on how he makes this product sustainably and locally.
Martin Bleazard’s porfolio is found here

Foreign Affairs – the documentary

Report by Sungeni Chitambo

This 5 minuter aims to show the lack of human rights employed in the way the South African Home Affairs Department conducts its operations. We follow the story of Ben who was detained by Immigration Officers in Grahamstown in the worst of conditions. With the same heartless abuse of power by the police during apartheid being reflected in the way Home Affairs officials treat foreign nationals, it looks as though history is repeating itself.
Sungeni Chitambo’s portfolio is here

Home of Joy

Report by Julie Campbell

This documentary is a profile on Home of Joy Youthcare centre in Joza, Grahamstown. It introduces Margaret Ngcangca who runs Home of Joy, children who live there and one of the volunteers who helps out there. The video shows the amazing love Mama Margaret invests in these abandoned, sick or orphaned children, and shows people how they can help Home of Joy.
Julie Campbell’s portfolio is foudn here

RUTV4 Doc Fest 2012

Pics of the fab event are found here.
Thanks to the The Big Wang Club Nightlife Project

Two Stories

Production by Martin Bleazard, Justin Archer & Rosanna Scott 24mins

Winner of the Audience Prize 2012 at the 7th RUTV Documentary Film Festival

Two Stories profiles the experiences and impact of two people from different backgrounds. Jan and Nosiphokazi live in two townships in the Eastern Cape. Their presence in these places has affected them and those around them profoundly.
Nosiphokazi Fihlani, a corrective rape survivor, lives in the Grahamstown township and stands bravely against those who discriminate against her and so inspires other lesbians to be open in a community that wants to keep them silenced.
Jan Blom, a rowing coach from Holland, came to the Port Alfred township after his partner died and started an organization to train disadvantaged children in sports and basic education.

Facing the Music

Production by Sungeni Chithambo, Charmian Africa & Thomas Mills. 24min

Music is a recreational activity offered in prisons nationwide. Five male ex-convicts in Grahamstown explain their crimes and show the power that music has played by giving them discipline, self-worth, focus and an occupation to help avoid further crime. Music alone cannot be credited; the characters highlight the importance of family support as a driving force behind successful reintegration into society and a curb to potential re-offense. This documentary takes a look at Norman Plaatjie and friends, all ex-prisoners trying to re-adapt into the community.

The Red Ribbon Drug

Production by Tarryn Ross, Kelley Wake & Christopher Tucker – 24min

South Africa has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world: with women being the most vulnerable sector. We share the lives of HIV positive women whose prognoses have been dramatically changed since the roll-out of anti-retrovirals – the Red Ribbon Drugs. While ARV’s prove to be the miracle drugs that allow infected persons to live a full life, the stigma remains and the rate of infection is still climbing. We meet people living positively with the virus, re-examine the failed history of the state’s disease intervention and find out how ARVs are being misused by people in the Eastern Cape.

Woodstock – The Art of Living

Production by Aimee Caulfield, Candice Ford & Gabi Zietsman 24min

Woodstock in Cape Town is emerging as an artistic suburb fostering a tightly-knit and diverse community adapting the dilapidated charm of a notorious inner city suburb with some simple innovative design interventions. We see how some professionals within the community make a difference and are drawn to the inclusive spirit that the community can offer. Violet’s Walk, a Peace Garden, a graffiti project, radical cycling and other innovative projects offer a model of a mixed community adapting to an urban future without passively waiting for commercial development and central planning.