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Rights to Dignity

Tamzyn Degoumois, Phumzile Manana & Robyn McCormick Human Rights Documentary

Thirteen years ago, Colley Mpako lost the use of his legs after being stabbed multiple times in a mugging. He has undergone intensive treatment and therapy in Cape Town and is in a wheelchair. He is an outspoken activist for the rights of people with physical impairments.
We spent a day seeing how Colley lives his life to the full despite being in a wheelchair. Colley talks to us about the lack of accessibility to buildings, pavements and transport in Grahamstown and how this affects his ability to get around, as well as the way he is treated by physically able people. His experiences bring insight to the struggles that physically impaired people face in finding employment and equal treatment because of “the blind eye” that is turned on them by those who have the power to improve the situation.

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Mohammed seeking refuge

Produced by Jess Levy, Sbongile Mafu, Richard Moor and Anesu Chingono

This 5 minute documentary follows Mohammed Usman Aslam for a day in his life. He travels to Home Affairs to see if anyone can help him sort out his papers for his application for Refugee Asylum. His requests have been rejected, on the basis that his claim does not qualify him for Refugee Asylum. Mohammed, however, has been taken advantage of by the consultant supplied by home Affairs who wrote an incorrect account of his claim for Refugee status.

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Sound Portraits

The first exercise for the year had each student producing a short sound portrait of a physical place whereby the sound track alone would provide the narrative of the place.

Wheels and Squeals
Jess Levy

This is a sound portrait of Wesson’s Tyre’s in Grahamstown. I was very struck by the sense of magnificence in the menial and ‘dirty’ tasks. This piece, for me, speaks about finding beauty in the mundane and the mechanical.

The sounds of Thai
Anesu Chingono

Ruan Thai is a restaurant that serves authentic Thai cuisine. This clip evokes the ‘warmth’ associated with restauranti as it portrays it not only as a pleasant restaurant to enjoy your meal but a place where one can relax and be calm.

Pick & Pay at night
Kyla Herrmannsen

Pick ‘n Pay is all hustle and bustle during the day but, what happens there at night? This video looks at the duties of the shelf packers, the security guard and the money counters after hours. This story evokes an atmosphere in which the consumerism behind chain stores such as Pick ‘n Pay is brought to light. When we remove something off a shelve and then buy it during the day we do not stop to think about the person who placed the goods on the shelf and how they will be re-packing the shelves night after night for our purchasing convenience. These people have families that they should be spending night times with; they should not be spending hours and hours re-stocking shelves only for the shelves to be emptied again. This piece aims to a side of Pick ‘n Pay that is beyond the consumers’ reach.

Men at Work
Laura Wener

Looking around the quaint town of Grahamstown, one is astounded at the amount of building and construction going on. From multi-storey apartments to drive-thru restaurants the town is expanding at a very fast pace!
Take a look inside one of the many sites within the Grahamstown and be a part of the drilling, shovelling and bull-dozing.

Casino Sounds
Katherine Robinson

Sound portrait of V-Slots in Grahamstown, where sounds of gaming and gambling come alive.

Taxi
Gregory Alrdidge

A sound portrait of a bustling hub of activity: The Grahamstown Taxi Rank which is rich in colour and sound on a busy Saturday morning.

People of the Taxi Rank
Nontobeko Sibisi

Taxi ranks are one of the many places where many South Africans rub shoulders, exchange money and banter. There are a number of interactions and activities that that take place; take-away stand commonly known as “chisa’nayama”, vendors selling wares to commuters andconductors, or Taxi Sliding Door Operators as they would like to be called.

A Choice Salon
Paul Harris

First Choice Hair Salon is in the centre of Grahamstown, both in terms of situation and in the hearts of the salon’s faithful clientele. My portrait of a place takes a journey into the everyday functioning’s of the salon, exploring all the different sounds and activities that one finds there, smoothed over by some ever present jazz in the background.

Panel Beating
Richard Moor

Cars tneed panel beating usually from made a mistake. This piece serves to illustrate that mistakes can be corrected. If something is worth fixing, don’t give up on it until it’s fixed.

Sounds like Grocotts’ Mail
Sibongile Mafu

Grocotts Mail.The newsroom has a constant buzz as it sits atop an antique shop which has a steady ringing printing press. The reporters are alive with story ideas and the editor is always on their case. This is a newsroom like no other. Small yes, but not unimportant. The newsroom is a place where hard work can be seen as staff go about their business.
See how a newspaper in a small city meets a bi-weekly deadline with a staff compromising largely of eager students, honing their craft, always looking to do that much extra. It is a place filled with youthful exuberance a place where deadlines need to be met and the quality of work produced needs to be high. It is also a place of reflection. This is Grocotts Mail.

Sounds of the Salon
Zikhona Tshona

A sound portrait of Blessing Hair Salon in Grahamstown: Ghanaians who have come to South Africa in search of hope for a better life, work at the hair salon everyday to put food on the table. This captures the hair cutting, washing and drying.

Shooting Stars
Phumzile Manana

Shooting stars is a performance school for toddlers.,Learners are taught musical skills along with the play that would take place at any other play school. Shooting stars also has obstaclel courses set up for the children to help with their development. Each week there is a different theme to aid learning, from sea animals to music, This is a day in shooting stars school, the theme for this week was nursery rhymes.

Alpha Belts
Tamzyn Degoumois

Alpha Belts is a two person company working out of the Provost in Grahamstown. The company produces handmade and hand stitched leather belts and bags. The mood of the piece is one of passion and love for creativity and the art of working with your hands.

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4th DOC FILM FEST – 22 Oct 2009

4th DOC FILM FEST – 22 Oct 2009


Come and vote for the best documentaries at the RUTV 4th Doc Film Festival at Roxbury. Sit back and enjoy our insightful, provocative and entertaining cinematography produced on location in Scotland, Cape Town, Durban, Port St Johns and, of course, Grahamstown.

The 4th Doc Film Festival will give you insight into Camp for Climate protest action, unscrupulous traditional healers, the lives of roadside pineapple sellers, Xhosa surfing culture, religious con-artists and new government relocation camps in Cape Town, amongst many other fascinating topics.

Venue: Roxbury Cine, Peppergrove Mall
Date: 22 October 2009
Time: 7pm for 7.30pm

Dress: Red Carpet
Drinks and light snacks will be served.

Tickets: R25 – available from the secretary at the AMM d.moriarty@ru.ac.za

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Having Trouble Watching Videos?

Try using VLC Player, it’s free, and plays most formats. All of our RUTV4 work should run without any problems if using VLC. You can download it here: vlc-media-player

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Blikkiesdorp

Blikkiesdorp

Winner of the Audience Award for best 24min at the RUTV Doc Fest

Crabapple Productions
24 min
Leila Dougan, Daniel Epstein, Azwihangwisi Mufamadi & Matthew Von Abo

40km’s outside of Cape Town residents of Blikkiesdorp are trying to make new lives for themselves. Coming from all around Cape Town, residents are either paid or forced to go to this temporary relocation area. The old residents of Gympie Street are the most recent to arrive in the new township, but they won’t be the last. In 2007 the cape High Court ruled that 20000 Joe Slovo residents relocate to Blikkiesdorp so that Joe Slovo can be developed. But how temporary is the Blikkiesdorp housing scheme? And can residents make lives for themselves there?

Download Blikkiesdorp

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Ilisa Elikhulu – The Big Wave

Ilisa Elikhulu – The Big Wave

Mass Productions
24min doc
Alna Dall, Matthew Edwards, Jade Fernley

“Once I stop surfing, no, there will be no life for me”- Anele Maqaqa, Port St John’s surfer.
Beautiful scenery, good waves and good friendships. A winning combination for Anele, Avu and Zama, three Port St John’s boys who live to surf. The boys have grown up on the Eastern Cape coast with the sea almost in their backyard, as well as a very helpful surf school that has helped them excel in what they live to do. Watch to see the challenges they face both in and out of the water!

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The Gospel of Con

The Gospel of Con

stu.d.jo productions
24 min
Danielle Brock, Stuart Buchanan & Jolanta Slomkowski

What happens when you are on an investigation and you realise that your findings could land you in court? Well, this is what happened to the crew of stu.d.jo productions while spending time at a particular church in Durban for three weeks. All sorts of stories have circulated about this church and its various practices over the years, from exploiting the poor to sacrificing children! We set out to find out more about them, but realised very quickly that they wouldn’t like what we had to say. But…we said it anyway! So please don’t sue us. Thanks.

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“I will die by the bullet”

“I will die by the bullet”

Under Construction Productions
2009 24mins
Lubabalo Dada, Fathima Simjee & Michelle Solomon

“Mama, I will not die of sickness. I will die by the bullet”. On 12 July 2009, Oscar Dondashe was shot dead for his cell phone. We tell the story about the night his prediction came true and the consequences of that night. A mother’s grief after losing her son. A man accused of murder. A brother seeking revenge. Oscar is only one of thousands that die by the bullet every day. We hope that this documentary may offer some, albeit small and somewhat disturbing, consolation to those families who have suffered at the hands of gun violence – you are not alone.

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Victim/Survivor

Victim/Survivor

Danielle Brock
5min

Rape. Traumatic and never forgotten. It takes control of your life. Or does it? It is just over a year since Jes experienced a crime so common to South Africa and it still plays a major role in her life – but for the better. They may have taken a lot from her, but she wasn’t going to let them take anymore. She turned the negative into the positive and, after not knowing where her future was taking her, discovered her destiny. This is her story.

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Prisoners of Orgone

Prisoners of Orgone

Stuart Buchanan
5min

Georg Ritschl is the founder of orgoniseafrica.com, a site that sells the substance orgonite, used to combat the bad energy given off by cellphone towers and other technology. Ritschl has been using the profits of his sales to also embark on ‘gifting’ expeditions around Africa, ensuring there is enough orgonite coverage to stave off large-scale weather and mind manipulation, perpetrated by a sinister force that runs the world. On his latest expedition, Ritschl faced the wrath of a not-very-understanding Mozambiquan legal system while trying to ‘gift’ the Cahora Bassa Dam. After spending 53 days in jail, this is his story.

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The Gift of Art

The Gift of Art

Lubabalo Dada
5min

When Linga started art he did not have an idea of what he can do with it. He was just making beautiful pictures. As he was growing up he decided to use his art to talk about social and political uses that affect poor people in South Africa. Despite growing in an environment where art was not appreciated Linga managed to persist. Now he is a happy man who is making a living from something that was thought to be a waste of time.

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Warriors of the Light

Warriors of the Light

Alna Dall
5min

Chris Nthombemhlophe Reid takes us on a journey through spirituality. The spirituality he speaks of knows no difference between “religion, culture or creed”. Being a white Sangoma he explains, isn’t about how people perceive you, but rather what you can give to others. We document Chris’s participation in a Sangoma praise-giving ceremony and beautiful people from all walks of life in vibrantly coloured traditional Xhosa clothing celebrate the acceptance of another sister into their homes and hearts.

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Ken Jy Die See

Ken Jy Die See

Leila Dougan
5min

Kalk Bay is home to a variety of fishermen, one being Michael Roux. He goes out daily to catch snoek, yellowtail and silverfish. This is an exploration of his day at sea and his concerns regarding the industry and risky working conditions. As he unpacks his fish at the harbour he speaks of his love for the ocean. It is through our relationship with him that we begin to understand what it takes to be a fisherman.

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Pineapples For Sale

Pineapples For Sale

Winner of the Audience Award for the best 5min individual at the RUTV Doc Fest

Matthew Edwards
5min

One day in 1865, Charles Purden returned to the Eastern Cape with freshly cut pineapple crowns from Natal, to be planted in the greater Grahamstown area. Today, the pineapples industry in the Eastern Cape is one of the biggest in the country. But a large industry doesn’t always mean good business. Three women tell you their stories about life on the road … with pineapples.

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Don’t Let The Buggers Get You Down

Don’t Let The Buggers Get You Down

Daniel Epstein
5min

In South Lanarkshire, Scotland, a group of protestors are opposing the establishment of a new mine. They’ve set up camp on the proposed site, determined to keep contractors at bay. They’re the Mainshill Solidarity Camp. Driven by green-politics, and a strong dislike for corporate governance, the campers are more than willing to “break the law to do what they feel is right”

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