Author: Voices of Africa

Dear White People

A ‘satire about being a black face in a white place’, Dear White People follows a group of African American students as they navigate campus life and relationships in a predominantly white college. Written, directed and produced by Justin Simien, it won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the Sundance Film Festival.

“Seeming to draw equal measures of inspiration from Whit Stillman and Spike Lee, but with his own tart, elegant sensibility very much in control, Simien evokes familiar campus stereotypes only to smash them and rearrange the pieces,” a review in the New York Times reads.

Dear White People will be released on October 17.

10 years ago

Exploring the West’s fascination with ‘saving’ Africa

FRAMED trailer from Cassandra Herrman on Vimeo.

Framed, a new documentary in the making, takes a critical look at activism in Africa and the representation of aid recipients as victims. It investigates the West’s relationship to Africa and questions why it doesn’t focus its aid efforts on local communities in the US.

The documentary features Kenyan photojournalist Boniface Mwangi, Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina and South African-born educator Zine Magubane, who ask a range of questions about the “selling of suffering”.

Directed by Cassandra Herrman, the team behind the project are raising funds on Kickstarter to complete it. In their words: “We’re making this film because we believe it’s about something that should matter to all of us. ‘Framed’ examines the western relationship to Africa and Africans but it’s also about how we create difference, how we unconsciously make some people more powerful and others weaker, and how it’s often easier to do that than to take a hard look at ourselves. We want this film to spark conversation and debate among students, educators, families, friends and colleagues.”

10 years ago

Winning films: ‘From dream to screen’ in 48 hours

Can you make a film from scratch in two days? Contestants in the 48 Hour Film Project recently held in Nairobi did just that. On Friday November 29, 200 budding filmmakers from across the capital were put into teams, made to choose a genre out of a hat, and got to work writing scripts, shooting and editing. They were also given a prop, a character, and a line of dialogue that had to be included in their film.

All of the films that were submitted on Sunday night screened to sold-out audiences at Century Cinemax, The Junction on December 11 and 12. With genres ranging from horror to thriller and romance, audience members were spoilt for choice as they got to cast their vote for “Best Film – Audience Choice”. That honour went to Dead Wrong.