Category: Multimedia

New TV drama on SA screens

Isibaya is a new Zulu television drama series on South African screens. It is set against the backdrop of South Africa’s taxi industry and tells the story of a generational battle for wealth and power between the Zungus and the Ndlovus, two rival families that live in Thukela Valley. In the past, the two families battled over cattle but the taxi business has become the new hot commodity. Scenes depicting the Ndlovu home were filmed at taxi legend Godfrey Moloi’s mansion in Protea-Glen, Soweto. Moloi, known as the godfather of Soweto, was also the inspiration behindIsibaya. For more about Isibaya, read Rhodé Marshall’s review.

 

Our World is Round

Our World is Round is a short film by Kenyan filmmaker and artist Mũchiri Njenga about the country’s star cyclist, David Kinjah. It chronicles how Kinja discovered the sport and turned it into a professional career. Kinjah’s efforts to transform the lives of the people in his village through the power of the bike is inspirational, and has resulted in an initiative called the Safari Simbaz Trust. The organisation gives underprivileged youth in Kenya the opportunity to develop their athletic prowess.

 

 

God Loves Uganda: Trailer

Roger Ross Williams’s feature documentary explores the role of the evangelical American movement in Africa, with a particular focus on Uganda. It follows the Kansas City-based International House of Prayer and local religious leaders who are hellbent on eliminating “sexual sin”, and reveals their attempts to influence the Ugandan government to criminalise homosexuality. A review by David Courier of the Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in January, reads: “Masterfully crafted and astonishingly provocative, God Loves Uganda may be the most terrifying film of the year.” Visit godlovesuganda.com for more.

Child marriage in South Sudan

Human Rights Watch report has called on South Sudan to increase efforts to protect girls from widespread child marriage in the country. The practice “exacerbates pronounced gender gaps in school enrollment, contributes to soaring maternal mortality rates, and violates the right of girls to be free from violence, and to marry only when they are able and willing to give their free consent.”  According to government statistics, close to 48% of South Sudanese girls between 15 and 19 are married, some as young as age 12.

Tunisian youth and conservatives clash over the Harlem Shake

The internet’s latest viral video craze, the Harlem Shake, is just 30 seconds of gyrating fun – but in Tunisia, it has sparked outrage. Conservative Muslims have condemned students who’ve made their own copycat videos, and the education ministry is investigating the principal of a high school where one of many “indecent” videos was filmed.  Animosity between religious conservatives and secularists is growing – in the coastal city of Mahdia, one student received 12 stitches after being beaten for doing the Harlem Shake. Similar violent clashes have been reported in the city of Sfax and the town of Sousse.