Approximately 80 small-scale shops and informal retailers in the town of Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, were looted after two Zimbabweans were killed on May 26, allegedly at the hands of a Somali shop owner. The widespread looting is alleged to have been xenophobic, but residents deny this.
Read more here.
His To Keep is a short film by Kenyan filmmaker Amirah Tajdin. It is a story about a Kenyan man’s struggle to deal with painful memories of his and others’ resistance efforts to colonialism. When a phone call forces hurtful experiences to the fore, he realises that time does not necessarily heal all wounds. He remembers loved ones he lost and contemplates the meaning of such pain. The movie screened at the CinemAfrica Sweden festival earlier this year.
His To Keep Trailer from Amirah Tajdin on Vimeo.
A South African feature film shot in less than 11 days may be up for a Guinness World Record.
The attempt officially kicked off at 9am on Wednesday, May 1, for which no preparation was allowed beforehand, while many of the team’s peers were reaping the benefits of a mid-week public holiday.
Ten days and 12 hours later, the film was complete and Shotgun Garfunkel premiered at the Bioscope in Johannesburg’s Maboneng Precinct on 11 May.
The team behind the movie are awaiting Guinness World Record accreditation. The previous record was held by Sivappu Mazhai, a feature from Kolkata, India, which came in at 11 days, 23 hours and 45 minutes to produce
Read more about the making of Shotgun Garfunkel here.
My Mother’s Songs is set in an African landscape and examines inter-generational trauma. The film depicts a series of traumatic experiences through the eyes of several young women who are desperately trying to make sense of their existence. Tanzanian writer and director Erick Msumanje, who was recently awarded the highly-competitive Princess Grace Award for filmmaking, has indeed managed to “push the boundaries of cinematography, aesthetics, and storytelling” with his work.
Migrant farmworker Simpewe Zaducha speaks about her experience of crossing the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe illegally.