African Studies Media Catalog
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21 Up South Africa (DVD : 68 min. ) [2007]
DVD 9883
Abstract: Featuring scenes shot in 1992, 1999 and 2006, this documentary follows the lives of South African children -- rich and poor, black, white and 'mixed race' -- from all over the country, from the townships to the bushveldt. In the process 21 Up South Africa offers unique insights into the social and political changes occurring throughout the country since the fall of Apartheid. First filmed as 7-year-olds in 1992, these 11 individuals are ordinary South Africans growing up at a time of enormous social change. We see them now at the age of 21 making their way in the new South Africa and, as we roll back time in this unique chronicle of their lives, we also see them aged 14 and 7. We see where they started -- in township slums, old-school mansions and white suburbs -- their world divided along racial lines, as the policy of apartheid begins to crumble. While the fall of apartheid presented them with new opportunities, it also confronted them with new challenges. In successive interview sessions, characterized by disarming honesty, touches of humor and sadness, we see how their attitudes and experiences changed regarding many issues, from race relations and educational opportunities, crime and unemployment, to marriage and the AIDS crisis, which has already claimed the lives of several of the children.
Director: Angus Gibson Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, psychology, child development, history, politics
46664: The Concert (DVD : 388 min. ) [2004]
DVD 4339
Abstract: The title refers to former President Nelson Mandela's one-time prison number, which he loaned to this benefit concert to raise awareness of the threat of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and of the need for action in response. Performances include: Abdel Wright, Anastacia, Andrews Bonsu, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Beyoncé, Bob Geldof, Bongo Maffin, Bono, Danny K, Eurythmics, Jimmy Cliff, Johnny Clegg, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ms. Dynamite, Paul Oakenfold, Peter Gabriel, Queen, The Corrs, The Edge, Watershed, Youssou N'Dour, Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens), Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Zucchero. Special features: press launch in London when Nelson Mandela announces the event to the world's media; documentary showing the making of 46664; artist interviews about the event and why they support the 46664 campaign; footage from a visit to Khayelitsha to see the Mothers 2 Mothers-2-Be and Baphumelele Children's Home projects; 12 one-minute films by contemporary visual artists representing their vision on HIV/AIDS; Spirit of Africa documentary; photo gallery featuring all of the artists.
Director: David Mallet Distributor:Warner Strategic Marketing
Keywords: South Africa, concert recording, HIV/AIDS, music, Nelson Mandela, health, popular culture, performance, media
6000 a Day: An Account of a Catastrophe Foretold (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8188
Abstract: How the failure of key individuals, prominent NGO's, and governments to act allowed a catastrophe to fester--a catastrophe that undoubtedly could have been avoided. Since it appeared 20 years ago, AIDS has left behind it a trail of destruction. This film answers the question 'why did the world wait so long to react', and dissects the key moments in the global response to the epidemic. By examining this human catastrophe, the film reveals a global rift that helped the disease to spread. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 16).
Director: Philippe Brooks Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, NGO, international cooperation, government policy
7-Up in South Africa (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 6507
Abstract: The South African children in the film were just visited in 1991 and will be documented again in seven years. Of all the Age seven films, this one is unique in that the compelling portraits of the bright and charming children are strikingly contrasted with the social turbulence that surrounds them.
Director: Angus Gibson Distributor:Shanachie Entertainment Corporation
Keywords: South Africa, children, social conditions, history, youth
A Luta Continua (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8253
Abstract: An HIV-positive group from Khaleyitsha, Cape Town make short films to show at public venues like taxi ranks and shopping malls in Cape Town's townships. They are present at these screenings, in which they strive to disclose their status, discuss HIV and AIDS issues, and clear up audience misconceptions about HIV and AIDS. Shows portions of the filming and the films themselves, interspersed with group members discussing their lives. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 14).
Director: Jack Lewis Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, HIV/AIDS, activism, popular culture, Steps for the Future
Act of Faith (An): The Phelophepa Health Train (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8923
Abstract: A group of health professionals spends nine months of each year touring the poorest and most remote areas of South Africa. This program catches up with the train in the province of KwaZulu Natal, where there's just one doctor for every 4,000 people. With a full contingent of volunteer doctors, dentists, optometrists, and health educators on board, the 'good clean health train' delivers quality health care to deprived rural communities.
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Natal, health care, poverty
Africa in the 21st Century (Videocassette : 147 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS. VHS 7506, 7507, 7508
Abstract: A series of three videos presenting aspects of contemporary life in different regions of Africa: Somalia: The Neglected Civil War, Mali and Senegal: the Power of Islam, Zimbabwe & South Africa.
Director: NA Distributor:Filmakers Library, Inc.
Keywords: Mali, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Africa: Search for Common Ground (Videocassette NA ) [2005]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Seven-part series by the NGO, Search for Common Ground, which emphasizes conflict resolution, prevention and transformation. Contents: Program 1-- Thokoza Video Dialogues for Peace; Program 2 -- When Things Fall Apart (Congo), Breaking the Cycle: Domestic Violence (South Africa); Program 3 --'Reconciliation Radio (Burundi), Democracy or Disruption - Wangari Maathai and Green Belt (Kenya); Program 4 -- The Hunt for Witches (South Africa); Program 5 -- A.T. Toure and the Peace Flame (Mali), Water, Water Everywhere (Lesotho); Program 6 -- Under the Baobab Tree (South Africa), Making the Angola Peace Song (Angola); Program 7 -- Between Confession and Prosecution: Truth and Reconciliation (South Africa).
Director: NA Distributor:Search for Common Ground
Keywords: Angola, Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, South Africa, conflict resolution, violence, TRC
African Jim (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4562
Abstract: Made in 1949, African Jim was the first film made in South Africa to have an all-black cast. Now considered a classic, the film also includes some great jazz singers of the period (Sam Maile, The African Inkspots, and Dolly Rathebe). The plot tells a simple story of a country lad who comes to the city to look for work, takes some knocks while adjusting to city life, but comes out on top when his singing talent is discovered. The film was a sensation for black audiences, who had never before seen their own heroes on screen.
Director: NA Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, popular culture, history, feature film
African Religions (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1978]
V. CASS. VHS 2866
Abstract: Visits the Zulu Independent Churches of South Africa to explore the Black African response to Christianity. Traces the history of religious beliefs inAfrica from the arrival of the first Christian missionaries to the current rediscovery of the African religious identity.
Director: Jonathan Stedall Distributor:Ambrose Video
Keywords: South Africa, religion, history, missionaries
Aftertaste (Videocassette : 36 min. ) [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8332
Abstract: This video focuses on two South African wine farms where 'empowerment' projects have recently been started in response to calls for change. The wine farm workers receive part of the profits from the sale of 'empowerment' brand wine Winds of Change. They have used this money to buy their own houses and shares in the wine farm business. On the surface, these 'empowerment' projects seem to be a radical departure from the abusive, paternalistic labor relationship between farm owners and workers that has existed for so long. But the legacy of centuries of abuse cannot be eradicated overnight.
Director: Ceridwen Dovey Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: South Africa, viticulture, economic development
Allan Boesak (Motion Picture : 28 min. ) [1984]
MP-16MM 363
Abstract: Depicts Allan Boesak's work against segregation in South Africa.
Director: Hugo Cassirer and Nadine Gordimer Distributor:Felix Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, politics
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony (DVD : 103 min. ) [2002]
DVD 4122
Abstract: Tells the story of black South African freedom music and the central role it played against apartheid. Specifically considers the music that sustained and galvanized blacks for more than 40 years. Focuses on the struggle's spiritual dimension named for the Xhosa word for power. An uplifting story of human courage, resolve and triumph. Individuals featured include: Vusi Mahlasela, Jeremy Cronin, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Sophie Mgcina, Dolly Rathebe, Sifiso Ntuli, Abdullah Ibrahim and Duma Ka Ndlovu.
Director: Lee Hirsh Distributor:Artisan Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, nationalism, music, history, popular culture, performance, politics
Analysis of the Economic and Ethnic Composition of South Africa (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
VC NO. 466 LAW LIBRARY
Abstract: Abstract not available.
Director: Phyllis Dannhauser Distributor:South African Communication Service. Film and Video Production Unit.
Keywords: South Africa, economy, population, ethnicity
Angola é A Nossa Terra (Videocassette : 45 min. ) [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 6901
Abstract: Angolan women are rarely heard describing the impact of South Africa's undeclared war against their country. This moving documentary, produced in conjunction with the Organization of Angolan Women (OMA), highlights the contribution women make to the reconstruction of a country where war has consumed more than half the national budget and produced at least a million internal refugees.
Director: Jenny Morgan Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Angola, South Africa, war, women, history, politics
Apartheid Revisited: Confronting History (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 5091
Abstract: Developed by the Bill of Rights Education Program of the A.C.L.U., Project HIP-HOP (Highways Into the Past, History, Organizing & Power) is a 'traveling classroom.' In the summer of 1996, veterans of previous 'HIP-HOP' excursions traveled to South Africa. Their goal was to learn about the history of South Africa and the resistance movement that led to the end of apartheid.
Director: Charlotte Angel and Kyle Boyd Distributor:Cambridge Educational
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, history, race relations, education
Apostles of Civilised Vice (Videocassette : 2 videos min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6956 pt. 1 & pt. 2
Abstract: A history of same-sex desire which investigates lesbian and gay experience and personalities from colonial times to the present. Between 1910 and 1933 thousands of men were convicted of sodomy and 'unnatural offences.' The majority of those tried, convicted and imprisoned were black. For over two centuries of South African history, lesbian and gay stories have been silenced, depriving contemporary queer life of a history.
Director: Zackie Achmat Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, homosexuality, gay men, lesbians, history, law
Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking at the Emory University School of Law 1994 Religious Human Rights Conference (Videocassette : 43 min. ) [1994]
LAW Library VC No 450
Abstract: Archbishop Desmond Tutu's address at the 1994 conference on Religious Human Rights held at the Emory School of Law.
Director: NA Distributor:Emory University School of Law
Keywords: South Africa, Desmond Tutu, human rights, religion, law
Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Bill Moyers (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4863
Abstract: Bill Moyers discusses with Archbishop Desmond Tutu the latter's life and work, in particular the Archbishop's struggle against apartheid.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, Desmond Tutu, history, politics
Athol Fugard: Blood Knot, 1964 (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1996]
V.CASS. VHS 8170
Abstract: Videocassette release of excerpts from the original New York production of Fugard's Blood Knot, filmed in 1964. Story of two South African half-brothers, one black, one white, remembering their lives from two very different perspectives. Cast: James Earl Jones, J.D. Cannon.
Director: NA Distributor:Creative Arts Television
Keywords: South Africa, race relations, drama, apartheid, theater
Ball (The) (Videocassette : 5 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8263
Abstract: The Ball tells the story of Mozambican children who use condoms to make soccer balls. In a dramatization, a man confronts them and accuses them of stealing his condoms. This story illustrates that many people are not using condoms for safer sex, despite their availability. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 24).
Director: Orlando Mesquita Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, Steps for the Future, Drama
Between Joyce and Remembrance (DVD : 68 min. ) [2004]
DVD 7638
Abstract: This video tells the story of one family, the Mtimkulu family, stretching back over two decades. Through the unfolding of personal narratives, this film raises far reaching questions about the nature of truth, forgiveness and reconciliation. It illustrates the ripple effect of an injustice, the disappearance and murder of Siphiwo Mtimkulu, twenty years ago to show how fragile the 'miracle' of South Africa's transition really is.
Director: Mark Kaplan Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, reconciliation, politics, history
Big Balls (Videocassette : 4 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8259
Abstract: Two carpenters, one black, one white, have a crude conversation in a dusty workshop as they construct a coffin. As their blunt banter, heavy with innuendo, continues we discover that all the women these two have slept with have died. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 20).
Director: Heeten Bhagat Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, men, Steps for the Future
Biko (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 688
Abstract: Presents the story of Stephen Biko, using interviews with other South African anti-apartheid activists. Parts of the motion picture Cry Freedom are shown along with interviews of Attenborough and Woods; based on the novel Biko by Donald Woods.
Director: Richard Attenborough Distributor:Filmakers Library Inc.
Keywords: South Africa, Biko, apartheid
Bitter Melons (Motion Picture : 30 min. ) [1971]
MP-16MM 406
Abstract: Portrays the difficulty of survival in the central Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, in a zone where game is scarce because waterholes are dry most of the year. A native musician performs songs about animals, the land, and the social life. Includes traditional music, dances, and children's games. Uses 1955 footage.
Director: John Marshall Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Southern Africa, San (Bushmen), music, hunting
Black Man's Land Trilogy (DVD : 156 min. ) [1986]
Abstract: Three-part series of films consisting of White Man's Country (part 1), Mau Mau (part 2) and Kenyatta (part 3); all of the films combine period photographs and contemporary location footage with the testimony of African and European witnesses. The trilogy covers the violence of colonial rule, white settlement and African resistance in the story of Kenya, as the British tried to make it a 'white man's country' like South Africa or New Zealand. Land was allocated, settlers welcomed, and the 'jewel of the British empire' was born. But it was African land that was taken, African labor that was used to develop it, and African taxes that kept the colonial regime solvent. How did Africans confront this process? White Man's Country tells this story. Mau Mau traces the history of the state of emergency declared by the British Colonial government of Kenya in 1952 in an attempt to subdue the movement among black Kenyans for political and civil rights. Kenyatta offers a biographical account of Jomo Kenyatta, the man who became Kenya's national leader and who eventually led the movement to establish an independent government.
Director: David Koff, Anthony Howarth Distributor:Facets Multimedia
Keywords: Kenya, history, settler colonialism, land, history, politics
Black and White in South Africa (DVD : 30 min. ) [1957]
DVD7540
Abstract: South Africa, one of the largest members of the Commonwealth, a country with full self-government, has an acute race problem that causes dissension not only within its borders but within the Commonwealth and beyond. We see a country of fourteen million people where only one out of five is white. Edgar McInnis gives a dispassionate appraisal of the motivations behind the policy of apartheid and of whether the practice of segregation provides a satisfactory solution.
Director: John Howe Distributor:National Film Board of Canada
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, race, government, history
Body and Soul (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8243
Abstract: In South Africa millions of people are in desperate situations because of HIV and AIDS. This film looks at the attitudes of the three main religions (Christianity, Islam and African traditionalist) in South Africa through interviews with people who must interpret and practice religion in terms of the country's realities. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 4).
Director: Melody Emmett Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, religion, Christianity, Islam, traditional religion, Steps for the Future
Bopha: Arrest (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [1986]
V. CASS. VHS 1036
Abstract: Drama about apartheid.
Director: NA Distributor:Advanced Media
Keywords: South Africa, Bopha, apartheid
Boseman & Lena (DVD : 84 min. ) [2000]
DVD 7813
Abstract: Two ragged wanderers--the bearish Boesman and the wilier Lena -- meet on a riverbank, where they try to scavenge food and firewood in order to survive the night. As they talk, their bitterness about the ways their lives have gone begins to come out, as well as the tragedies they've suffered at the hands of a racist government. Gradually, you realize that they've been husband and wife in a relationship that has been plundered by the poisonous influence of apartheid, reducing them to a level in which they have to remind themselves of their own humanity and their ability to make human connections.
Director: Franocois Ivernel Distributor:Kino International
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, marriage, feature film
Breaker Morant (Videocassette : 103 min. ) [1984]
V. CASS. VHS 284 and VDISC 691
Abstract: After the death of a British captain in the Boer War in South Africa in 1901, Australian Lt. Morant leads his unit in pursuit of the Boers. The execution of a captured Boer and other executions leads to Morant's trial and execution.
Director: NA Distributor:RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Australia, Boers, history, feature film
Bubbles and Me (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
VHS 9175
Abstract: The year was 1976. Bubbles, a model and part of the 'in-crowd,' was a black woman who was unafraid of apartheid and the times she lived in. Jannie was a white Afrikaans body builder who owned a gym in Johannesburg, and was a member of the Nationalist Party. Jannie fell madly in love with Bubbles - Bubbles fell in love with Jannie, 'in her own peculiar way.' Bubbles and Me tells the story of their fated relationship through the eyes of her daughter, Jackie Luthuli, and explores her journey of coming to terms with the mother she never knew. It is a story of love and danger, passion and apartheid. See also The Moon in my Pocket (Kgomotso Matsunyane) and White Girl in Search of the Party (Pat van Heerden). Part of Love Stories, a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Marie Human Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Afrikaans, apartheid, love narratives, Nationalist Party, race relations, romance
Child Brides (The) (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 5783
Abstract: In many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, young girls are often engaged by the age of eight, and leave their homes to join their husbands by twelve. In many cases, the younger the girl, the more her family receives in the form of a dowry. This program travels to the most rural and poverty-stricken regions of Ethiopia to expose the common practice of child brides and the consequences for the young girls who often give birth before they are out of childhood.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: Ethiopia, marriage, ritual, gender
Chip of Glass Ruby (A) (DVD : 20 min. ) [2005]
DVD 7923
Abstract: The celebrated South African writer Nadine Gordimer describes her short story about the relationship of a Muslim Indian couple in South Africa in the 1950s. With clips from the film version of the story, the author describes how she writes and why she wrote this particular story, and comments on the role of writing in the social and political context of South Africa.
Director: Ross Devenish Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, East Indians, Gordimer, literature, apartheid, race
Choose Life (Videocassette : 4 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8262
Abstract: Choose life is Mozambican music video centered around the funeral of a young man who has died of AIDS. It stresses that people should cherish and enjoy life while acting responsibly regarding HIV and AIDS. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the of AIDS/HIV (Volume 23).
Director: Dorothy Brislin Ntone Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, music, funeral ritual, Steps for the Future
Choosing Exile (DVD : 55 min. ) [2003]
DVD 8241
Abstract: Filmmaker Marc Radomsky is third generation South African. His grandfather emigrated from Lithuania to escape pogroms. The family established their roots in Johannesburg and prospered. However Marc and his wife see that growing lawlessness and crime in post-Apartheid South Africa has driven the white community into gated communities where armed guards, attack dogs and barbed wire are the brutal signs of the need for increased security. Marc and his wife Vivianne have made the painful decision to emigrate to Australia. Their close-knit family, threatened with separation, tries to prevail upon the couple to reconsider. The camera captures the painful unravelling of their interconnected lives. Their parents will now be deprived of participating in the lives of their grandchildren, and their sobbing seven-year old tries to grasp why he must leave his dog behind. But leave they do, to an apparently welcoming new country, and hopefully a brighter future. Choosing Exile is a portrait of some of the current conditions in South Africa, as well as an intense portrait of the pain of emigration.
Director: Marc Radomsky Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, crime, emigration and immigration, family
Colour of Gold (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 3245
Abstract: Focuses on the living conditions of men who work in the gold mines in South Africa. Four men discuss the danger of their jobs, money, AIDS, and the difficulties in having families. Writer: Medienwerkstadt Freiburg. See also Goldwidows.
Director: Don Edkins, Michael Shlomer Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, Lesotho, gold miners, apartheid, social conditions, work, gender
Come Back, Africa (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4563
Abstract: Originally made in the 1950s, the film focuses on one family that leaves Zululand because of famine and goes to Johannesburg to work in the gold mines. Reflects the barbaric reality of apartheid society in South Africa.
Director: Lionel Rogosin Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, social conditions, work
Condoms, Fish and Circus Tricks: The AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [2002]
VHS 9182
Abstract: Shot in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia, this is a compelling documentary on the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is ravaging Southern Africa. It takes an intimate look at the people who are dying, those who are caring for them, and why this disease has had such a devastating impact on African society. In a remote village in Malawi, the struggle against AIDS is led by local volunteers who care for the orphan children and those that are dying, without medicines, clean water, or even rubber gloves. In a fishing village on Zambia's Kafue Flats the local fishermen earn their livelihood by selling their catch. When women don't have the money to pay, the men often trade their fish for sex. The result has been a huge surge of AIDS patients, overwhelming the local hospital which has only three doctors and three hundred beds. The film reveals a 'quiet revolution' is underway as young people are talking about sex and challenging traditional concepts of sexuality. Through performances in a street circus young people are spreading the message of AIDS prevention. It is these young people that offer hope for Africa's future.
Director: Brenda & Robert Rooney Distributor:Filmakers Library, N.Y. [www.filmakers.com]
Keywords: Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, children, HIV/AIDS, health education, disease prevention, orphans, youth
Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Videocassette : 9 min. ) [1990]
VC NO. 467 (Law Library)
Abstract: Produced by the South African Communication Service.
Director: NA Distributor:South African Communication Service
Keywords: South Africa, law, democracy, government
Cost of Living (The) (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8925
Abstract: Part of the Life series on how the globalized world economy affects ordinary people. This program examines why AIDS drugs are unaffordable in developing countries, using as examples Thailand and South Africa, two countries who have applied to use compulsory licenses and parallel importing -- practices agreed under World Trade Organization guidelines -- to make their own generic versions of anti-retroviral drugs to halt the AIDS epidemic in their countries. It also asks why anti-retroviral drugs still aren't included in the WTO's essential drugs lists.
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Thailand, HIV/AIDS, medicine, WTO, economy, health
Countdown to Freedom: 10 Days that Changed South Africa (Videocassette : 97 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 8541
Abstract: Examines a critical moment of South African history in the days leading up to the country's first multi-racial democratic election, from April 23 to May 2, 1994, and the election of Nelson Mandela as President, with background on key people and historical events.
Director: Danny Schechter Distributor:Globalvision
Keywords: South Africa, politics, elections, Nelson Mandela, history
Crossroads/South Africa (Motion Picture : 52 min. ) [1980]
MP-16MM 382
Abstract: Shows the struggle of blacks to maintain a sense of community and to keep their families together by building illegal squatters towns like Crossroads in defiance of the ruling apartheid regime.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, family, squatters
Cry Freedom (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 157 min. ) [1988]
V. DISC 104
Abstract: A look at the short life of South African activist Steven Biko, and his friendship with the white news editor, Donald Woods. Woods escapes from Africa while struggling to bring Biko's message to the world. (2 videodiscs: 157 min)
Director: Richard Attenborough Distributor:MCA Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Biko, apartheid, feature film
Cultivating Opportunity: Self-Help Solutions to Poverty in the U.S. and Africa (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1997]
VHS 9327
Abstract: Willie Head, Jr. is struggling to hold on to his farm-70 acres in southeast Georgia. Willie is one of the remaining 18,000 African Americans who are losing their land at the rate of a thousand acres a day. Teresa Massango, a farmer in Mozambique in southeast Africa, is among the 80 percent of Mozambicans who depend on their land to feed themselves. They've faced war and famine, and are now threatened by investors wanting to profit from Mozambique's cheap land and labor. Cultivating Opportunity tells the inspiring story of how poor communities in Mozambique and the United States are creating opportunities to better their lives. Their work is a road map to ending hunger and poverty, a journey that begins within the communities themselves. In Cultivating Opportunity communities in vastly different parts of the world demonstrate surprising similarities in the self-help solutions they champion to fight poverty. The video shows how these communities are creating the opportunities they need. Willie says, 'I don't care what profession you're in; to just work hard doesn't do it. To just be committed doesn't do it. The opportunity must be there...'
Director: Michael Sheridan Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Mozambique, Georgia, development, farming, poverty
Dancing on the Edge (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8245
Abstract: This narrative documentary is set in rural Mozambique, where gender roles and poverty influence the fight to contain the spread of AIDS. A young HIV positive mother, Antonietta, who works as an AIDS counselor takes her healthy daughter to a remote village for initiation into sexuality. Antonietta struggles with the contradictions of maintaining traditional values while adapting to the reality of the modern world devastated by AIDS. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of IV/AIDS (Volume 6).
Director: Karen Boswall Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, gender, ritual, rural life, Steps for the Future
Day of the Zulu (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7084
Abstract: Historian Ian Knight and forensic archaeologist Tony Pollard investigate a battle scene of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War for evidence of the effect of a solar eclipse and the use of performance-enhancing drugs on the outcome of the battle.
Director: Mark Lewis Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, archaeology, history, war
Day with the President (Videocassette : 53 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 3253
Abstract: The camera accompanies Nelson Mandela throughout his extremely busy work day as he meets the challenges facing the new South Africa. To mark the anniversary of Nelson Mandela's inauguration as President of South Africa, Weekly Mail Television filmed this special edition of Ordinary People. Filmmakers spent 19 hours with President Mandela in four cities. He is shown at work, at his official residence and with various persons who work closely with him.
Director: N. Hofmeyer Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, government, politics
Deadline, The (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1996]
VHS 9184
Abstract: Filmed during the closing stages of South Africa's Constitutional Assembly, The Deadline is an inside look at the 'realpolitik' negotiations. May 10th, 1996 was chosen by the major South African political parties as the deadline for the new constitution. Following the first democratic elections (April, 1994), the ANC-led parliament set about the two-year task of creating a blue-print for an apartheid-free society, a blueprint that was to include a set of inalienable rights. By the final four weeks most of the Constitution had been written, but disputes over a few key issues - property rights, labor rights, education, and language - remained. Tension grew as the deadline loomed, and the playful camaraderie that had characterized much of the negotiations gave way to open antagonism, accusations, and counter-accusations. A deadlock over outstanding issues continued until the final night, threatening to derail the transition to democracy. The Deadline, commissioned by the Constitutional Assembly, provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at one of the most historic and dramatic constitutional processes of the 20th century.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, African National Congress, South African constitution, history, law, politics
Debt of Dictators (The) (DVD : 46 min. ) [2005]
DVD 9422
Abstract: The Debt of Dictators is the first film to expose the nefarious lending of billions of dollars by multinational banks and international financial institutions to brutal dictators throughout the world. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, asserts that transnational banks 'know the price of everything, but have no values.' The Debt of Dictators reveals the impoverishment resulting from the odious debts incurred to multinational lending institutions by these dictators. The film transports viewers to Argentina, South Africa, and the Philippines, where they come face to face with those suffering from the sacrifice of essential social services in order to repay these illegitimate debts.
Director: Erling Borgen Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, debt, economics, dictatorship, politics, poverty, development
Diamonds and Rust (Videocassette : 74 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7190
Abstract: On a trawler moored off the coast of Namibia, diamond mining goes on around the clock, but the extraction is muddied by politics, and fraught with racial tension. The crew is made up of white South Africans spouting racist jokes, Cubans who write poetry and speak of love, an Israeli security manager who makes himself the enemy, and Namibian deckhands who find themselves colonized off the coast of their own country. Obtrusively, without commentary, Diamonds and Rust takes us into the daily life of this international crew working in the service of a faceless mining conglomerate. As they battle with the failing mechanisms of the rusty old ship, the men are drawn into contemplation of their situation and its dubious rewards. Directors Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz received permission to film everyday life on the Spirit of Namibia from diamond exporter De Beers, the result-which shows fraying tempers, racist attitudes, a deteriorating vessel and front office indifference-hardly flatters the company.
Director: Adi Barash, Ruthie Shatz Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Namibia, mining, economy, labor, race, feature film
Dinner on the Diner: Dorinda Hafner in South Africa (Videocassette : 57 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 6517
Abstract: Food writer and television personality Dorinda Hafner surveys the majestic mountains, indigenous forests, rocky coastline and lush green valleys of South Africa on board a beautifully restored vintage steam train.
Director: Jonathan Guilbert Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, travel
Discarded People (The) (Motion Picture : 30 min. ) [1981]
MP-16MM 352
Abstract: Filmed clandestinely in the Ciskei bantustan and smuggled out of the country, depicts the results of the forced resettlement of black South Africans to the overpopulated, disease-ridden and barren 'homelands'.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, land
Dispel Your Attitudes (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8261
Abstract: Dispel your attitudes follows Philiswa, an HIV-positive activist, who discusses the virus during a crowded taxi ride to meet a man who is afraid to disclose his HIV-positive status. She meets the man and they discuss his fears. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the of AIDS/HIV (Volume 22).
Director: Lizo Kalipa Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, activism, Steps for the Future
Dolly and the Inkspots (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4833
Abstract: One of the most dynamic singing combinations to emerge in South Africa in the early fifties was Dolly Rathebe and the African Inkspots. They were the toast of Sof'town, getting star billing in musical shows around the country and appearing in feature films such as Jim Comes to Jo'burg, The Magic Garden and Song of Africa. This documentary pays tribute to the talents of these jazz greats who have made such a valuable contribution to the musical heritage of South Africa. Their voices are as enduring and resonant today as they were fifty years ago, which makes them truly living legends.
Director: NA Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, music, history, popular culture, urban life, Dolly Rathebe
Domestic Differences (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 6440
Abstract: Depicts South African society during the ten days leading up to the 1994 election through a comparison of the lives and views of a prosperous white family in a a residential suburb of Cape Town and their maid and her family in Transkei.
Director: Nanette Burstein Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, elections, politics, history, race, social conditions
Dream Deferred: Africa's AIDS Crisis (The) (Videocassette : 57 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 6637
Abstract: The HIV/AIDS epidemic has struck Africa with horrific force-- more than 3.8 million people were infected in 2000. Many of these people will die within a decade. In A Dream Deferred, CNN Johannesburg Bureau Chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault takes a look at the lives of six South Africans who illuminate the face of the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping the continent.
Director: Sandy Balfour Distributor:Multivision Media Monitoring
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, health, economy
Dreams of a Good Life (Videocassette : 15 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8258
Abstract: In Dreams of a Good Life, five South African women talk about life, love and how their dreams for the future have changed since they have found out they are HIV positive. The women now examine their relationships with men more openly than ever before. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 19).
Director: Bridget Pickering Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, gender, HIV/AIDS, Steps for the Future
Eclipse (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8248
Abstract: A dreamlike documentary depicting the total blackout of four girls' lives, eclipsed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is a story about four sisters, Lara, Eugenisse, Fátima and Luisa-- the oldest sixteen and the youngest nine. They are AIDS orphans living in the Mozambican town of Chimoio. Their mother died of AIDS and their father disappeared, probably to commit suicide in a nearby place of spirits. The film documents the girls' day-to-day struggle for existence as they try to make ends meet by reselling produce they have bought from the market. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 9).
Director: Orlando Mesquita Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, children, orphans, family, Steps for the Future
Everything Must Come to Light (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7489
Abstract: This documentary focuses on the lives of three dynamic lesbian women who are 'sangomas' (traditional healers) living in Soweto, South Africa. They are articulate, sympathetic women who are willing to share their stories. After leaving their husbands, two of the women were able to explore their sexuality in relation to other women as a result of their dominant male ancestors instructing them to take wives. The relationship with their ancestors and the roles that they play in their healing powers as well as their sexuality are focal points in this documentary. Narrated by Mpumi Njinge; featuring Jama Thobei, Lindi Mahlangu, Tshidi Machika.
Director: Mpumi Njinge, Paulo Alberton Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, sexuality, women, healing, marriage
Facing the Truth (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4865 Pt.1 & Pt. 2
Abstract: Bill Moyers describes the efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), providing footage of TRC hearings and interviews with apartheid victims and others. (2 videocassettes: 60 min. each)
Director: Gail Pellet Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, politics, apartheid, TRC
Family Across the Sea (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [1990]
V. CASS. VHS 1620
Abstract: A delegation of Gullah people travels from the United States to Sierra Leone to trace the roots of their heritage. Production of South Carolina ETV.
Director: Domino Boulware Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Sierra Leone, Gullah, African diaspora
Farmers of Gaho, The (Videocassette : 21 min. ) [1998]
VHS 9331
Abstract: Over the generations, the farmers of the village of Gaho in southern Ethiopia have developed unique farming techniques that enable them successfully to grow crops in their arid environment. The preservation and enhancement of their soil is the villagers' most important priority. They accomplish this through constant weeding and composting. To trap water and prevent erosion, they build stone terraces on hilly terrain and earth embankments on level ground. Amongst the crops they grow successfully in this land of undependable rainfall are sorghum, sunflower, rapeseed, coffee, cassava, and yam. Farm Africa, an NGO promoting sustainable agriculture, has enabled the farmers of Gaho to experiment with new sorghum varieties resistant to pests, and requiring less moisture. It has also enabled Gaho's women to purchase livestock to be used for meat and sold in the region for supplemental income. Although each farmer has his own plot of land, cultivation and maintenance are communal endeavors. A common area is tilled and planted, and the yield of this area is stored for distribution during times of scarcity.
Director: Bill Locke Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Ethiopia, arid regions, agriculture, sustainability, NGO, development
Fighting Spirit (A) (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8249
Abstract: Zimbabwean middle-weight boxing champion, Gilbert Josamu, discovered he was HIV positive at the height of his career. Many in Zimbabwean society view HIV/AIDS as a disease for white homosexuals. Although feeling conflicted about endangering his opponents, Josamu forged his medical certificate and continued to fight. A few months before he died, he confessed to having lived with HIV for 14 years. This confession was followed by public outrage. Josamu formed an AIDS support group to help him and others deal with public perceptions of people living with HIV. He also embarked on a public campaign to encourage people to disclose their positive status. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 10).
Director: Leo Phiri Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, men, boxing, sports, Steps for the Future
Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict ( A) (Videocassette : 174 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6141 Parts 1-6
Abstract: This six-part series tells one of the 20th century's most important and least-known stories-- how nonviolent power overcame oppression and authoritarian rule. In South Africa in 1907, Mohandas Gandhi led Indian immigrants in a nonviolent fight for rights denied them by white rulers. The power that Gandhi pioneered has been used by underdogs on every continent and in every decade of the 20th century, to fight for their rights and freedom. Includes segments on South Africa, India, Denmark, Poland, Chile, and the U.S.
Director: Steve York Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, nonviolence, Gandhi, politics
Forgiveness (DVD : 105 min. ) [2004]
DVD 7903
Abstract: Tertius Coetzee was a police officer during the Apartheid era and was responsible for the torture and death of Daniel Grootboom, a young freedom fighter. After being granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he travels to the West Coast fishing village of Pater Noster to visit Daniel's family and ask for their forgiveness.
Director: Ian Gabriel Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, apartheid, police, history, feature film
Furiosus. A Question of Madness (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS VHS 6015
Abstract: In Capetown, South Africa, in September 1966, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid, was stabbed to death in Parliament. The course of South African history was changed by the assassin, Dimitri Tsafendas, who was written off as mad and condemned to twenty eight years of imprisonment.
Director: Liza Key Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, racism, assassination, apartheid, history, law
Gaan Sharon Gaan: Gelyke Regte vir Vroue Plaaswerkers = Employment Equity for Women Farm Workers (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8199
Abstract: An examination of the rights of women farm workers in South Africa, specifically in the Western Cape. In Afrikaans. Accompanied by a workbook entitled Employment Equity in the Workplace.
Director: NA Distributor:Shoot the Breeze Productions
Keywords: South Africa, women, agricultural labor
Generations of Resistance (Motion Picture : 53 min. ) [1979]
MP-16MM 220
Abstract: Rare archival footage combined with eye witness accounts documents the rise of black nationalism in South Africa in the 20th century.
Director: Peter Davis Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, politics, nationalism
Gerrie and Louise (Videocassette : 75 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 4558
Abstract: This documentary film focuses on newlyweds Gerrie and Louise. Gerrie Hugo is a former member of the South African military and was involved in operations in support of apartheid, including operations where civilians in opposition to apartheid were tortured. Louise Flanagan is a former journalist who covered the protests leading to the fall of apartheid and then became the principal investigator for South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using interviews and documentary footage, the film looks at some of the operations Gerrie played a part in, and at some of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission exposing the actions of former government officials involved in maintaining apartheid.
Director: Sturla Gunnarsson. Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, politics, history, TRC
Goldwidows (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1991]
V. CASS.VHS 3265
Abstract: Interviews with women in Lesotho, a small country surrounded by South Africa. The women live as virtual widows; most of their husbands work in South African gold mines. Written and produced: . Don Edkins, Ute Holl and Michael SchlomerSee also The Colour of Gold.
Director: Don Edkins, Ute Holl and Michael Schlomer Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Lesotho, South Africa, women, economic conditions, social conditions
Gotta Give (Videocassette : 5 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8258
Abstract: Gotta Give is a music video for a song that encourages young women to take control of their sexual relationships. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 19).
Director: Eddie Edwards Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, popular culture, music, Steps for the Future
Guguletu Ballet (DVD : 23 min. ) [2007]
DVD 8107
Abstract: In 1992, a white South African ballet dancer ventured into a township and began teaching classes in an empty schoolroom. Within a few years, hundreds of township children took up ballet, and a program called Dance For All was born. Guguletu Ballet profiles some of the extraordinary people behind Dance For All's success -- from prima ballerinas who left the international stage to teach in the townships, to students who are overcoming great odds. Their stories offer a glimpse at the harsh realities of township life...and proof that ballet dancers can come from the most unlikely places.
Director: Kristin Pichaske Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, dance, performance
Guilty (Videocassette : 15 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8257
Abstract: Guilty dramatizes the HIV-related issues of blame, trust and responsibility, and examines preconceptions concerning high-risk groups and how these assumptions not only lead to denial but can further stigmatize HIV. The video follows Meg, a white woman, who is making a film about the spread of HIV in underdeveloped areas. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 18).
Director: François Verster Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, experimental film, Steps for the future
Gumboots (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 80 min. ) [2000]
DVD 1441
Abstract: This film is a celebration of song and dance, an international phenomenon that has swept across the globe like a tidal wave of soaring voices and stomping feet.
Director: Aubrey Powell Distributor:Image Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, dance, music, miners, feature film
Have You Heard From Johannesburg?: Apartheid and the Club of the West (DVD : 90 min. ) [2006]
DVD 9477
Abstract: Six documentary stories chronicling the history of the global anti-apartheid movement that took on both the South African government and its international supporters, who considered South Africa an ally in the Cold War.
Director: Connie Field Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, history, politics
Heart of Soweto (The) (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Four-part series examines social life, politics and history in late-apartheid era Soweto. Examines motherhood, political imprisonment, soccer and the legacy of the Freedom Charter.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, sport, political movements, apartheid
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 1: Everything I Never Had (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Rebecca Molete and Eugenia Twala are two of over one thousand mothers who gave birth in Soweto in October 1990. Eugenia wants her baby to have everything she never had, and visits an expensive private clinic. Rebecca is cared for by a local state clinic. The film documents the weeks leading up to her giving birth and provides a portrait of the two women's lifestyle, attitudes and hopes.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, health, political movements
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 2: When You Come Back Home (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Florence Williams and Nombulelo are mothers waiting for the return of their children, one from political imprisonment, the other from exile. Mrs. Williams has been waiting for months, highly expectant since De Klerk's announcement that all political prisoners will be released. Her daughter, Pumla, is in Pretoria Central Prison.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, political movements
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 3: Klip (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Soweto is famous as the place where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955. In 1991, a large informal settlement lives in an area near the Freedom Charter site where the progressive vision of the Freedom Charter stands in contrast to the living conditions of the people. However, in spite of its poverty, this community has maintained a vibrant culture and strong political will of throughout the years. This documentary is creatively produced wth cheerful puppetry scenes.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, sport, political movements
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 4: Once a Pirate (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Soccer is the favorite sport among South Africans. In the dark show of apartheid, soccer has become much more than just a football game. It is a way of life. The vibrancy, dynamic images, creative songs and electrifying atmosphere characterize every game. The Orlando Pirates is one of South Africa's oldest, biggest and most celebrated clubs, and, as its fans have come to believe, once a pirate, always a pirate.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, politics, history, sport, political movements
Heavy Traffic (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8254
Abstract: The increasing number of deaths attributed to AIDS has affected many areas of life in Soweto, South Africa. This documentary examines the impact of these deaths upon the funeral industry of South Africa. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 15).
Director: Kgomotso Matsunyane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, HIV/AIDS, funeral rituals, Steps for the Future
Ho ea rona = We are going forward (Videocassette : 17 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8260
Abstract: Ho ea rona is about three friends who meet and reminisce about the past. Thabiso was a national boxer; Thabo, known to his friends as Kwasa Kwasa, is a disc jockey at a local radio station; Bimbo is an intellectual and a man of short sentences. All three are HIV-positive. They reflect on their lives, cry, express regret, but also laugh. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 21).
Director: Dumisani Phakathi Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Lesotho, HIV/AIDS, men, Steps for the Future
Hoffnung im Herz: Mündliche Poesie (Videocassette : 20 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 5063 and 4082
Abstract: A profile of the life and work of Afro-German poet May Ayim, including interview footage and performances at a festival in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1995.
Director: NA Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: poetry, gender, identity
Hot Wax (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8908
Abstract: Ivy is a big, bubbly black woman living in the poor township of Alexandra, who managed to surreptitiously run her own beauty salon during the apartheid years. Her loyal and considerably more privileged white clients live in the Johannesburg suburbs. In a personal way, this engaging documentary reveals how much has changed after the end of apartheid - and how much has not.
Director: Andy Spitz Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Alexandra, Johannesburg, women, race, class, apartheid, beauty
House of Love (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8255
Abstract: This film explores the lives of sex-workers in the small Namibian harbor of Walvis Bay. The women are dependent on the business from the brief visits of foreign shipping trawlers. They give insights into the choices they have made and why they have made them. Their conflicts center around notions of love, sex, sin, and redemption, while the threat of HIV/AIDS exists only in the background. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 16).
Director: Cecil Moller Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Namibia, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, labor, Steps for the Future
I Talk About Me, I am Africa (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1980]
VHS 9336
Abstract: Filmed in black areas of South Africa. Provides look at the response of black culture to the system of apartheid through performances in a variety of theatrical forms.
Director: Chris Austin Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, theater, art, race
Iindawo Zikathixo = In God's Places (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS.VHS 3962
Abstract: Filmed in the remote hills and valleys of the southern Drakensberg, this documentary is a unique and timely record of a rapidly vanishing South African culture. Features Bushman rock art as a background against which the story of the Bushmen unfolds. Explores aspects of Bushmen culture through music, dance, oral history and traditional rituals. Narration in English along with the many variations of the San language used by the Bushmen.
Director: Richard Wicksteed Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: South Africa, Bushmen, art, petroglyphs, rock paintings, performance
Images in Struggle: South African Photographers Speak (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1990]
V. CASS. VHS 6442
Abstract: South African photographers speak about their work and aspirations. All are concerned to document the developing liberation struggle, as well as the lives and hopes of the South African people. Discusses the challenges to the development of the medium and the nature of their work in the 1990s. Interviews with Omar Badsha, Lesley Lawson, Rashid Lombard, Santu Mofokeng, Cedric Nunn, Zubeida Vallie, Paul Weinberg.
Director: Barry Feinberg Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, photography, apartheid, politics, history
Imita Ikula (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8250
Abstract: Memory is one of the 75,000 street kids in Lusaka, most of them orphans due to the AIDS epidemic. This documentary illustrates that she is streetwise and ready to fight, and yet she has her softer, more vulnerable side. Follows her as she finds a way to watch the solar eclipse, gets her hair braided, cooks, and sings and talks with her friends. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 11).
Director: Sampa Kangwa, Simon Wilkie Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zambia, Lusaka, HIV/AIDS, children, orphans, family, Steps for the Future
In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid (Videocassette : 108 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 2907
Abstract: Turns the lens toward filmmakers and the South African society they so often misrepresented. Films generally supported the ethos of racial domination that led to apartheid and it was only after Africans insisted on being heard that they began to be portrayed on-screen as more than adjuncts of whites. Written, filmed, edited and produced by Peter Davis and Daniel Riesenfeld. (2 videocassettes: 54 min. each)
Director: Peter Davis, Daniel Riesenfield Distributor:Nightingale/Villon
Keywords: South Africa, motion pictures, apartheid, popular culture
In My Country (DVD : 103 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5485
Abstract: A Washington Post journalist and an Afrikaans poet strike up a friendship and become romantically involved as they try to come to terms with their feelings about what they've learned at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. Based on the book Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog, and originally produced as a motion picture in 2004. Special features include audio commentary by director John Boorman; deleted scenes with optional commentary; interviews with Juliette Binoche, director John Boorman and producers Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy and Lynn Hendee.
Director: John Boorman Distributor:Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, feature film
In a Time of Violence (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 151 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 2797 v. 1-3
Abstract: The most controversial program broadcast on South African television, this film provides fascinating insights into the lingering divisions confronting the country as it attempts to forge a new post-apartheid national identity. A story concerning changing values, violent cultural and political clashes and conflict among black families in Johannesburg, South Africa. Writer: Oliver Schmitz. Three episodes: The Line, All on Edge, Fire with Fire.
Director: Brian Tilley Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, politics, social change, popular culture
Inside (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 94 min. ) [2000]
DVD 845
Abstract: An idealistic university professor is arrested for conspiring to overthrow the racist government in South Africa and is ruthlessly interrogated by a police colonel during his imprisonment. Ten years later, another political prisoner who witnessed the event has become an investigator of crimes of physical and mental abuse by the previous regime. When he confronts the colonel will justice finally be done?
Director: Arthur Penn Distributor:Artisan Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, police, political prisoners, torture, apartheid, history, feature film
Ipi Ntombi: An African Dance Celebration (Videocassette : 100 min. ) [1998]
V.CASS. VHS 7912
Abstract: Re-make of the musical Ipi Tombi. A Johannesburg mine worker sings of his love for the girl back home and his sense of separation from his roots.
Director: Be-Be Egnos, Gail Lakier Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, mine workers, musical drama
Isitwanlandwe (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 6443
Abstract: Historical documentary tells the story of the adoption of the South African Freedom Charter (6/26/55). Includes documentary footage and photos of the Congress and a depiction of the government's response. Contemporary interviews with leaders of the African National Congress and other organizations speak to the relevance and importance of the Freedom Charter today.
Director: Barry Feinberg Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, nationalism, civil rights, history, politics, race
It's My Life (Videocassette : 73 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7486
Abstract: Zackie Achmat is an AIDS activist who refuses to take anti-retrovirals until they are available in public hospitals and clinics. He leads the court battle against the multi-national drug companies and takes on the South African government for its confusing policies around HIV/AIDS. As a leader in the campaign for affordable treatment, Zackie's provocative position is not one all his friends and colleagues support.
Director: Brien Tilley Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, Zackie Achmat, activism, drug companies
James' Journey to Jerusalem (Videocassette : 87 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8698
Abstract: In the imaginary village of Entshongweni, very far from the Western world, the young James is chosen to undertake a mission--a pilgrimage to Holy Jerusalem. At the airport, however, James is suspected of trying to infiltrate the country in order to work illegally and is jailed by the Israeli immigration authorities. This contemporary Candide is miraculously bailed out by a shady small-time businessman only to become part of his migrant labor pool. Undeterred, James perseveres in his religious quest, until he gets a taste of fortune by exploiting his employer's friends and colleagues for his own profit. Director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz offers an astute exploration of the economic, moral and spiritual hypocrisies of Western society through an evocative portrait of modern Israel's cultural and generational divisions. Topped with a moving and charismatic performance by South African actor Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe, James' Journey to Jerusalem stealthily layers these serious issues with biting wit and a lilting fairy-tale charm. In Hebrew, English and Zulu with English subtitles.
Director: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz Distributor:Zeitgeist Films
Keywords: Israel, South Africa, race, religion, migrant labor, feature film
Karoo Kitaar Blues (DVD : 92 min. ) [2006]
DVD 7760
Abstract: Follows South African songwriter David Kramer and slide guitarist Hannes Coetzee into remote regions of South Africa on their quest to find musicians who play an almost forgotten folk music.
Director: Lizza Key Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Namaqualand, music
Land Affairs (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1995]
VHS 9197
Abstract: Hundreds of thousands of rural South Africans, displaced during the apartheid years, want land --land which white farmers now own. On the day of two meetings held in rural Natal, one with black farmers who want land, and one with white farmers who want to keep it, Weekly Mail Television filmed a white farmer, a displaced black tenant farmer, and Derek Hanekom, the Minister of Land Affairs. An important look at still unresolved tensions facing rural South Africa.
Director: Guy Spiller Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films, NY
Keywords: South Africa, Natal, agriculture, apartheid, displacement, land affairs, politics, race relations
Landscape of Memory (Videocassette : 104 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 7479 Pt. 1-4 (PAL format)
Abstract: A documentary series of four films created as a regional project about truth and reconciliation in Southern Africa. Filmmakers from four different countries show how people are dealing with the need to reconcile themselves to the violent past each country has recently emerged from. The series includes From the Ashes, I Have Seen=Nda Mona, The Unfolding Sky, and Soul in Torment. (4 videocassettes: 104 min.)
Director: Karen Boswall, Antjie Krog, Ronelle Loots, Richard Pakleppa, Prudence Uriri Distributor:Film Resource Unit [www.fru.co.za]
Keywords: Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, history, war, reconciliation, race, apartheid, politics
Last grave at Dimbaza (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [2006]
VHS 9290
Abstract: Shot illegally in the Republic of South Africa, this documentary exposes the oppression of Blacks and other people designated as 'coloured' under apartheid rule in South Africa. The film contrasts the lives of black and white South Africans, focusing on inequities in housing, education, wages and health care. This is a digitally remastered version of the original 1973 film.
Director: Chris Curling and Pascoe MacFarlane Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, economy, apartheid, race, history, politics
Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife (The) (Videocassette : 70 min. ) [1991]
V.CASS. VHS 8722
Abstract: Award-winning documentary about the Afrikaner neo-Nazi society AWB and its leader, Eugene Terreblanche.
Director: Nick Broomfield Distributor:Nick Broomfield, Inc.
Keywords: South Africa, race relations, white supremacy movements, apartheid, history
Let's Talk About It (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8261
Abstract: Let's Talk About It examines the attitudes of young people in Cape Town towards HIV and AIDS, and the challenges they face in practicing safer sex. Part of the Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the of AIDS/HIV (Volume 22).
Director: Sithunyiwe Gece Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, HIV/AIDS, youth, Steps for the Future
Life Story of an African Inyanga (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [1986]
V. CASS. VHS 6444
Abstract: Interview and dramatization of the life of Samuel B. Jamile, a South African inyanga (herbalist/medicine man). Examines the inyanga's medical, psychological, social, and moral role in Zulu life. Also discusses the inyanga's role in modern society.
Director: NA Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, medicine, healers
Life and Times of Sara Baartman 'The Hottentot Venus' (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 4688
Abstract: Using historical drawings, cartoons, legal documents, and interviews with noted cultural historians and anthropologists, The Life and Times of Sara Baartman 'the Hottentot Venus' deconstructs the social, political, scientific and philosophical assumptions which transformed one young African woman into a representation of savage sexuality and racial inferiority.
Director: Zola Maseko Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, gender, representation, science, history.
Lions of the African Night (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 60 min. ) [1988]
V. DISC 1199
Abstract: At dusk, a pride of lions sets out to hunt. The camera captures intimate glimpses of lion behavior - care of the young, the struggle for food, the interplay of the pride with other African bushveld animals.
Director: NA Distributor:Image Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Kruger National Park, wildlife, environment
Long Night's Journey Into Day (Videocassette : 95 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS VHS 5503
Abstract: For over forty years, South Africa was governed by the most notorious form of racial domination since Nazi Germany. When it finally collapsed, those who had enforced apartheid's rule wanted amnesty for their crimes. Their victims wanted justice. As a compromise, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was formed. As it investigated the crimes of apartheid, the Commission brought together victims and perpetrators to relive South Africa's brutal history. By revealing the past instead of burying it, the TRC hoped to pave the way to a peaceful future.
Director: Frances Reid and Deborah Hoffman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, politics, apartheid, history, TRC
Long Tears: an Ndebele Story (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 5950
Abstract: This program, seen through the eyes of one family, documents five years in the life of a South African people, the Ndebele, exploring their art, culture and traditions. It shows the famous Ndebele wall art and dress traditions and puts them in the context of the new South Africa. Francina Ndimande is an internationally recognized mural artist, as is her daughter Angelina. The film explores the rituals and traditions associated with the rites of passage of both men and women. Also traces the history of the Ndebele defeat in war against the Boers and their subsequent enslavement and mistreatment at the hands of the Boer farmers.
Director: David Frost Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Ndebele, art, painting, ritual, history
Long Walk of Nelson Mandela (The) (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6115
Abstract: This film biography of Mandela tells the story of his life through interviews with intimates, from his most trusted associates to his jailers on Robben Island, the prison where he was held for 27 years. This film offers an insider'saccount of his extraordinary will to lead and of the great risk and personal sacrifice he endured to achieve democracy and equality for the people of his nation.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, biography, politics, history
Looking for Busi (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8242
Abstract: This is the story of a fifteen-year old South African girl, Busi, who is an HIV-positive mother. Busi's mother abandoned her when Busi became pregnant, even before testing positive for AIDS. Busi is chosen for a mother-to-child drug trial and to be the subject of a documentary. After the documentary airs and exposes that she is HIV-positive, Busi disappears, and the filmmaker and her friend search for her. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 3).
Director: Robyn Hofmeyr Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, drugs, gender, Steps for the Future
Lost City of Zimbabwe (The) (Videocassette : 22 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 1910
Abstract: Long mistakenly identified as the remnants of ancient white civilization, the spectacular ruins of Great Zimbabwe are only now being recognized for what they are: southern Africa's first city. This program looks at the work being done to restore this archaeological site to its African heritage.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: Zimbabwe, archeology, history
Love Stories (Videocassette : 72 min. ) [2000]
See individual titles
Abstract: South Africa's extraordinary history has produced a wealth of stories. Among the heroic tales of sacrifice in the struggle against apartheid are the love stories of ordinary people, people with fascinating, hidden worlds that were often shattered by politics. Now, from South Africa's leading documentary production company, and made by three different South African filmmakers, the Love Stories series documents three remarkable love affairs. These stories are not sweet or sentimental - they are very much of the world. Although these stories are not overtly 'political' or 'sociological,' while watching them we learn about South Africa past, and its heart. See individual titles for details: The Moon in my Pocket (Kgomotso Matsunyane), Bubbles and Me (Mary Human) and White Girl in Search of the Party (Pat van Heerden). Love Stories is a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Kgomotso Matsunyane, Mary Human, Pat van Heerden Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, race relations, love narratives, romance
Love in a Time of Sickness (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8251
Abstract: Khalo Matabane tells friends at dinner about meeting a woman he felt attracted to, then breaking off with her after she disclosed her HIV-positive status. Intercut with Khalo's thoughts about his own protected past and his attitudes to gender roles. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 12).
Director: Khalo Matabane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, Steps for the Future
Luggage is Still Labeled (The): Blackness in South African Art (DVD : 60 min. ) [2003]
DVD 4336
Abstract: Many contemporary South African artists explore the construction of race and gender through their art.
Director: Vuyile C. Voyiya, Julie L. McGee Distributor:Vuyile C. Voyiya and Julie L. McGee
Keywords: South Africa, art, artists, race, gender
Maids and Madams (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1986]
V. CASS. VHS 2304
Abstract: Describes how apartheid affects the daily life of women in South Africa by focusing on the relationship between black household workers and white employers. Writer/Director: Mira Hamermesh.
Director: Mira Hamermesh Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, domestic labor, women
Make Believe (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9200
Abstract: In August 1993, Ordinary People (a South African television series) visited the town of Schweizer-Reineke and its neighboring township, Ipelegeng, to observe two contrasting but simultaneous ceremonies - one held for the African National Congress, the other for the Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB). When the conservative white town council decided to give the 'freedom of the city' to Eugene Terre Blanche and the Wenkommando, the AWB's paramilitary group, the neighboring black township chose to honor Joe Modise, commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC's armed wing. As these two diametrically opposed events are witnessed through the eyes of three of the town's children, Make Believe reveals, through their hopes and their misgivings, the future of a country where children grow up entrenched in hatred and fear. Adri supports the AWB in what she sees as a God-ordained quest against communism. Kenny, a member of the ANC's Young Pioneers, hates AWB leader Eugene Terre Blanche, but is prepared to talk to his children about a non-racial future. Niels is not taking sides, but believes that God's will will prevail. Amidst the sharply contrasting festivities, the children demonstrate their innocence as they grapple with long standing prejudices and hatreds that they do not fully comprehend. As they speak, it becomes evident that the attitudes which children like them will develop toward each other may determine South Africa's future.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Film
Keywords: South Africa, Afrikaner Resistance Movement, apartheid, African National Congress, children, politics, race relations
Mali & Senegal: The Power of Islam (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS VHS 7507
Abstract: Islam has influenced West Africa since the 11th century, but only in the last 100 years has the religion grown so rapidly in Senegal and Mali. One prominent sect, the Mouride movement, has millions of followers and wealth accumulated from peanut cultivation. As a force of conservative Islam, its economic and political power must be watched by the West. Part of a three part series entitled Africa in the 21st Century, see Somalia: The Neglected Civil Warand Zimbabwe & South Africa: Still Far From Coexistence.
Director: Hiroyuki Shima Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mali, Senegal, Islam, Mouride movement, religion
Mama Awethu! (Videocassette : 53 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9202
Abstract: Mama Awethu! follows the day-to-day lives of five black South African women in the townships around Cape Town, revealing the inhuman legacy of the apartheid system. Evelyn, once an African National Congress branch secretary, lives in a squatter location called Philippi and works as a cleaning woman. Iris, also from Philippi, is a member of the ANC Women's League who is involved in community politics. Sheila, a resident of Khayaletisha, is a committed activist; Dinah is new to politics; and Nopopi focuses on issues affecting women. As they share their lives with the camera, the film reveals how township life has necessitated their involvement in the struggle for better living conditions and equal rights. Although set in South Africa, the inspiring voices heard in Mama Awethu! are a call to empowerment for all women. They speak eloquently of hope in the midst of immense violence and killing. Much more than a record of South African women, Mama Awethu! is a song about life and the courage to live.
Director: Bethany Yarrow Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, African National Congress, apartheid, social situation, women
Man Who Stole My Mother's Face (The) (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8881
Abstract: Two days before Christmas in 1988, Cathy Henkel's 59 year-old mother Laura was sexually and brutally attacked in her home in Johannesburg, South Africa by a local white teenager. Although Laura identified her attacker, the man was never charged and remained free. For fourteen years, unable to recover, Laura Henkel retreated from her family and rejected contact with the outside world. In an attempt to help her mother heal, Cathy Henkel took matters into her own hands, returned to Johannesburg and confronted her mother's attackers. What begins as an exploration about the unsolved case of Laura Henkel's rape becomes a revelation about the healing process.
Director: Cathy Henkel Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, women, rape, violence
Man, God and Africa (DVD : 51 min. ) [1993]
DVD 8037
Abstract: While the media has focused on the violent history of South Africa, it has paid little attention to a social phenomenon of great importance. Some nine-million South African blacks live with a strong commitment to their religion, Pentecostal Christianity. Their faith has enabled them to survive appalling hardship and deprivation. Their religion is a blend of deep-rooted African traditions and the imported values of Christianity. This commitment could be a stabilizing force in the new South Africa. This film captures the joyous singing and rhythmic movement that is common to the various black churches. It shows the African influence on funerals, baptisms, and weddings. Through these ceremonies the churches foster a sense of community and pride at being black South African. Adherents cut across all social classes. One sees an educated civil rights lawyer practice centuries-old healing practices. We hear from representatives of the traditional Church hierarchy, such as Archbishop Tutu and Alan Boesack, who have a profound respect for the adaptation of Christianity to the African culture.
Director: Don Boyd Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, religion, Pentecostal churches, ceremony
Mandela's Fight for Freedom (Videocassette : 145 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 6498 (2 videos- pt. 1, pt. 2)
Abstract: Part George Washington, part Abraham Lincoln, part Gandhi, South Africa's Nelson Mandela occupies a unique position in the history of the human spirit. From youthful protester, to political prisoner, to the president of a newly free nation, Nelson Mandela embodies the ideals of freedom as no other man of this time. Through a combination of moral strength, political cunning, and sheer luck, he brought about the dismantling of the hated policy of racial apartheid, without the bloodbath many feared.
Director: Mick Gold Distributor:Discovery Channel Video
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, apartheid, politics, history, biography
Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 6703
Abstract: This candid and provocative portrait of Nelson Mandela takes you to the very heart of the struggle for majority rule in South Africa.
Director: Jo Menell Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, history, apartheid, politics
Mandela: the Man (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. 2260
Abstract: This hour long presentation offers viewers a unique perspective into the life of Nelson Mandela.
Director: NA Distributor:Library Distributors of America
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, politics, race, history, apartheid
Mapantsula (Videocassette : 102 min. ) [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 1556
Abstract: Panic is a mapantsula, a Zulu term for a petty crook. Set in South Africa, he is imprisoned with anti-apartheid activists. There he is transformed into a man willing to become involved with social change.
Director: Oliver Schmitz and Thomas Mogotlane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, popular culture, music, feature film
Master Harold-- and the Boys (Videocassette : 90 min. ) [1984]
V. CASS. VHS 359
Abstract: Stagey cable presentation of South African Athol Fugard's play about the relationship between a white man and two black servants.
Director: NA Distributor:Karl Lorimar Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, theater, race, Fugard
Master Positive (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8256
Abstract: Master Positive tells the story of an HIV-positive Namibian coffin maker, Simon Elago. The video follows Simon as he constructs a prototype papier-mâché coffin and makes his first sale. Simon strives through humor and a positive outlook to overcome the social and personal consequences of the virus. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 17).
Director: Kelly Kowalski Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Namibia, HIV/AIDS, craft, Steps for the Future
Max and Mona (Videocassette : 98 min. ) [2004]
VHS9296
Abstract: In this funny and engaging film from South Africa, young Max leaves his small farming village to become a doctor in the big city. But things start to go wrong right away as Max is mistakenly sent on his journey with the sacred village goat, who he names Mona. Upon arrival in Johannesburg, he crosses paths with a sexy siren and becomes embroiled in a gangster face-off triggered by his crooked Uncle Norman.
Director: Teddy Mattera Distributor:First Run Features
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, urbanization, gangs, feature film
Miner's Tale (A) (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8246
Abstract: Joaquim is a migrant laborer with a junior wife in urban South Africa and a senior wife and family in rural Mozambique. He is torn between his responsibilities for both. He is also torn between his understanding of his HIV infection when visiting his home village after being absent for four years and what traditional society expects of him. Joaquim must make a choice since the elders are adamant that it is his traditional duty to father more children with his wife, but Joachim does not want to infect her. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 7).
Director: Gabriel Mondlane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, migrant labor, kinship, family, Steps for the Future
Moment (The) (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8257
Abstract: The Moment features men and women from different backgrounds who share their most personal thoughts about courtship and sexual behavior. They discuss the six stages of seduction: the moment you meet, the moment you connect, the moment you seduce, the moment you kiss, the moment you take your clothes off, and the moment before penetration. A caption asks us: at which moment do you decide to use a condom? Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 18).
Director: Siyabonga Makhatini Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, gender, Steps for the Future
Moon in my Pocket, The (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
VHS 9203
Abstract: Wilton Mkwayi, a senior ANC guerrilla commander, was convicted of treason during the Rivonia Trial in 1966. Every year for twenty years, he applied to the prison authorities for permission to marry his sweetheart Irene Khumalo, but was denied each time. In the 21st year of his term they were finally allowed to marry, but six months later she died of cancer. He was released from prison shortly thereafter. Told through letters, interviews and reconstructions, The Moon in my Pocket is a classic story about a love that almost survived against the odds. It reveals the other side of political history, the personal lives of people usually seen as soldiers and politicians, but seldom as lovers. See also Bubbles and Me (Mary Human) and White Girl in Search of the Party (Pat van Heerden) .Part of Love Stories, a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Kgomotso Matsunyane Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, African National Congress, love narratives
My Mother Built This House (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7408
Abstract: There are four million homeless people in South Africa who live in shacks in slums or squatter settlements. Government programs are building houses for these homeless, but it is a slow process. This program looks at the difference the South African Homeless People's Federation is making. The federation members, most of whom are women, save up money to add to their government grants, allowing them to build larger houses, helping women and their families live in a home of their own. Additional materials available at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1114
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, women, housing, homelessness, economy
N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. 180 and VHS 3003
Abstract: Explores the life of N!ai, a native, who lives on a reservation in the Namibia/Botswana area of South Africa. Chronicles the changes in lifestyle with the coming of the white man. See also Guide to N!ai.
Director: NA Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Namibia, San (Bushmen), women, biography
N/um Tchai: the Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen (Motion Picture : 20 min. ) [1973]
MP-16MM 183
Abstract: Documents a formalized Bushman curing ceremony in the Kalahari Desert area of Southwest Africa by showing an all-night 'medicine dance' in which a number of men go into trance and exercise special curing powers. Divided into two parts: the first reviews and explains typical dance scenes; the second shows the ceremony without subtitles or narration (motion picture: 20 min., 3 study guides).
Director: John Marshall Distributor:NA
Keywords: Botswana, San (Bushmen), healing, trance, ritual, dance
Nadine Gordimer: On Being a Liberal White South African (DVD : 30 min. ) [2006]
DVD 7957
Abstract: Bill Moyers interviews South African writer Nadine Gordimer who talks about growing up in a racially segregated country. She also analyzes the current political situation with special reference to the roles of Nelson Mandela, Gatsha Buthelezi and the African National Congress.
Director: Catherine Tatge Distributor:Filams for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, novelists, apartheid, race, government, African National Congress, history
Ndebele Women and the Rituals of Rebellion (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 3320
Abstract: Ndebele men's and women's initiation rites and performance art are explored. Includes discussion of house structure and women's house painting.
Director: Peter Rich Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Ndebele, women, rites and ceremonies, art
Ndodii? = What shall I do? (Videocassette : 13 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8259
Abstract: Ndodii is set in a remote village in Zimbabwe; it dramatizes the impact of HIV/AIDS on the traditional practice of wife inheritance. Village elders instruct MaMoyo, an HIV-positive widow, to choose a new husband. Faced with being ostracized and blamed for her husband's death, she must decide whether or not to break the tradition. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 20).
Director: Farai Matambidzanwa Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, women, kinship, widow inheritance, Steps for the Future
Nelson Mandela: the Struggle is My Life (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [1986]
V.CASS. VHS 7986
Abstract: A documentary on the life and political career of Nelson Mandela, including interviews with persons who have known him well and footage of some of the significant newsworthy events of the South African apartheid era.
Director: Lionel Ngakane Distributor:Impact Video
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, Nelson Mandela, history, politics
New South Africa: A Personal Journey, The (DVD : 58 min. ) [1995]
DVD 8148
Abstract: The white expatriate playwright Tug Yourgrau (The Song of Jacob Zulu) returns to South Africa after the election of Nelson Mandela to learn about the changes there. He finds a people exhilarated to have been spared a horrifying civil war but still grappling with how to bring about reconciliation. Everywhere he looks he sees that the enormous gulf between white and black still exists, not just in standards of living, but also in their understanding of one another. Yet there are also signs of change. His old school which was totally white, now has a mixed student body and teaches Zulu in addition to Afrikaans. He rejoices in the new diversity in the press, which reflects voices ranging from the hard Right nostalgic for apartheid to the revolutionary Left impatient for change. It is not easy to overcome so many years of inequity. Crime, pollution and shanty towns are still in evidence. But here and there real progress is in evidence. Ndaba Ntsele, who once would have been a manual laborer, now owns a successful construction company and drives a BMW sedan. Here is a fascinating, first hand report on a country undergoing immense social change as the whole world watches.
Director: Tug Yourgrau and Joel Olicker Distributor:Flimakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, race, apartheid, history
Night Stop (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8244
Abstract: This documentary tells of the lives of eight prostitutes living in northern Mozambique. They reveal their individual stories of pregnancy, the search for a husband, unrequited love, violence and resignation. While the women are aware of the dangers of HIV and AIDS, they continue to have unprotected sex. The video also illustrates the world of the truck drivers as they talk among themselves. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 5).
Director: Licinio Azavedo Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, violence, labor, gender, Steps for the Future
Not Afraid (Videocassette : 7 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8256
Abstract: Not Afraid tells the story of Cathy from Namibia, who is 36 and has four children. During her second marriage, she got pregnant four times but lost the baby on each occasion. During her fourth pregnancy she took an HIV test, and was told that she was HIV-positive as she was going into labor. Not only was she informed insensitively at an inappropriate moment with no counseling, she also received no special care for the delivery of her child. Born prematurely, her baby had to remain in hospital but did not survive. Cathy now counsels HIV-positive people. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 17).
Director: Carla Hoffmann Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Namibia, HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, counseling, Steps for the Future
On Tiptoe: The Music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Videocassette : 56 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 7172
Abstract: Tells the inspiring story of the group that introduced South African music to the world, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The film recounts how a music affirming its deeply traditional roots has been passed down and popularized under the most hostile circumstances.
Director: Eric Simonson Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, music, apartheid, popular culture, politics
Ordinary People. Sebokeng by Night (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1994]
VHS 9321
Abstract: Zone 12 in Sebokeng, a township outside Johannesburg, had been the scene of many massacres in the years before South Africa's first democratic election. 'Invisible' gunmen came out in the night to kill arbitrarily, leaving the township a tense war-zone. On the night of filming, Aviva, a young 'comrade' who works to defend the township at night, takes one crew to an ANC affiliated 'Self Defense Unit' (SDU) vigil for a murdered resident. Another crew spends the night with Amelia, a housewife terrified by nightfall; and a third follows a member of the South African Police's 'Internal Stability Unit' (ISU), which patrols the township in armored cars from dusk to dawn each night. As the night passes, Sebokeng By Night conveys the experience of township life in the midst of murderous conflict, and the toll the violence takes on ordinary people on all sides.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Sebokeng, apartheid, vigilantes, crime, government
Ordinary People. The Lawyer, The Farmer and The Clerk (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1994]
VHS 9319
Abstract: June 25, 1993. Ordinary People, on hand to cover constitutional negotiations, captured footage broadcast around the world of a tank smashing through the glass wall of Johannesburg's World Trade Center, as right wing extremists occupied the negotiating chamber. This program chronicles this historic day through the eyes of three characters: Rashni, a clerk who was trapped inside the building when the protesters simply walked past the passive police; Leon, a right wing extremist who took part in the takeover; and Patrick, a member of a dispossessed black African community who had come to picket against the loss of his people's land during apartheid.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, constitutional negotiations, history
Ordinary People. The Penalty Area (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1994]
VHS 9322
Abstract: Baviaanspoort Maximum Security prison, outside Pretoria, was notorious for its inhumane conditions - until 1992 when a new recreational soccer program was introduced. In July, 1993, the Orlando Pirates - South Africa's most popular team who, as a symbol of Soweto, are heroes to the inmates - came to Baviaanspoort to play the prison team. This film, the first ever shot inside a South African prison, covers this unprecedented sporting event as, for one day, a sense of humanity is restored to thousands of convicts.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, prison, soccer, sports
Ordinary People. City of Dreams (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9320
Abstract: City of Dreams spends a day in Ponte City, perhaps the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, and home to thousands of immigrants from all over Africa. This film introduces Babu, a bandmember in Ponte City's Zairian evangelical church; Mary, organizer of the on-premise nightclub's Miss Manhattan Africa competition; and James, a Zimbabwean banker and complex resident, who attends the pageant. The film reveals a city of dreamers, who in turn lend fascinating insights into the aspirations of urban Africans in South Africa.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, urbanization, immigration, religion, performance
Ordinary People: Following On (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [1996]
On Order
Abstract: The first chapters of Ordinary People, created in 1993, were produced in a starkly different South Africa. Amidst social and political turmoil and strife, leaders were deep in negotiations for a new order and the ramifications were being felt throughout the country's social structure. In this, the final episode of the 1995 season, Following On revisits a number of the men, women, and children featured in the inaugural series. Intercut with scenes from the first shows more than two years after they were assembled, this program reveals the repercussions that the events chronicled in five of those programs (The Peacemakers; The Lawyer, The Farmer, and The Clerk; The Tooth of the Times; The Penalty Area; and Make Believe -- see individual titles in catalogue) have had on the their subjects as they share the personal tolls the new South Africa has taken on their lives. The end result is a film which presents far more than just nostalgia and reflection as it bears witness to perhaps the most enormously tumultuous period of change in South Africa's history.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, human rights, sociology, politics, history
Our Developing World: Studies in Regional Political Geography (Videocassette : 241 min. ) [1996]
IN-PROCESS
Abstract: Each video of this series presents the political geography of a certain region. Topics frequently reviewed for each region are economic development, education, politics, cultural geography, and other subject areas. Produced by the Information Department of the United Nations Developmental Programme with the support of UNICEF and PROWESS. Ten videocassettes (volumes five through seven concern African nations): (v. 1) Central America: Costa Rica; (v. 2) Central America: Cuba; (v. 3) South America: Brazil; (v. 4) South America: Paraguay; (v. 5) Africa: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt; (v. 6) Africa: Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya; (v. 7) Africa: Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho; (v. 8) Asia: Mongolia, China, Nepal; (v. 9) Asia: Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam; (v. 10) South Pacific/Oceania: The Philippines, Kiribati.
Director: Josy Dubie Distributor:Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Keywords: Costa Rica, Cuba, Brazil, Paraguay, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Oceania, the Philippines, Kiribati, politics, history, economics
Out in South Africa (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 3699
Abstract: A look at the social and political conditions for gay and lesbian people in present-day South Africa. Features interviews and historical background on the country's transformation into an open society for gay people. Produced, directed, and edited by Barbara Hammer.
Director: Barbara Hammer Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, gay/ lesbian sexuality, gender, social activism, social life
Passing the Message (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1981]
VHS 9401
Abstract: Black workers under South Africa's system of apartheid produce that nation's wealth, while enjoying little of it. Passing the Message is a film about the struggle to organize trade unions for black majority in the face of a vast entanglement of repressive government policies. Three black union activists who we follow through their grassroots organizing efforts tell this story of courage and hope. Black trade unions, although legal since 1979, have had to register and operate under state control. Some unions have refused to comply. These unions have been opening a new chapter in the struggle for justice in South Africa, a chapter revealed in Passing the Message.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, labor unions, apartheid, politics, race, economy
Patience and Pinkie: Mother to Child (Videocassette : 44 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8247
Abstract: Follows the lives of two pregnant and HIV-positive women fortunate enough to be on a drug trial at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. The film charts the lives of Kholiwe (Patience) and Ntombekaya (Pinkie), who have made friends at the clinic's support group for HIV-positive mothers as they approach the delivery of their babies. It is about their expectations, hopes, and inevitable fears concerning not only the health of their babies, but the trauma around the disclosure of their status to their families and partners as well. It is also about the commitment of the people at the HIV perinatal clinic. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 8).
Director: Jane Thandi Lipman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, HIV/AIDS, women, pregnancy, counseling, Steps for the Future
Patient Abuse: TAC's Struggle for Treatment Access (Videocassette : 59 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7173
Abstract: The film presents the early missteps by the South African government health officials concerning AIDS. Film follows the controversial statements made by current President Thabo Mbeki which advance doubts that HIV is the cause of AIDS. Treatment Action Campaign challenges pharmaceutical companies for charging high prices for AIDS drugs. Efforts of Zackie Achmat highlighted.
Director: Jack Lewis Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, medical care, health, politics
Patterns of Subsistence: Food Foragers and Pastoralists (Videocassette : 29 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 5840
Abstract: Examination of various subsistence patterns. Selected roles among the !Kung, Mbuti and Nuer of Africa, the Netsilik Eskimos, and the Baseri of Iran are used to illustrate patterns and relationships.
Director: Ira R. Abrams, John Bishop Distributor:Insight Media
Keywords: South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, !Kung, Mbuti, Nuer, pastoralists, hunting and gathering, agriculture, economy
Paying the Price (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7421
Abstract: Paying the Price investigates the history of AIDS treatment in Africa. It details Uganda's success with a UN-sponsored program of price reduction and medical education, and South Africa's refusal to begin a national AIDS treatment program despite defeating a drug company court challenge to the government's import and manufacture of generic anti-retroviral drugs. Finally, it looks at the success of smaller local programs that are bringing hope for the future to many infected Africans. Additional materials available at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1171
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Uganda, South Africa, HIV/AIDS, health, politics, drugs
Peacemakers (The) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9199
Abstract: This inaugural episode of Ordinary People (a South African television series) visits the 1993 rallies in Vosloorus township commemorating the Sharpeville massacre of 1961. Historically an occasion for demonstrations of unity and resistance to apartheid, this day became more dramatic when separate opposing assemblies were convened by both the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress. The Peacemakers introduces four people at Vosloorus: Gertrude, an Inkatha-supporting peace monitor; Faith, her ANC counterpart; David, an organizer for the regional peace committee; and Clive, a policeman. As the day progresses, the truce between the warring parties is continually tested, even while all work determinedly to keep at bay the violence that has marked the conflict between these parties.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, African National Congress, apartheid, commemoration, Inkatha Freedom Party, politics, race relations
Phela-ndaba = End of the Dialogue: Apartheid in South Africa 1970 (Videocassette : 45 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8728
Abstract: This film was shot illegally in South Africa during 1969-1970 by members of the Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa. The documentary presents the stark contrast between the quality of life of whites and blacks of South Africa under apartheid in 1970, with minimal narration. Made by a small group of South African exiles and film students based in London.
Director: Antonia Caccia, Chris Curling, Simon Louvish, Nana Mahomo, Vus Make, Rakhetla Tsehlana. Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, race relations, apartheid
Political Organization (Videocassette : 29 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 7829
Abstract: Profiles the four forms of political organizations: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. Shows how small bands such as the !Kung lead to a relatively egalitarian society, while large chiefdoms such as the Kpelle of Liberia maintain a hierarchy based on wealth. Narrated by Kate Porter.
Director: Harry Ratner Distributor:Insight Media
Keywords: Southern Africa, Liberia, !Kung, Kpelle, political organization, anthropology, inequality
Prime Time South Africa (Videocassette : 108 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3797
Abstract: Consists of six segments from South African Broadcasting Corporation television programming. The segments were chosen to demonstrate the variety of ways the media is portraying South Africa's new, post-apartheid society. Segments include commercials and excerpts from programs entitled Soul City, Local Voter, Rhythm and Rights, Generations, and Going Up.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, media, popular culture, politics, social life
Reasonable Man (A) (Videocassette : 103 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS VHS 8295
Abstract: This film tells the story of a city lawyer who defends a herdboy from rural Zululand. The herdboy is accused of murdering a one year old baby in the mistaken belief that he was killing an evil spirit known as the Tikoloshe. Dark secrets lie buried deep within the lawyer and on taking the case he enters aworld of witchcraft and mysticism in order to discover the truth about the killing, and himself.
Director: NA Distributor:Ster-Kinekor Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, law, religion, feature film
Red Dust (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 110 min. ) [2004]
DVD 9029
Abstract: A political thriller set in a small South African town during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. Human rights lawyer Sarah Barcant must represent Alex Mpondo, a former political activist, who was held captive and sadistically tortured by a police officer under the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Director: Tom Hooper Distributor:HBO Video
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, thriller, reconciliation, human rights, politics, feature film
Red Hot + Riot : Encounters with AIDS in Africa (DVD : 58 min. ) [2003]
DVD 5021
Abstract: This film focuses on and documents the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the lives of the people of Nigeria and South Africa. Using the music of Fela Kuti, the documentary reveals the magnitude of the AIDS problem, the personal tragedies, as entire households are wiped out by the disease, and what needs to be done to stem the flow of this epidemic. Included in this DVD are interviews with Yeni Kuti (Fela's daughter ), with Femi Kuti (Fela's son) and with Paul Heck, co-producer of the album as well as behind-the-scene footage.
Director: Maria Lovett Distributor:Red Hot Organization, New York
Keywords: Nigeria, South Africa, afro-beat, HIV/AIDS, popular culture, music, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
Red Ribbon Around my House (A) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8252
Abstract: A mother and daughter are in crisis because of their different responses to AIDS. The mother, Pinky, is flamboyant and open about the fact that she is HIV-positive. The daughter, Ntombi, battles to be just like everyone else. Her mother's refusal to be passive in the face of AIDS sets them both apart. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 13).
Director: Portia Rankoane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, women, Steps for the Future
Regopstaan's Dream (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8927
Abstract: On March 21st, 1999, at a ceremony in the Kalahari desert, a community of 300 Bushmen were granted 125,000 acres of their own land for the first time by the South African government. Twenty-five years earlier, they had been evicted from the Kalahari by the previous, apartheid government of South Africa who said that they were 'too westernized' to cohabit with the wild animals in the National Park. Forced to live in shanty conditions on a patch of land just outside the park, their eviction was just one more chapter in a history of violence and exploitation dating from the beginnings of Dutch settlement. Regopstaan Krupier was an elder in the #Khomani clan of the Bushmen who initiated the fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. Regopstaan's Dream follows the story of his son, Dawid Krupier's campaign to make the dream come true by making sure that the South African government honors their agreement to allow him and his extended family the right to live in their Kalahari home.
Director: Chris Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Kalahari, Bushmen, San, national parks, apartheid, politics, conservation, land
Regopstaan's Dream (DVD : 24 min. ) [2000]
DVD 8128
Abstract: In 1974, the South African apartheid government evicted the Bushmen inhabiting areas of the Kalahari Desert as part of an ongoing genocide against these people, which had gone on for generations. Forced to live in shanty conditions on the edge of their own land, the Khomani clan of the Bushmen initiated a fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. On 21st March 1999, at a ceremony in the Kalahari Desert, 300 of the world's remaining Bushmen were granted 125,000 acres of land by the new South African government. Regopstaan Krupier was an elder in the #Khomani clan of the Bushmen who initiated the fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. Regopstaan's Dream follows the story of his son, Dawid Krupier's campaign to make the dream come true by making sure that the South African government honors their agreement to allow him and his extended family the right to live in their Kalahari home.
Director: Chris Walker Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Kalahari, Bushmen, San, national parks, apartheid, politics, conservation, land
Remember Mandela! (Videocassette : 31 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 1108
Abstract: A portrait of the world's most famous political prisoner, who has been in jail since 1962. It outlines his career, and shows why he was such a threat to white rule, through personal accounts.
Director: NA Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, apartheid, politics, history
Return of Sara Baartman (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS.VHS 7702
Abstract: Chronicles the return of the remains of Sara Baartman, a Black woman who had been exhibited as a freak in early nineteenth-century Europe. Her remains were returned to South Africa from France, where they had been kept at the Museum of Man (Musée de l'Homme). On April 29, 2002, Sara's remains were officially handed back to the South African people at an emotionally charged ceremony at the country's embassy in Paris and, on August 9 (National Women's Day), she was ceremonially buried on the banks of the Gamtoos River. Sara's repatriation involved years of lobbying by people in South Africa, including Professor Phillip Tobias, South African poet Diana Ferrus, and French senator Nicolas About who, when told that only a law could force the country to give up Baartman, introduced one. Originally produced as a movie in 2002.
Director: Zola Maseko Distributor:First Run
Keywords: South Africa, France, Sara Baartman, science, history, popular culture, racism, anthropology
Rhythm of Resistance: The Black Music of South Africa (Videocassette NA ) [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 2939
Abstract: Takes you across the forbidden boundaries of apartheid to experience the authentic joy and sorrow of Black South African music. Features music that has been ignored, suppressed or ghettoized, some filmed clandestinely.
Director: Chris Austin and Jeremy Marre Distributor:Shanachie Records
Keywords: South Africa, music, popular culture
Road from Rio (The) (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8130
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. This segment questions the relevance and success of the World Summit on Sustainable Development which opened in August 2002 in Johannesburg. As world leaders prepared for the meeting, hard questions were raised -- when governments had failed to deliver on so many of the promises they made in Rio -- why should the world believe they'd be any more responsive at the second summit?
Director: Steve Bradshaw Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, economic development, globalization, pollitics
Roots of African Culture (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8348
Abstract: A documentary film which attempts to dispell apartheid ideology by showing black students proof of South African settlements prior to the arrival of Europeans.
Director: Michael Chapman Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, history
Samora Machel: Son of Africa (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1989]
VHS 9345
Abstract: Before his death in a tragic plane crash that many believe to have resulted from South African sabotage, Mozambican President Samora Machel gave the filmmaker an exclusive interview that forms the basis for the look at one of Africa's most important freedom fighters and revolutionaries.
Director: Ron Hallis Distributor:First Run, Icarus Films
Keywords: Mozambique, South Africa, government, history, revolution
Sangoma: Traditional Healers in Modern Society (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 2960
Abstract: A documentary on traditional healers in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. The film addresses how they are being integrated into the new South Africa's health care system in the area of AIDS education and plant conservation. Produced by Peter Davis and Harvey McKinnon.
Director: Peter Davis Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, HIV/AIDS, medicine, health, traditional healing
Scorpion Under the Rock: Afrikaans from Colonialism to Democracy (Videocassette : 78 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 6957 Pts. 1- 3
Abstract: This three part docudrama looks at the relationship between language and political, social and economic power in South Africa from the beginning of Dutch colonial rule until today. The story of the origins and development of the Afrikaans language is narrated by Zaine Lackay (played by David Isaacs), a student activist from Salt River. His experience of the Afrikaans language is used as a central point at which to relate a series of historical tableaux. (3 videocassettes)
Director: Zackie Achmat and Jack Lewis Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, Afrikaans, language, race relations, history
Shouting Silent (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7761
Abstract: Explores the South African AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Xoliswa Sithole, an adult orphan who lost her mother to AIDS in 1996. The devastation wrought on the orphaned children of South Africa by the HIV/AIDS pandemic shows how entire generations of young people are growing up without parents.
Director: Renée Rosen Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, youth, health, orphans
Silent Killer. The Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger (DVD : 57 min. ) [2005]
DVD 7636
Abstract: There are still a billion hungry people in the world. Fifteen thousand children -- the equivalent of five times the victims of the World Trade Center bombings -- die each day of hunger. Yet it doesn't have to be this way. We can end hunger -- if we make a commitment to doing so. Silent Killer shows how it can be done. Hosted by National Public Radio's Scott Simon, the film begins in South Africa's Kalahari Desert, where razor-thin Bushmen use the Hoodia cactus to fend off hunger. But now, a drug firm has patented the Hoodia's appetite-suppressant properties and is using it to make a diet product for obese Americans and Europeans. Hoodia is a metaphor for a world where some people die from too much food, but millions more die from too little. We discover how serious the problem is in Kenya as we meet Jane Ininda, a scientist who is trying to make agriculture more productive in her country, while her own brother, Salesio, barely survives the drought, poor soils and pests that constantly threaten his crops. Through powerful stories, we come to understand the dimensions of the hunger crisis. At the World Food Summit in Rome, we learn how activists have been working to end hunger since President John Kennedy declared war on it in 1963. But today, America's commitment to food security is less clear. In fact, world financial commitments to hunger research have been declining in recent years. But Silent Killer does not leave viewers feeling helpless. A visit to Brazil finds a nation energized by a new campaign called 'Fome Zero' -- Zero Hunger. In the huge city of Belo Horizonte, we meet a remarkable leader and see how, under the programs she supervises, the right to food is guaranteed to all. In the countryside, we are introduced to the Landless Peasants' Movement, which is giving hope to millions of hungry Brazilians.
Director: Hana Jindrova and John de Graaf Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Kalahari, Bushmen, hunger, drought, food, agriculture, development
Silent Killer: AIDS in South Africa, The (DVD : 52 min. ) [2005]
DVD 8142
Abstract: South Africa is hard hit by the HIV epidemic which is infecting more than 1500 people per day. At Johannesburg's biggest hospitals, forty to fifty percent of the beds are occupied by patients with AIDS-related infections It is estimated that one fourth of the population will be affected soon. The history of social and economic division that still continues in South Africa is reflected in the way the disease has spread. Poor black women in the townships get only inferior mixtures of AZT to prevent their babies from being born infected. They do not get the information necessary to prevent infection. The disease is not confined to the poor, for affluent whites are also affected by HIV. We hear from patients, social workers, medical experts and government policy makers on the magnitude of the problem.
Director: Marika Griehsel Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, HIV/AIDS, health, race, government
Simon & I (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8241
Abstract: The story of Simon Nkoli and his friend, Bev Ditsie, both activists in the anti-apartheid and gay and lesbian liberation movements in South Africa. Their relationship is viewed against the backdrop of intense political activism and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 2).
Director: Bev Ditsie, Nicky Newman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, gay and lesbian activism, anti-apartheid movement, Steps for the Future
Six Days in Soweto (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [1977]
V. CASS. VHS 1801
Abstract: The violent Soweto student strike of June 17, 1976 is re-lived by residents of Soweto.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, politics, history
Sizwe Bansi is Dead (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1978]
V. CASS. VHS 2556
Abstract: Presents a dramatization of the play by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona entitled Sizwe Bansi is Dead. Preceding and following the play Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee express views on the play's theme, the struggle for human dignity in apartheid-ruled South Africa.
Director: Graeme McDonald, John Davies Distributor:Insight Media
Keywords: South Africa, race, apartheid, theater, Fugard
Sky in her Eyes (The) (Videocassette : 11 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8263
Abstract: The Sky in her Eyes tells the story of a young girl in Kwazulu-Natal struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother from AIDS. A young boy befriends her and allows her to attach a drawing of her mother to his kite. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 24).
Director: Ouida Smit. Madoda Ncayiyana Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Kwazulu-Natal, HIV/AIDS, children, Steps for the Future
Slavery and the Making of America. Volume 1: The Downward Spiral (DVD : 60 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5288 PT. 1
Abstract: Program One covers the period from 1619 through 1739, and spotlights the origins of slavery in America, focusing on Dutch New Amsterdam (later New York City). This installment shows how slavery in its early days was a loosely defined labor source similar to indentured servitude, in which Africans and others of mixed race and/or mixed culture had some legal rights, could take their masters to court and could even earn wages as they undertook the backbreaking labor involved in building a new nation --clearing land, constructing roads, unloading ships. But further south, the story of John Punch served as an omen of things to come. Captured after attempting to escape his tobacco plantation, he received a sentence far harsher than the two white men who ran with him. Indeed, in the Carolinas, where the enslaved were teaching struggling white planters how to grow the wildly lucrative crop oryza (rice), the labor system was already progressing towards the absolute control, dehumanizing oppression and sheer racism we today most commonly associate with slavery. The first hour culminates with the bloody Stono rebellion in South Carolina, which led to the passage of 'black codes,' regulating virtually every aspect of slaves' lives. The first episode features the stories of John Punch, Emanuel Driggus and Francis Driggus. This volume is part of the Slavery and the Making of America series.
Director: James Danté Distributor:Ambrose Video Publishing
Keywords: America, Africa, New York, South Carolina, indentured labor, overview, history, slavery
Slavery and the Making of America. Volume 3: Seeds of Destruction (DVD : 60 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5288 PT. 3
Abstract: The series' third program looks at the period from 1800 through the start of the Civil War, during which slavery saw an enormous expansion and entered its final decades. As the nation expanded west, the question of slavery became the overriding political issue of the time. These years saw an increasingly militant abolitionist movement and a widening rift between the North --which had largely outlawed slavery but continued to reap the vast economic benefits of the system -- and the South, now home to millions of enslaved black men, women and children. This is the period of slavery most commonly depicted in history books and captured by dramas. Leading Southerners such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had been convinced slavery was nearing its end. But the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican War brought vast new territories into the United States, and the battle between those for and against slavery intensified. By 1860, every attempt at striking an agreement --the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, a draconian federal fugitive slave law-- had failed, splitting apart the Union. Men and women featured in the series' third episode are: Harriet Jacobs, Solomon Northup, Louis and Matilda Hughes. This volume is part of the Slavery and the making of America series.
Director: Ghana Gazit Distributor:Ambrose Video Publishing
Keywords: America, Africa, overview, history, slavery, abolitionism, emancipation
Slavery and the Making of America. Volume 4: The Challenge of Freedom (DVD : 60 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5288 PT. 4
Abstract: The series' fourth program follows the life of Robert Smalls as it takes viewers through the Civil War, the Reconstruction and beyond. A South Carolina slave who rode a stolen Confederate ship to freedom, Smalls became a sailor in the Union Navy, bought the mansion in which he had been enslaved, and went on to a long, successful career in politics. The program follows the transformation of the Civil War from a conflict intended to restore the Union to a conflict over slavery. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves under the control of the Confederate government. The Reconstruction period that followed offered much promise to the newly freed slaves, but by the 1876 Presidential election the North had tired of dealing with civil rights and decided to leave the issue of the treatment of the freed slaves to the Southern states, where many former Confederate leaders had taken the helm of government. With Smalls' story as a framework, this final installment looks at the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and militant opposition to black rights, the end of the Reconstruction and its replacement with a whole new kind of legalized oppression. This volume is part of the Slavery and the Making of America series.
Director: Leslie Farrell Distributor:Ambrose Video Publishing
Keywords: America, Africa, overview, history, slavery, emancipation, civil war
Somalia: the Neglected Civil War (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS VHS 7506
Abstract: Independent since 1960, Somalia has seen virtually constant political upheaval. Some eighty percent of the nation is under the power of guerillas and local warlords. Recently, Somalia has become a target in the post-Afghanistan 'war against terrorism'. Part of a three part series entitled Africa in the 21st Century, see also Zimbabwe & South Africa: Still Far from Coexistence and Mali and Senegal: The Power of Islam.
Director: Seijun Hata Distributor:Filmakers Library, Inc.
Keywords: Somalia, civil war, guerillas, politics
Song of Africa (Videocassette : 59 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4560
Abstract: In this all Black production made in the early 1950s and directed by an Afrikaner, a Zulu band leader, Daniel Makiza, returns to his village with a gramophone and musical instruments determined to start a Zulu jazz band. He takes his band to the city where their jazz contest performance constitutes the body of the film. This film, produced at the inception of apartheid, contains many of the clichés and self-delusions that were to make apartheid tenable. Thecosmetic world depicted is completely in harmony with Afrikaner Nationalist philosophy, a mass fantasy indulged by thousands of Afrikaners.
Director: Emil Nofal Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, music, popular culture, history, urban life
Songololo: Voices of Change (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 54 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 3228
Abstract: Examines the role of black resistance to apartheid in South Africa through a look at two of the nation's leading cultural activists and popular performers, poet Mzwakhe Mbuli and writer/performer Gcina Mhlophe. Through their poetry, music and storytelling, they show us the important role culture played in changing South Africa. In addition to interviews with, and dynamic performances by, both Mbuli and Mhlophe, the film includes rousing scenes of hostel dancing,church singing, township jazz and freedom songs.
Director: Marianne Kaplan Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, intellectual life, social conditions, politics and government, music, theater, poetry, popular culture, performance
Songs of the Adventurers (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 2341
Abstract: Depicts the poetic songs, known as difela, of Sotho migrant workers, who must go from their homes in Lesotho to work in the mines in the Republic of South Africa.
Director: Gei Zantzinger Distributor:Constant Spring Productions
Keywords: Lesotho, migrant workers, song
South Africa (Motion Picture : 27 min. ) [1968]
MP-16MM 245
Abstract: Describes the nature of the unusual historical background out of which modern South Africa has evolved, and the many social problems which the peoples of South Africa face. Discusses criticisms of the government's racial policies and shows why South Africa will probably not change very much within the near future.
Director: NA Distributor:McGraw-Hill Films
Keywords: South Africa, history, apartheid
South Africa (Videocassette : 19 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 1130
Abstract: CBS news. Produced by John Tiffin.
Director: NA Distributor:Carousel Films
Keywords: South Africa, journalism, media
South Africa Belongs to Us (Motion Picture : 35 min. ) [1980]
MP-16MM 261
Abstract: Five black women describe their lives under the South African system of apartheid.
Director: Chris Austin Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, women, apartheid
South African Chronicles (Videocassette : 105 min. ) [1988]
VHS 9346
Abstract: The nine short documentaries comprising South African Chronicles were produced by twelve young filmmakers at the racially integrated Varan Workshop. Focused on such subjects as a meeting of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, an election campaign in a small mining town, a homeless children's shelter in the racially mixed Hillbrow section of Johannesburg, and the distribution of pension checks to senior citizens in Soweto, these films show the realities of South African life behind the sensationalism and rhetoric of most reports out of South Africa. In this way, South African Chronicles tells the story of apartheid all the more vividly.
Director: Varan Workshop of Johannesburg Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, human rights, sociology
Southern Africa Safari (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 6660
Abstract: Photo safari visits Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Points of interest include the Okvango delta, the Luangwa Valley, the Matopos, Victoria Falls and the white water rapids of the Zambezi River.
Director: NA Distributor:International Video Network
Keywords: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, photography, travel, geography
Soweto: A History (Videocassette : 156 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS VHS 7521
Abstract: Completed on the eve of South Africa's first democratic election, a groundbreaking six part documentary series [each part is 26 minutes in length] which reclaims the untold story of South Africa's largest city. A wealth of extraordinary archive footage, personal and documentary photographs evoke the drama of daily life in Soweto. The six parts are: Building Matchbox City, Divide and Rule, Best of the Worst, This is Our Day, By War-the Era of the Comrades, End Beginnings. Accompanies the book by the the same name by P. Bonner and L. Seagal.
Director: Angus Gibson Distributor:Film Resource Unit, Johannesburg
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, anti-apartheid movements, politics, history
Spares & Besties (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6955
Abstract: A sexuality, HIV/AIDS video workshop for youth. Produced with the help of the students of Guguletu Comprehensive and Tafelsig Senior Secondary in Cape Town, young men and women discuss their experiences of sex with startling frankness. The programme is not a safer sex information tape. Rather, it seeks to place the basic facts about safer-sex in the context of the real world in which young people are expected to act on this information.
Director: NA Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, sexuality, health, HIV/AIDS, youth, education
State of Denial (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 7868
Abstract: South Africa is the country with the highest number of HIV positive people in the world. This video illustrates how they must fight not only the disease but the drug cartels and the inactivity of their own government to get treatment.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, drug companies
Stepping Out (Videocassette : 29 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 3262
Abstract: Denzel, a teenager from the 'colored' township of Newclare, takes part in the Miss Gay Transvaal competition. The cameras are on Denzel, as well as his mother and a local gay rights activist who were both in attendance. Part of the Ordinary People series (South African television series).
Director: Nicolaas Hofmeyr Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, sexuality and gender, performance, popular culture
Steps for the Future (Video Recording Series) (Videocassette NA ) [2001]
See individual titles 25 Cassettes
Abstract: Steps for the Future is a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS. In 25 volumes. See individual title for descriptions: It's My Life, Wa 'N Wina, Simon & I, Looking for Busi, Body & Soul, Night Stop, Dancing on the Edge, A Miner's Tale, Mother to Child, Eclipse, A Fighting Spirit, Imita Ikula, Love in a Time of Sickness, A Red Ribbon Around My House, A Luta Continua, Heavy Traffic, 6000 a Day, Master Positive, Not Afraid, Guilty, The Moment, Dreams of a Good Life, Gotta Give, Ndodii, Big Balls, Ho Ea Rona, Tsoga, Let's Talk About It, Dispel Your Attitude, That's Me, Choose Life, The Ball, The Sky in Her Eyes, True Friends.
Director: Don Edkins (Series Producer) Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Southern Africa, HIV/AIDS, youth, marriage, romance, health, gay and lesbian, Steps for the Future
Stories My Country Told Me: Tutu and the Rainbow Nation (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6134
Abstract: 'You'll never be free until we are free,' said Archbishop Desmond Tutu to the white citizens of South Africa, and thanks to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, blacks and whites alike are finally free to put down the burden of guilt and come together as one people. This program follows a busy day in the life of Nobel Laureate Tutu in 1996, which begins with a tour through his Cape Town diocese and ends with a trip to Johannesburg to greet his mentor, Trevor Huddleston, on his return to South Africa.
Director: Tim May Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Desmond Tutu, history, politics, apartheid
Story of a Beautiful Country (Videocassette : 73 min. ) [2004]
VHS 9229
Abstract: Story of a Beautiful Country is the journey of Khalo Matabane, a young black filmmaker in search of his 'new country,' the promised land -- the new South Africa. Matabane, traveling with a hand-held camera throughout nine provinces of his country, films entirely from the seat of a mini-bus taxi, capturing the physical beauty of a still troubled land. The taxi also serves as an open forum for ordinary people to talk about their feelings and impressions of the new South Africa, which broke away from apartheid in 1994. Following the format of talk radio, a national obsession, topics range over controversial issues such as land, race, language, globalization, democracy, identity, and violence. Many realize that after hundreds of years of racial oppression, peace and tolerance will not come to this country overnight. Despite the hurdles, however, South Africans -- regardless of race and social status -- are proud of their country and willing to defend it. Story of a Beautiful Country expresses the hopes and dreams of the youth -- the next generation of people trying to find their way and their voice in the new South Africa.
Director: Khalo Matabane Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films, NY
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, democracy, identity, post-apartheid era, race relations
Thapelo: A Prayer for Africa (DVD : 53 min. ) [2003]
DVD 3114
Abstract: In post-apartheid South Africa, one in two children die of AIDS, one in two women are raped, and 20,000 homicides occur annually, the world's highest murder rate. Against these appalling statistics and a disintegrating social fabric, this program presents examples of South Africa's greatest hope, the spirit of its people.
Director: Jo Willesee Distributor:Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, social life, violence, children
That's Me (Videocassette : 7 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8262
Abstract: In That's Me, a HIV-positive drag queen discusses being gay and HIV-positive in Zimbabwe. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the time of AIDS/HIV (Volume 23).
Director: Sasha Wales-Smith Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, gay and lesbian, transvestites, Steps for the Future
This Crazy Thing Called Grace: Desmond Tutu and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [1997]
On Order
Abstract: The main objective of this documentary is to communicate the synthesis Desmond Tutu has made in his own mind of politics, liberation, Africanness and the practice and dedicated interpretation of the Christian faith in the context of a South Africa in full transition, as he took on the role of Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Director: Joëlle Chesselet Distributor:Journeyman Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, Desmond Tutu, TRC, religion, reconciliation
Tooth of The Time (The) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9198
Abstract: Eddie Jacobs dreamed of being buried under an old prickly pear tree on the farm owned by his family for four generations. But when the government ceased its policy of 'buying' farmers' votes with subsidies - while an extended drought continued - Eddie was bankrupted, unable to pay back numerous loans. Thousands of other farmers and their workers faced the same plight. The Tooth of The Time spends a day with Eddie; Faan, a black laborer also born and raised on the farm; and Rudy Nagel, who is charged with auctioning away Eddie's life. Part of the Ordinary People series (a South African television series).
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, agriculture and farming, economy, labor, land
Tribal Mind (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 8933
Abstract: South Africa is struggling to overcome the legacy of racism and ethnic division that plagues so many countries. Against a backdrop of ongoing violence, a new breed of South Africans is struggling to create a real democracy. Is the rest of the world prepared to relinquish its own 'tribes?' Is there enough time?
Director: Torben Schioler, Gwynne Dyer Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, race, ethnicity, politics, democracy
True Friends (Videocassette : 20 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8264
Abstract: A trilogy of short films (each 7 minutes long) using hand-made animal puppets to dramatize different issues around HIV/AIDS, making them easily accessible to young children aged 5 to 8 years old. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 25).
Director: Bert Sonneschein Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, children, Steps for the Future
Tsoga = Wake Up (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8260
Abstract: Tsoga presents the story of a community confronting a terrible dilemma after 70% of the students of a highly productive community school test positive for HIV. Joyce, who has been positive since she was raped as a school girl seven years ago, talks about discrimination at schools which leads to students dropping out. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 21).
Director: Sechaba Ramotoai Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, HIV/AIDS, rape, children, school, Steps for the Future
Tsotsi (DVD : 94 min. ) [2006]
DVD 7818
Abstract: A young man running with a criminal gang on the streets of Johannesburg, Tsotsi - a nickname meaning thug - is immersed in a world of violence that seems to leave him unaffected, until he discovers an infant in the backseat of a car he has stolen.
Director: Gavin Hood Distributor:Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, criminals, gangs, youth, poverty, feature film
Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela: A Son's Tribute to Unsung Heroes (DVD : 73 min. ) [2006]
DVD 6399
Abstract: Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela provides a rare inside look into the organizational and psychological dynamics of liberation movements in general and the ANC in particular. At the same time its poignant story of the bonds between a son and his father strained by our politically turbulent times has universal resonance.
Director: Thomas Allen Harris Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, liberation movements, ANC, politics, apartheid
Two Rivers, The (Videocassette : 59 min. ) [1986]
VHS 9350
Abstract: Documentary which looks at the rural South African man's perspective on his country through the eyes of writer Rashaka Ratshitanga. Rashaka Ratshitanga lives in Venda, a rural area of South Africa, recently declared by them to be an independent black state in accordance with their policy of apartheid. Detained many times for his opposition to the white regime, Ratshitanga spent twenty years as a migrant worker in Johannesburg. He takes the viewer on a journey from his small rural village across the country to Johannesburg.
Director: Mark Newman Distributor:British Film Institute
Keywords: South Africa, Venda, Johannesburg, apartheid, urbanization, migrant labor
Uku hamba 'ze = To Walk Naked (Videocassette : 13 min. ) [1995]
V.CASS. VHS 5937
Abstract: In 1990 a group of South African women protested the destruction of their homes in the squatter camps of Dobsonville by the Afrikaaner National Government. Five years later the women reflect on their experiences and describe the social stigma of stripping themselves naked to protest their oppression.
Director: Jacqueline Maingard with Sheila Meintjes and Heather Thompson Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, women, housing, politics, history
Unbannings and Mandela Freed (The) (Videocassette : 44 min. ) [1992]
V.CASS. VHS 8671
Abstract: Portrays the events surrounding the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in South Africa.
Director: NA Distributor:Film Resource Unit, Video Library & Distribution Services
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, politics, history
Unexplained: Voodoo Rituals (The) (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [1998]
V.CASS. VHS 6862
Abstract: As a young man, Yuseff Abdulla ventured into the swamplands of South Carolina in search of spiritual fulfillment. He found his way to the Oyutunji African village 65 miles south of Charleston, where the people live in a culture modeled on that of the West African Yoruba people. An essential part of their culture is the practice of Voodoo. Twenty years after his introduction to Oyotunji, Yuseff, now a high priest of Voodoo, begins another odyssey, journeying to West Africa to confirm that the traditions he has devoted his life to reflect those of his ancestors.
Director: Andrew Holland Distributor:New Video Group
Keywords: United States, West Africa, Yoruba, voudou, ritual, religion, diaspora
Unfolding of the Sky (The) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 7479 Pt. 3 (PAL format)
Abstract: Features a dialogue between an Afrikaans woman who has reported on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, and an African woman who has been a victim of the apartheid system in South Africa. Part three of the series Landscape of Memory. See also From the Ashes, I Have Seen=Nda Mona, and Soul in Torment.
Director: Antjie Krog and Ronelle Loots Distributor:Film Resource Unit [www.fru.co.za]
Keywords: South Africa, women, apartheid, reconciliation, history, politics
Up in Smoke (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8141
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. This segment looks at the country of Malawi in Southern African where tobacco is the major export crop, responsible for 70% of all export earnings. But dependence on tobacco crops and manipulation by the tobacco industry has stunted the economy of Malawi, and despite the diminished returns from tobacco growing, the government has increased the land under cultivation.
Director: Martin Otanez, Christopher Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Malawi, economic development, tobacco, farming
Vanishing Cultures: Bushmen of the Kalahari (DVD : 58 min. ) [2005]
DVD 7839
Abstract: The film takes a look at the San people, traditionally hunter-gatherers, but who are now facing outside pressure to change to a 21st century life. They find themselves having to stand up for their heritage, their land and their dignity. They realize that they can benefit economically from their distinct knowledge and traditions.
Director: Jeffrey Hayes Kazmark Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Southern Africa, San people, land tenure, hunting, economy
Wa 'n wina = Sincerely Yours (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8240
Abstract: Filmmaker Dumisani Phakathi returns to his old neighborhood in Phiri, Soweto and engages with friends to discuss relationships, sex, love, and AIDS. They talk intimately about the realities of the street and choices they have been forced to make. The video reveals the gaps between everyday life and the AIDS campaigns that often talk past the very people they are supposed to address.Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 1).
Director: Dumisani Phakathi Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, Soweto, social conditions, gender, sexual behavior, Steps for the Future
Walk in the Night (A)= Nagstappie (Videocassette : 79 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 4809
Abstract: Recounts a single terrible night when the fragile world of Mikey Adonis, a young coloured steel worker, disintegrates; illustrates how a decent man can be driven to an act of brutality by a racist society which humiliates him at every turn.
Director: Mickey Madoda Dube Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, race relations, history, feature film
Water for Tonoumassaé (DVD : 28 min. ) [1987]
DVD 7931
Abstract: During the long, dry season in the south of Togo, in West Africa, a woman's day began at 1:00 a.m. with an eight-hour trek for water. Unbeknownst to her, the water so arduously collected was contaminated. Water for Tonoumassé shows the efforts of a group of villagers to get clean water by drilling a well nearby. It chronicles the success of this project in which women played a key role. To the surprise of the village men, the women were capable of making decisions, handling money, and learning the mechanics of keeping the pump in working order. We share their joy as they celebrate when water pours forth. By taking responsibility, these women have transformed daily life, both for themselves and their families. They are able to care for their children better and have more time to grow food. This vivid example of a development project that works is an excellent resource for exploring issues relating to women's roles in developing countries.
Director: Gary Beitel Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Togo, water, technology, development, women
We Jive Like This (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1991]
V. CASS. VHS 6302
Abstract: Records the dance, poetry, theatre and music of South Africa's streets and backyards which provide a kind of street education, an outlet for self-expression, and a celebration of everyday life.
Director: Deborah May Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, music, popular culture
We Never Give Up (Videocassette : 70 min. ) [2002]
VHS 9051
Abstract: This documentary is a collection of stories told by eleven survivors of apartheid violence. They are all members of the Khulumani Support Group, Western Cape, and are involved in a battle to hold the South African government accountable to its promise to pay final reparations. The difficulties experienced by the storytellers raise pertinent questions about the efficacy of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Director: Cahal McLaughlin Distributor:Human Rights Media Centre
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, violence, reconciliation, reparations, TRC
Welcome to the Human Race (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 4541
Abstract: In Wolpert's earlier film, Mama I'm Crying, she documented the grassroots suffering and anger during the apartheid years. Now Wolpert follows up on some of the people from the earlier film, several of whom are now in positions of power in the new South Africa. This film shows the extraordinary meeting between two families: the eighteen-year-old son of the Zondos who was executed for planting a bomb which killed the seven-year-old son of the Smits. As the two families mourn together the loss of their children, a poignant and moving reconciliation takes place.
Director: Betty Wolpert, Matthew Wolpert Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, politics, history, social life, apartheid
Where Truth Lies (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1999]
V.CASS. VHS 8932
Abstract: This moving film is about one of the many terrible cases to come before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Twenty-two year-old student leader Siphiwo Mtimkulu, and his friend Topsy Madaka, were shot and burned in 1982 by the feared Security Police under the former apartheid government. Gideon Nieuwoudt - nicknamed 'Notorious Nieuwoudt' - was a colonel in the Security Police. He and his colleagues are responsible for the torture, poisoning, and death of numerous black activists, including Steve Biko. In 1995 a group of top Security Police officers got a court order to block Mtimkulu's family from giving evidence before the TRC, threatening to undermine the whole process. Forty-eight hours before the deadline expired, the officers finally applied for amnesty. Filmmaker Mark Kaplan documented the case for three years, during which time Nieuwoudt met with the Mtimkulu family seeking their forgiveness with unexpected and dramatic consequences.
Director: Mark J. Kaplan Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, TRC, politics, apartheid, history, violence
White City, Black Lives (Videocassette : 57 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 6163
Abstract: Five residents of White City, a neighborhood in Soweto, South Africa, are given small cameras with which to tell the story of their lives providing a view of black urban life in South Africa.
Director: Teboho Mahlatsi Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, urban life, photography
White Girl in Search of the Party (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
VHS 9234
Abstract: In 1943 Pauline Podberry, the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants in South Africa, fell in love with the dashing trade union hero, H.A. Naidoo. The events that followed, including his listing as a Communist, their exile in Hungary and London, and H.A.'s disillusionment with the Communist Party and subsequent isolation, tell a complex story. Told through the eyes of Pauline, now living in Cape Town, and with the testimony of their daughters and friends, White Girl in Search of the Party is a film about history and heroes, and about how political passion and love are often intertwined. See also The Moon in my Pocket (Kgomotso Matsunyane) and Bubbles and me (Mary Human). Part of Love Stories, a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Pat van Heerden Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Hungary, England, apartheid, Communist Party, race relations, love narratives
William Kentridge / CD ROM created by Andrew Macklin, Michéle Cooke, Mandy J. Watson (CD-ROM NA ) [1997]
CD-ROM 392
Abstract: CD-ROM collection of reproductions of images from South African artist William Kentridge's drawings and prints, excerpts from his writings and lectures, excerpts from his animated films, films of his theater productions, and from reviews of his work. Some narration by the artist.
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Kentridge, art, film
Winnie (Videocassette : 15 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 1153
Abstract: Presents interviews and scenes from fiery rallies with Winnie Mandela and several of her longtime supporters. Tells how the former pacifist now encourages extreme violence by Blacks against Blacks who collaborate with whites. Shows scenes of two brutal murders inspired by her fanaticism.
Director: NA Distributor:Carousel Film and Video
Keywords: South Africa, W. Mandela, politics
Witchdoctors: a Day in the Other Africa (DVD : 55 min. ) [2007]
DVD 10030
Abstract: Film by Brooklyn librarian/documentary filmmaker Boniface Wewe that aims to show viewers the other Africa full of life and culture, as opposed to the stereotyped images of poverty and corruption often presented on the evening news. Filmed in West Central and South Africa, the film offers a first-hand look at some of the people and the professions that play a role in African cultures and lives. Highlights indigenous professions from palm wine tapping in Santa, Cameroon; thumb piano ( ndenge ) playing in Bali, Cameroon; Zulu singing ( isicathamiya ) by the award-winning Hlahlindlela High School choir; and an interview with the Prime Minister to the King of the Zulu Nation. The bulk of the program, however, is comprised of a day spent with a community of traditional healers ( sangoma ) in Kwangcolosi Village in the Valley of 1000 Hills, South Africa, who train together in an apprentice system under an experienced practitioner. The chief sangoma , Ma Nokusho Bhengu, has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal for her collaboration with President Bush and an American program which sees a partnership between Western and traditional doctors in South Africa. We meet a variety of people who have trained under Ma Bhengu as the viewer becomes acquainted with the criteria for becoming a sangoma , sample medications (muti) and their cures, the initiation of a young sangoma and esoteric dances punctuated with hallucinating growls when the ancestors are invoked. A traditional African blessing and prayer to the ancestors concludes the day.
Director: Boniface Ndemping Wewe Distributor:African Artistic Videos
Keywords: Cameroon, South Africa, healing, music, religion
Women and War (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7966
Abstract: Interwoven with footage from recent conflicts in the Middle East, Bosnia, northern Uganda, and South Africa, this program captures women's personal experiences of military violence, explains how they survived, and reflects on their growing resistance to war. The women's feelings of loss, uncertainty, and anguish are expressed through stories of cruelty, degradation, and psychological trauma, while their attempts to achieve reconciliation and rebuild shattered communities demonstrate their positive efforts to create a more peaceful future for everyone. Narrated by Pamela Nomvete.
Director: Robyn Hofmeyr, Minky Schlesinger Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, Uganda, Bosnia, Middle East, women, war
World through Children's Eyes (The) (Videocassette : 67 min. ) [1996]
V.CASS. VHS 8275
Abstract: These six short programs provide an intimate and unique insight into the reality and dreams of children from all over the world with a candor that can only be achieved by self-documentation. While the rights of the child have been the subject of many documentaries, this is the first time children have been given the opportunity to create one themselves. Each story reflects one of the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but from the uncensored and sometimes unsparing viewpoint of children themselves. Contents: Philipines: sexual exploitation (15 min.); Peru: child workers (12 min.); Brazil: street kids (11 min.); USA: inner city kids and police brutality (7 min.); India: girls and education (12 min.); South Africa: political violence (11 min.). Accompanied by discussion guide.
Director: Ilan Ziv Distributor:Maryknoll World Productions
Keywords: Philipines, Peru, Brazil, United States, India, South Africa, children, human rights, U.N.
Woza Albert! (Motion Picture : 60 min. ) [1982]
MP-16MM 383
Abstract: Percy Mtwa and Mbongeni Ngena, two black former music hall performers, have crafted a series of sketches organized around the premise that Jesus Christ (Morena in Sotho) returns to the self-proclaimed 'Christian' nation of South Africa. As one point, He turns to the audience and calls out 'Woza Albert! Rise up Albert' summoning back to life the spirit of Albert Luthuli and other martyred South African freedom fighters. The film shows the life experiences of writer-actors, the humiliation and terror suffered as well as the resiliency of Blacks in South Africa today. The film includes historical footage on Albert Luthuli.
Director: NA Distributor:Films Incorporated
Keywords: South Africa, theater, politics, Luthuli
Yesterday (Videocassette : 95 min. ) [2006]
DVD 5599
Abstract: After falling ill, Yesterday (Khumalo) learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school. Set against the awesome, harsh landscapes of South Africa, Yesterday is an eloquent, unsentimental film that quietly builds an overwhelming emotional force.
Director: Darrell James Roodt Distributor:Home Box Office
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, HIV/AIDS, gender, feature film
You Can't Eat Potential: Breaking Africa's Cycle of Poverty (DVD : 57 min. ) [1996]
DVD 9104
Abstract: The world faces an impending catastrophe if nothing is done. In the context of the steepest rises of population in human history, world food security is an increasingly urgent issue. The film focuses on Africa, south of the Sahara, the region of the world most under threat of food shortages and where absolute poverty is increasing at an alarming rate. The key issue is the development of agriculture in this severely disadvantaged region. How this situation can be reversed is highlighted primarily by the experience in Tanzania, Ghana and Benin. The film explores the critical changes needed to reduce poverty and protect the environment in sub-Saharan Africa -- for example tackling the massive 'mining' of soil nutrients. Expert testimony is provided by Dr. Norman Borlaug (Nobel Peace Prize winner) as well as other distinguished agricultural scientists, and on the political front by Frederick Sumaye (Prime Minister of Tanzania) and Ibrahim Adam (Minister of Food and Agriculture in Ghana). The problems are huge, the situation is urgent, but there is vast untapped potential in the people and environments of the region. The right policies can avert a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.
Director: Tony Freeth Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Tanzania, Ghana, Benin, poverty, food, development, agriculture, famine, environment, government
You Have Struck a Rock (Motion Picture : 28 min. ) [1981]
MP-16MM 353
Abstract: Examines the situation of women and political repression in southern Africa.
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, women, politics
Zimbabwe and South Africa: Still Far From Coexistence (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS VHS 7507
Abstract: Zimbabwe still reels from the after effects of independence. Former colonials are blamed for failing to work out compensation and land reallocation, and violence against whites is on the increase. South Africa emerged from the evils of apartheid more than a decade ago, and today faces an expanding gap between the rich and poor, increasing interracial conflict, a rising crime rate, and an AIDS epidemic that is decimating the mostly black population. Part of a three part series entitled Africa in the 21st Century, see also Somalia: the Neglected Civil War and Mali and Senegal: The Power of Islam.
Director: Kazuta Hioki Distributor:NA
Keywords: Zimbabwe, South Africa, colonialism, apartheid, HIV/AIDS, land, politics
Zonk! (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [1950]
V. CASS. VHS 4561
Abstract: In the early 1950's, at the beginning of apartheid with its racial segregation and classification, this film was produced by Africans with an all Black African cast. It is a series of musical numbers, relying heavily on American Hollywood stereotypes of the black entertainer. The music ranges from 'Dixie' presentations to Harlem dance-hall, to Broadway top-hat and tie. In imitation of Al Jolson from the American minstrel tradition, one performance presents a black man imitating a white man in blackface.
Director: Hyman Kirstein Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, music, popular culture, history, race, apartheid
Zulu Dawn (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 117 min. ) [1986]
V. DISC 1143
Abstract: A dramatic and true story that recounts the breathtaking defeat of British forces at the hands of a 2,500 strong and determined Zulu army.
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, history, colonialism
Zulu Love Affairs (DVD : 52 min. ) [2005]
DVD 8049
Abstract: Set in the verdant hills of Kwa-Zulu Natal, this is an intimate and spontaneous depiction of the lives of women left behind while their husbands, migrant laborers, work in the mines far away. By turns sad, touching or amusing, this film bears eloquent testimony to the ravages of an economic system which tears families apart to feed South Africa's insatiable mines. These women raise huge families, tend the fields, herd the cattle, and generally run village affairs. One says defiantly 'I'm the man of the house.' As they talk with each other and the filmmaker one hears many of the same joys and sorrows, angers and hopes as one would anywhere in the world. But here life is shaped by the absence of men, who seem to come home only to make children and contribute paltry pay to the subsistence of their families. Some women treasure their rare nights of passion with their husbands, while others resent their being left to languish in loneliness and sexual frustration. The filmmaker, a Western woman married to a Zulu musician has lived in the society. Her film captures the warmth and humor of the Zulu women, which they retain despite the challenges of their lives.
Director: Emmanuelle Bidou Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, women, poverty, marriage, gender, migrant labor, economy, work
Zulu Love Letter (Videocassette : 100 min. ) [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9142
Abstract: It is ten years since the last vestiges of apartheid's political regime were dismantled. For the average South African, the notion of struggle has been all too quickly relegated to the question of which cellular network is better than the next. But for Thandi, a journalist suffering from writer's block, a more profound struggle continues to rage within. Living in a nation that seems too eager to forget its past, Thandi cannot shake the gnawing sense of guilt that continues to alienate her from her own family.
Director: Ramadan Suleman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, children, terrorism, trauma, women, feature film
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21 Up South Africa (DVD : 68 min. ) [2007]
DVD 9883
Abstract: Featuring scenes shot in 1992, 1999 and 2006, this documentary follows the lives of South African children -- rich and poor, black, white and 'mixed race' -- from all over the country, from the townships to the bushveldt. In the process 21 Up South Africa offers unique insights into the social and political changes occurring throughout the country since the fall of Apartheid. First filmed as 7-year-olds in 1992, these 11 individuals are ordinary South Africans growing up at a time of enormous social change. We see them now at the age of 21 making their way in the new South Africa and, as we roll back time in this unique chronicle of their lives, we also see them aged 14 and 7. We see where they started -- in township slums, old-school mansions and white suburbs -- their world divided along racial lines, as the policy of apartheid begins to crumble. While the fall of apartheid presented them with new opportunities, it also confronted them with new challenges. In successive interview sessions, characterized by disarming honesty, touches of humor and sadness, we see how their attitudes and experiences changed regarding many issues, from race relations and educational opportunities, crime and unemployment, to marriage and the AIDS crisis, which has already claimed the lives of several of the children.
Director: Angus Gibson Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, psychology, child development, history, politics
46664: The Concert (DVD : 388 min. ) [2004]
DVD 4339
Abstract: The title refers to former President Nelson Mandela's one-time prison number, which he loaned to this benefit concert to raise awareness of the threat of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and of the need for action in response. Performances include: Abdel Wright, Anastacia, Andrews Bonsu, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Beyoncé, Bob Geldof, Bongo Maffin, Bono, Danny K, Eurythmics, Jimmy Cliff, Johnny Clegg, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ms. Dynamite, Paul Oakenfold, Peter Gabriel, Queen, The Corrs, The Edge, Watershed, Youssou N'Dour, Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens), Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Zucchero. Special features: press launch in London when Nelson Mandela announces the event to the world's media; documentary showing the making of 46664; artist interviews about the event and why they support the 46664 campaign; footage from a visit to Khayelitsha to see the Mothers 2 Mothers-2-Be and Baphumelele Children's Home projects; 12 one-minute films by contemporary visual artists representing their vision on HIV/AIDS; Spirit of Africa documentary; photo gallery featuring all of the artists.
Director: David Mallet Distributor:Warner Strategic Marketing
Keywords: South Africa, concert recording, HIV/AIDS, music, Nelson Mandela, health, popular culture, performance, media
6000 a Day: An Account of a Catastrophe Foretold (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8188
Abstract: How the failure of key individuals, prominent NGO's, and governments to act allowed a catastrophe to fester--a catastrophe that undoubtedly could have been avoided. Since it appeared 20 years ago, AIDS has left behind it a trail of destruction. This film answers the question 'why did the world wait so long to react', and dissects the key moments in the global response to the epidemic. By examining this human catastrophe, the film reveals a global rift that helped the disease to spread. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 16).
Director: Philippe Brooks Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, NGO, international cooperation, government policy
7-Up in South Africa (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 6507
Abstract: The South African children in the film were just visited in 1991 and will be documented again in seven years. Of all the Age seven films, this one is unique in that the compelling portraits of the bright and charming children are strikingly contrasted with the social turbulence that surrounds them.
Director: Angus Gibson Distributor:Shanachie Entertainment Corporation
Keywords: South Africa, children, social conditions, history, youth
A Luta Continua (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8253
Abstract: An HIV-positive group from Khaleyitsha, Cape Town make short films to show at public venues like taxi ranks and shopping malls in Cape Town's townships. They are present at these screenings, in which they strive to disclose their status, discuss HIV and AIDS issues, and clear up audience misconceptions about HIV and AIDS. Shows portions of the filming and the films themselves, interspersed with group members discussing their lives. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 14).
Director: Jack Lewis Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, HIV/AIDS, activism, popular culture, Steps for the Future
Act of Faith (An): The Phelophepa Health Train (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8923
Abstract: A group of health professionals spends nine months of each year touring the poorest and most remote areas of South Africa. This program catches up with the train in the province of KwaZulu Natal, where there's just one doctor for every 4,000 people. With a full contingent of volunteer doctors, dentists, optometrists, and health educators on board, the 'good clean health train' delivers quality health care to deprived rural communities.
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Natal, health care, poverty
Africa in the 21st Century (Videocassette : 147 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS. VHS 7506, 7507, 7508
Abstract: A series of three videos presenting aspects of contemporary life in different regions of Africa: Somalia: The Neglected Civil War, Mali and Senegal: the Power of Islam, Zimbabwe & South Africa.
Director: NA Distributor:Filmakers Library, Inc.
Keywords: Mali, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Africa: Search for Common Ground (Videocassette NA ) [2005]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Seven-part series by the NGO, Search for Common Ground, which emphasizes conflict resolution, prevention and transformation. Contents: Program 1-- Thokoza Video Dialogues for Peace; Program 2 -- When Things Fall Apart (Congo), Breaking the Cycle: Domestic Violence (South Africa); Program 3 --'Reconciliation Radio (Burundi), Democracy or Disruption - Wangari Maathai and Green Belt (Kenya); Program 4 -- The Hunt for Witches (South Africa); Program 5 -- A.T. Toure and the Peace Flame (Mali), Water, Water Everywhere (Lesotho); Program 6 -- Under the Baobab Tree (South Africa), Making the Angola Peace Song (Angola); Program 7 -- Between Confession and Prosecution: Truth and Reconciliation (South Africa).
Director: NA Distributor:Search for Common Ground
Keywords: Angola, Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, South Africa, conflict resolution, violence, TRC
African Jim (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4562
Abstract: Made in 1949, African Jim was the first film made in South Africa to have an all-black cast. Now considered a classic, the film also includes some great jazz singers of the period (Sam Maile, The African Inkspots, and Dolly Rathebe). The plot tells a simple story of a country lad who comes to the city to look for work, takes some knocks while adjusting to city life, but comes out on top when his singing talent is discovered. The film was a sensation for black audiences, who had never before seen their own heroes on screen.
Director: NA Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, popular culture, history, feature film
African Religions (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1978]
V. CASS. VHS 2866
Abstract: Visits the Zulu Independent Churches of South Africa to explore the Black African response to Christianity. Traces the history of religious beliefs inAfrica from the arrival of the first Christian missionaries to the current rediscovery of the African religious identity.
Director: Jonathan Stedall Distributor:Ambrose Video
Keywords: South Africa, religion, history, missionaries
Aftertaste (Videocassette : 36 min. ) [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8332
Abstract: This video focuses on two South African wine farms where 'empowerment' projects have recently been started in response to calls for change. The wine farm workers receive part of the profits from the sale of 'empowerment' brand wine Winds of Change. They have used this money to buy their own houses and shares in the wine farm business. On the surface, these 'empowerment' projects seem to be a radical departure from the abusive, paternalistic labor relationship between farm owners and workers that has existed for so long. But the legacy of centuries of abuse cannot be eradicated overnight.
Director: Ceridwen Dovey Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: South Africa, viticulture, economic development
Allan Boesak (Motion Picture : 28 min. ) [1984]
MP-16MM 363
Abstract: Depicts Allan Boesak's work against segregation in South Africa.
Director: Hugo Cassirer and Nadine Gordimer Distributor:Felix Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, politics
Amandla!: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony (DVD : 103 min. ) [2002]
DVD 4122
Abstract: Tells the story of black South African freedom music and the central role it played against apartheid. Specifically considers the music that sustained and galvanized blacks for more than 40 years. Focuses on the struggle's spiritual dimension named for the Xhosa word for power. An uplifting story of human courage, resolve and triumph. Individuals featured include: Vusi Mahlasela, Jeremy Cronin, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Sophie Mgcina, Dolly Rathebe, Sifiso Ntuli, Abdullah Ibrahim and Duma Ka Ndlovu.
Director: Lee Hirsh Distributor:Artisan Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, nationalism, music, history, popular culture, performance, politics
Analysis of the Economic and Ethnic Composition of South Africa (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
VC NO. 466 LAW LIBRARY
Abstract: Abstract not available.
Director: Phyllis Dannhauser Distributor:South African Communication Service. Film and Video Production Unit.
Keywords: South Africa, economy, population, ethnicity
Angola é A Nossa Terra (Videocassette : 45 min. ) [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 6901
Abstract: Angolan women are rarely heard describing the impact of South Africa's undeclared war against their country. This moving documentary, produced in conjunction with the Organization of Angolan Women (OMA), highlights the contribution women make to the reconstruction of a country where war has consumed more than half the national budget and produced at least a million internal refugees.
Director: Jenny Morgan Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Angola, South Africa, war, women, history, politics
Apartheid Revisited: Confronting History (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 5091
Abstract: Developed by the Bill of Rights Education Program of the A.C.L.U., Project HIP-HOP (Highways Into the Past, History, Organizing & Power) is a 'traveling classroom.' In the summer of 1996, veterans of previous 'HIP-HOP' excursions traveled to South Africa. Their goal was to learn about the history of South Africa and the resistance movement that led to the end of apartheid.
Director: Charlotte Angel and Kyle Boyd Distributor:Cambridge Educational
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, history, race relations, education
Apostles of Civilised Vice (Videocassette : 2 videos min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6956 pt. 1 & pt. 2
Abstract: A history of same-sex desire which investigates lesbian and gay experience and personalities from colonial times to the present. Between 1910 and 1933 thousands of men were convicted of sodomy and 'unnatural offences.' The majority of those tried, convicted and imprisoned were black. For over two centuries of South African history, lesbian and gay stories have been silenced, depriving contemporary queer life of a history.
Director: Zackie Achmat Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, homosexuality, gay men, lesbians, history, law
Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking at the Emory University School of Law 1994 Religious Human Rights Conference (Videocassette : 43 min. ) [1994]
LAW Library VC No 450
Abstract: Archbishop Desmond Tutu's address at the 1994 conference on Religious Human Rights held at the Emory School of Law.
Director: NA Distributor:Emory University School of Law
Keywords: South Africa, Desmond Tutu, human rights, religion, law
Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Bill Moyers (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4863
Abstract: Bill Moyers discusses with Archbishop Desmond Tutu the latter's life and work, in particular the Archbishop's struggle against apartheid.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, Desmond Tutu, history, politics
Athol Fugard: Blood Knot, 1964 (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1996]
V.CASS. VHS 8170
Abstract: Videocassette release of excerpts from the original New York production of Fugard's Blood Knot, filmed in 1964. Story of two South African half-brothers, one black, one white, remembering their lives from two very different perspectives. Cast: James Earl Jones, J.D. Cannon.
Director: NA Distributor:Creative Arts Television
Keywords: South Africa, race relations, drama, apartheid, theater
Ball (The) (Videocassette : 5 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8263
Abstract: The Ball tells the story of Mozambican children who use condoms to make soccer balls. In a dramatization, a man confronts them and accuses them of stealing his condoms. This story illustrates that many people are not using condoms for safer sex, despite their availability. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 24).
Director: Orlando Mesquita Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, Steps for the Future, Drama
Between Joyce and Remembrance (DVD : 68 min. ) [2004]
DVD 7638
Abstract: This video tells the story of one family, the Mtimkulu family, stretching back over two decades. Through the unfolding of personal narratives, this film raises far reaching questions about the nature of truth, forgiveness and reconciliation. It illustrates the ripple effect of an injustice, the disappearance and murder of Siphiwo Mtimkulu, twenty years ago to show how fragile the 'miracle' of South Africa's transition really is.
Director: Mark Kaplan Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, reconciliation, politics, history
Big Balls (Videocassette : 4 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8259
Abstract: Two carpenters, one black, one white, have a crude conversation in a dusty workshop as they construct a coffin. As their blunt banter, heavy with innuendo, continues we discover that all the women these two have slept with have died. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 20).
Director: Heeten Bhagat Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, men, Steps for the Future
Biko (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 688
Abstract: Presents the story of Stephen Biko, using interviews with other South African anti-apartheid activists. Parts of the motion picture Cry Freedom are shown along with interviews of Attenborough and Woods; based on the novel Biko by Donald Woods.
Director: Richard Attenborough Distributor:Filmakers Library Inc.
Keywords: South Africa, Biko, apartheid
Bitter Melons (Motion Picture : 30 min. ) [1971]
MP-16MM 406
Abstract: Portrays the difficulty of survival in the central Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa, in a zone where game is scarce because waterholes are dry most of the year. A native musician performs songs about animals, the land, and the social life. Includes traditional music, dances, and children's games. Uses 1955 footage.
Director: John Marshall Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Southern Africa, San (Bushmen), music, hunting
Black Man's Land Trilogy (DVD : 156 min. ) [1986]
Abstract: Three-part series of films consisting of White Man's Country (part 1), Mau Mau (part 2) and Kenyatta (part 3); all of the films combine period photographs and contemporary location footage with the testimony of African and European witnesses. The trilogy covers the violence of colonial rule, white settlement and African resistance in the story of Kenya, as the British tried to make it a 'white man's country' like South Africa or New Zealand. Land was allocated, settlers welcomed, and the 'jewel of the British empire' was born. But it was African land that was taken, African labor that was used to develop it, and African taxes that kept the colonial regime solvent. How did Africans confront this process? White Man's Country tells this story. Mau Mau traces the history of the state of emergency declared by the British Colonial government of Kenya in 1952 in an attempt to subdue the movement among black Kenyans for political and civil rights. Kenyatta offers a biographical account of Jomo Kenyatta, the man who became Kenya's national leader and who eventually led the movement to establish an independent government.
Director: David Koff, Anthony Howarth Distributor:Facets Multimedia
Keywords: Kenya, history, settler colonialism, land, history, politics
Black and White in South Africa (DVD : 30 min. ) [1957]
DVD7540
Abstract: South Africa, one of the largest members of the Commonwealth, a country with full self-government, has an acute race problem that causes dissension not only within its borders but within the Commonwealth and beyond. We see a country of fourteen million people where only one out of five is white. Edgar McInnis gives a dispassionate appraisal of the motivations behind the policy of apartheid and of whether the practice of segregation provides a satisfactory solution.
Director: John Howe Distributor:National Film Board of Canada
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, race, government, history
Body and Soul (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8243
Abstract: In South Africa millions of people are in desperate situations because of HIV and AIDS. This film looks at the attitudes of the three main religions (Christianity, Islam and African traditionalist) in South Africa through interviews with people who must interpret and practice religion in terms of the country's realities. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 4).
Director: Melody Emmett Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, religion, Christianity, Islam, traditional religion, Steps for the Future
Bopha: Arrest (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [1986]
V. CASS. VHS 1036
Abstract: Drama about apartheid.
Director: NA Distributor:Advanced Media
Keywords: South Africa, Bopha, apartheid
Boseman & Lena (DVD : 84 min. ) [2000]
DVD 7813
Abstract: Two ragged wanderers--the bearish Boesman and the wilier Lena -- meet on a riverbank, where they try to scavenge food and firewood in order to survive the night. As they talk, their bitterness about the ways their lives have gone begins to come out, as well as the tragedies they've suffered at the hands of a racist government. Gradually, you realize that they've been husband and wife in a relationship that has been plundered by the poisonous influence of apartheid, reducing them to a level in which they have to remind themselves of their own humanity and their ability to make human connections.
Director: Franocois Ivernel Distributor:Kino International
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, marriage, feature film
Breaker Morant (Videocassette : 103 min. ) [1984]
V. CASS. VHS 284 and VDISC 691
Abstract: After the death of a British captain in the Boer War in South Africa in 1901, Australian Lt. Morant leads his unit in pursuit of the Boers. The execution of a captured Boer and other executions leads to Morant's trial and execution.
Director: NA Distributor:RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Australia, Boers, history, feature film
Bubbles and Me (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
VHS 9175
Abstract: The year was 1976. Bubbles, a model and part of the 'in-crowd,' was a black woman who was unafraid of apartheid and the times she lived in. Jannie was a white Afrikaans body builder who owned a gym in Johannesburg, and was a member of the Nationalist Party. Jannie fell madly in love with Bubbles - Bubbles fell in love with Jannie, 'in her own peculiar way.' Bubbles and Me tells the story of their fated relationship through the eyes of her daughter, Jackie Luthuli, and explores her journey of coming to terms with the mother she never knew. It is a story of love and danger, passion and apartheid. See also The Moon in my Pocket (Kgomotso Matsunyane) and White Girl in Search of the Party (Pat van Heerden). Part of Love Stories, a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Marie Human Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Afrikaans, apartheid, love narratives, Nationalist Party, race relations, romance
Child Brides (The) (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 5783
Abstract: In many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, young girls are often engaged by the age of eight, and leave their homes to join their husbands by twelve. In many cases, the younger the girl, the more her family receives in the form of a dowry. This program travels to the most rural and poverty-stricken regions of Ethiopia to expose the common practice of child brides and the consequences for the young girls who often give birth before they are out of childhood.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: Ethiopia, marriage, ritual, gender
Chip of Glass Ruby (A) (DVD : 20 min. ) [2005]
DVD 7923
Abstract: The celebrated South African writer Nadine Gordimer describes her short story about the relationship of a Muslim Indian couple in South Africa in the 1950s. With clips from the film version of the story, the author describes how she writes and why she wrote this particular story, and comments on the role of writing in the social and political context of South Africa.
Director: Ross Devenish Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, East Indians, Gordimer, literature, apartheid, race
Choose Life (Videocassette : 4 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8262
Abstract: Choose life is Mozambican music video centered around the funeral of a young man who has died of AIDS. It stresses that people should cherish and enjoy life while acting responsibly regarding HIV and AIDS. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the of AIDS/HIV (Volume 23).
Director: Dorothy Brislin Ntone Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, music, funeral ritual, Steps for the Future
Choosing Exile (DVD : 55 min. ) [2003]
DVD 8241
Abstract: Filmmaker Marc Radomsky is third generation South African. His grandfather emigrated from Lithuania to escape pogroms. The family established their roots in Johannesburg and prospered. However Marc and his wife see that growing lawlessness and crime in post-Apartheid South Africa has driven the white community into gated communities where armed guards, attack dogs and barbed wire are the brutal signs of the need for increased security. Marc and his wife Vivianne have made the painful decision to emigrate to Australia. Their close-knit family, threatened with separation, tries to prevail upon the couple to reconsider. The camera captures the painful unravelling of their interconnected lives. Their parents will now be deprived of participating in the lives of their grandchildren, and their sobbing seven-year old tries to grasp why he must leave his dog behind. But leave they do, to an apparently welcoming new country, and hopefully a brighter future. Choosing Exile is a portrait of some of the current conditions in South Africa, as well as an intense portrait of the pain of emigration.
Director: Marc Radomsky Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, crime, emigration and immigration, family
Colour of Gold (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 3245
Abstract: Focuses on the living conditions of men who work in the gold mines in South Africa. Four men discuss the danger of their jobs, money, AIDS, and the difficulties in having families. Writer: Medienwerkstadt Freiburg. See also Goldwidows.
Director: Don Edkins, Michael Shlomer Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, Lesotho, gold miners, apartheid, social conditions, work, gender
Come Back, Africa (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4563
Abstract: Originally made in the 1950s, the film focuses on one family that leaves Zululand because of famine and goes to Johannesburg to work in the gold mines. Reflects the barbaric reality of apartheid society in South Africa.
Director: Lionel Rogosin Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, social conditions, work
Condoms, Fish and Circus Tricks: The AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [2002]
VHS 9182
Abstract: Shot in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia, this is a compelling documentary on the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is ravaging Southern Africa. It takes an intimate look at the people who are dying, those who are caring for them, and why this disease has had such a devastating impact on African society. In a remote village in Malawi, the struggle against AIDS is led by local volunteers who care for the orphan children and those that are dying, without medicines, clean water, or even rubber gloves. In a fishing village on Zambia's Kafue Flats the local fishermen earn their livelihood by selling their catch. When women don't have the money to pay, the men often trade their fish for sex. The result has been a huge surge of AIDS patients, overwhelming the local hospital which has only three doctors and three hundred beds. The film reveals a 'quiet revolution' is underway as young people are talking about sex and challenging traditional concepts of sexuality. Through performances in a street circus young people are spreading the message of AIDS prevention. It is these young people that offer hope for Africa's future.
Director: Brenda & Robert Rooney Distributor:Filmakers Library, N.Y. [www.filmakers.com]
Keywords: Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, children, HIV/AIDS, health education, disease prevention, orphans, youth
Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Videocassette : 9 min. ) [1990]
VC NO. 467 (Law Library)
Abstract: Produced by the South African Communication Service.
Director: NA Distributor:South African Communication Service
Keywords: South Africa, law, democracy, government
Cost of Living (The) (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8925
Abstract: Part of the Life series on how the globalized world economy affects ordinary people. This program examines why AIDS drugs are unaffordable in developing countries, using as examples Thailand and South Africa, two countries who have applied to use compulsory licenses and parallel importing -- practices agreed under World Trade Organization guidelines -- to make their own generic versions of anti-retroviral drugs to halt the AIDS epidemic in their countries. It also asks why anti-retroviral drugs still aren't included in the WTO's essential drugs lists.
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Thailand, HIV/AIDS, medicine, WTO, economy, health
Countdown to Freedom: 10 Days that Changed South Africa (Videocassette : 97 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 8541
Abstract: Examines a critical moment of South African history in the days leading up to the country's first multi-racial democratic election, from April 23 to May 2, 1994, and the election of Nelson Mandela as President, with background on key people and historical events.
Director: Danny Schechter Distributor:Globalvision
Keywords: South Africa, politics, elections, Nelson Mandela, history
Crossroads/South Africa (Motion Picture : 52 min. ) [1980]
MP-16MM 382
Abstract: Shows the struggle of blacks to maintain a sense of community and to keep their families together by building illegal squatters towns like Crossroads in defiance of the ruling apartheid regime.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, family, squatters
Cry Freedom (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 157 min. ) [1988]
V. DISC 104
Abstract: A look at the short life of South African activist Steven Biko, and his friendship with the white news editor, Donald Woods. Woods escapes from Africa while struggling to bring Biko's message to the world. (2 videodiscs: 157 min)
Director: Richard Attenborough Distributor:MCA Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Biko, apartheid, feature film
Cultivating Opportunity: Self-Help Solutions to Poverty in the U.S. and Africa (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1997]
VHS 9327
Abstract: Willie Head, Jr. is struggling to hold on to his farm-70 acres in southeast Georgia. Willie is one of the remaining 18,000 African Americans who are losing their land at the rate of a thousand acres a day. Teresa Massango, a farmer in Mozambique in southeast Africa, is among the 80 percent of Mozambicans who depend on their land to feed themselves. They've faced war and famine, and are now threatened by investors wanting to profit from Mozambique's cheap land and labor. Cultivating Opportunity tells the inspiring story of how poor communities in Mozambique and the United States are creating opportunities to better their lives. Their work is a road map to ending hunger and poverty, a journey that begins within the communities themselves. In Cultivating Opportunity communities in vastly different parts of the world demonstrate surprising similarities in the self-help solutions they champion to fight poverty. The video shows how these communities are creating the opportunities they need. Willie says, 'I don't care what profession you're in; to just work hard doesn't do it. To just be committed doesn't do it. The opportunity must be there...'
Director: Michael Sheridan Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Mozambique, Georgia, development, farming, poverty
Dancing on the Edge (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8245
Abstract: This narrative documentary is set in rural Mozambique, where gender roles and poverty influence the fight to contain the spread of AIDS. A young HIV positive mother, Antonietta, who works as an AIDS counselor takes her healthy daughter to a remote village for initiation into sexuality. Antonietta struggles with the contradictions of maintaining traditional values while adapting to the reality of the modern world devastated by AIDS. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of IV/AIDS (Volume 6).
Director: Karen Boswall Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, gender, ritual, rural life, Steps for the Future
Day of the Zulu (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7084
Abstract: Historian Ian Knight and forensic archaeologist Tony Pollard investigate a battle scene of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War for evidence of the effect of a solar eclipse and the use of performance-enhancing drugs on the outcome of the battle.
Director: Mark Lewis Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, archaeology, history, war
Day with the President (Videocassette : 53 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 3253
Abstract: The camera accompanies Nelson Mandela throughout his extremely busy work day as he meets the challenges facing the new South Africa. To mark the anniversary of Nelson Mandela's inauguration as President of South Africa, Weekly Mail Television filmed this special edition of Ordinary People. Filmmakers spent 19 hours with President Mandela in four cities. He is shown at work, at his official residence and with various persons who work closely with him.
Director: N. Hofmeyer Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, government, politics
Deadline, The (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1996]
VHS 9184
Abstract: Filmed during the closing stages of South Africa's Constitutional Assembly, The Deadline is an inside look at the 'realpolitik' negotiations. May 10th, 1996 was chosen by the major South African political parties as the deadline for the new constitution. Following the first democratic elections (April, 1994), the ANC-led parliament set about the two-year task of creating a blue-print for an apartheid-free society, a blueprint that was to include a set of inalienable rights. By the final four weeks most of the Constitution had been written, but disputes over a few key issues - property rights, labor rights, education, and language - remained. Tension grew as the deadline loomed, and the playful camaraderie that had characterized much of the negotiations gave way to open antagonism, accusations, and counter-accusations. A deadlock over outstanding issues continued until the final night, threatening to derail the transition to democracy. The Deadline, commissioned by the Constitutional Assembly, provides a unique behind-the-scenes look at one of the most historic and dramatic constitutional processes of the 20th century.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, African National Congress, South African constitution, history, law, politics
Debt of Dictators (The) (DVD : 46 min. ) [2005]
DVD 9422
Abstract: The Debt of Dictators is the first film to expose the nefarious lending of billions of dollars by multinational banks and international financial institutions to brutal dictators throughout the world. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, asserts that transnational banks 'know the price of everything, but have no values.' The Debt of Dictators reveals the impoverishment resulting from the odious debts incurred to multinational lending institutions by these dictators. The film transports viewers to Argentina, South Africa, and the Philippines, where they come face to face with those suffering from the sacrifice of essential social services in order to repay these illegitimate debts.
Director: Erling Borgen Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, debt, economics, dictatorship, politics, poverty, development
Diamonds and Rust (Videocassette : 74 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7190
Abstract: On a trawler moored off the coast of Namibia, diamond mining goes on around the clock, but the extraction is muddied by politics, and fraught with racial tension. The crew is made up of white South Africans spouting racist jokes, Cubans who write poetry and speak of love, an Israeli security manager who makes himself the enemy, and Namibian deckhands who find themselves colonized off the coast of their own country. Obtrusively, without commentary, Diamonds and Rust takes us into the daily life of this international crew working in the service of a faceless mining conglomerate. As they battle with the failing mechanisms of the rusty old ship, the men are drawn into contemplation of their situation and its dubious rewards. Directors Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz received permission to film everyday life on the Spirit of Namibia from diamond exporter De Beers, the result-which shows fraying tempers, racist attitudes, a deteriorating vessel and front office indifference-hardly flatters the company.
Director: Adi Barash, Ruthie Shatz Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Namibia, mining, economy, labor, race, feature film
Dinner on the Diner: Dorinda Hafner in South Africa (Videocassette : 57 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 6517
Abstract: Food writer and television personality Dorinda Hafner surveys the majestic mountains, indigenous forests, rocky coastline and lush green valleys of South Africa on board a beautifully restored vintage steam train.
Director: Jonathan Guilbert Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, travel
Discarded People (The) (Motion Picture : 30 min. ) [1981]
MP-16MM 352
Abstract: Filmed clandestinely in the Ciskei bantustan and smuggled out of the country, depicts the results of the forced resettlement of black South Africans to the overpopulated, disease-ridden and barren 'homelands'.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, land
Dispel Your Attitudes (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8261
Abstract: Dispel your attitudes follows Philiswa, an HIV-positive activist, who discusses the virus during a crowded taxi ride to meet a man who is afraid to disclose his HIV-positive status. She meets the man and they discuss his fears. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the of AIDS/HIV (Volume 22).
Director: Lizo Kalipa Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, activism, Steps for the Future
Dolly and the Inkspots (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4833
Abstract: One of the most dynamic singing combinations to emerge in South Africa in the early fifties was Dolly Rathebe and the African Inkspots. They were the toast of Sof'town, getting star billing in musical shows around the country and appearing in feature films such as Jim Comes to Jo'burg, The Magic Garden and Song of Africa. This documentary pays tribute to the talents of these jazz greats who have made such a valuable contribution to the musical heritage of South Africa. Their voices are as enduring and resonant today as they were fifty years ago, which makes them truly living legends.
Director: NA Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, music, history, popular culture, urban life, Dolly Rathebe
Domestic Differences (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 6440
Abstract: Depicts South African society during the ten days leading up to the 1994 election through a comparison of the lives and views of a prosperous white family in a a residential suburb of Cape Town and their maid and her family in Transkei.
Director: Nanette Burstein Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, elections, politics, history, race, social conditions
Dream Deferred: Africa's AIDS Crisis (The) (Videocassette : 57 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 6637
Abstract: The HIV/AIDS epidemic has struck Africa with horrific force-- more than 3.8 million people were infected in 2000. Many of these people will die within a decade. In A Dream Deferred, CNN Johannesburg Bureau Chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault takes a look at the lives of six South Africans who illuminate the face of the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping the continent.
Director: Sandy Balfour Distributor:Multivision Media Monitoring
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, health, economy
Dreams of a Good Life (Videocassette : 15 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8258
Abstract: In Dreams of a Good Life, five South African women talk about life, love and how their dreams for the future have changed since they have found out they are HIV positive. The women now examine their relationships with men more openly than ever before. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 19).
Director: Bridget Pickering Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, gender, HIV/AIDS, Steps for the Future
Eclipse (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8248
Abstract: A dreamlike documentary depicting the total blackout of four girls' lives, eclipsed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is a story about four sisters, Lara, Eugenisse, Fátima and Luisa-- the oldest sixteen and the youngest nine. They are AIDS orphans living in the Mozambican town of Chimoio. Their mother died of AIDS and their father disappeared, probably to commit suicide in a nearby place of spirits. The film documents the girls' day-to-day struggle for existence as they try to make ends meet by reselling produce they have bought from the market. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 9).
Director: Orlando Mesquita Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, children, orphans, family, Steps for the Future
Everything Must Come to Light (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7489
Abstract: This documentary focuses on the lives of three dynamic lesbian women who are 'sangomas' (traditional healers) living in Soweto, South Africa. They are articulate, sympathetic women who are willing to share their stories. After leaving their husbands, two of the women were able to explore their sexuality in relation to other women as a result of their dominant male ancestors instructing them to take wives. The relationship with their ancestors and the roles that they play in their healing powers as well as their sexuality are focal points in this documentary. Narrated by Mpumi Njinge; featuring Jama Thobei, Lindi Mahlangu, Tshidi Machika.
Director: Mpumi Njinge, Paulo Alberton Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, sexuality, women, healing, marriage
Facing the Truth (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4865 Pt.1 & Pt. 2
Abstract: Bill Moyers describes the efforts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), providing footage of TRC hearings and interviews with apartheid victims and others. (2 videocassettes: 60 min. each)
Director: Gail Pellet Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, politics, apartheid, TRC
Family Across the Sea (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [1990]
V. CASS. VHS 1620
Abstract: A delegation of Gullah people travels from the United States to Sierra Leone to trace the roots of their heritage. Production of South Carolina ETV.
Director: Domino Boulware Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Sierra Leone, Gullah, African diaspora
Farmers of Gaho, The (Videocassette : 21 min. ) [1998]
VHS 9331
Abstract: Over the generations, the farmers of the village of Gaho in southern Ethiopia have developed unique farming techniques that enable them successfully to grow crops in their arid environment. The preservation and enhancement of their soil is the villagers' most important priority. They accomplish this through constant weeding and composting. To trap water and prevent erosion, they build stone terraces on hilly terrain and earth embankments on level ground. Amongst the crops they grow successfully in this land of undependable rainfall are sorghum, sunflower, rapeseed, coffee, cassava, and yam. Farm Africa, an NGO promoting sustainable agriculture, has enabled the farmers of Gaho to experiment with new sorghum varieties resistant to pests, and requiring less moisture. It has also enabled Gaho's women to purchase livestock to be used for meat and sold in the region for supplemental income. Although each farmer has his own plot of land, cultivation and maintenance are communal endeavors. A common area is tilled and planted, and the yield of this area is stored for distribution during times of scarcity.
Director: Bill Locke Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Ethiopia, arid regions, agriculture, sustainability, NGO, development
Fighting Spirit (A) (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8249
Abstract: Zimbabwean middle-weight boxing champion, Gilbert Josamu, discovered he was HIV positive at the height of his career. Many in Zimbabwean society view HIV/AIDS as a disease for white homosexuals. Although feeling conflicted about endangering his opponents, Josamu forged his medical certificate and continued to fight. A few months before he died, he confessed to having lived with HIV for 14 years. This confession was followed by public outrage. Josamu formed an AIDS support group to help him and others deal with public perceptions of people living with HIV. He also embarked on a public campaign to encourage people to disclose their positive status. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 10).
Director: Leo Phiri Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, men, boxing, sports, Steps for the Future
Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict ( A) (Videocassette : 174 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6141 Parts 1-6
Abstract: This six-part series tells one of the 20th century's most important and least-known stories-- how nonviolent power overcame oppression and authoritarian rule. In South Africa in 1907, Mohandas Gandhi led Indian immigrants in a nonviolent fight for rights denied them by white rulers. The power that Gandhi pioneered has been used by underdogs on every continent and in every decade of the 20th century, to fight for their rights and freedom. Includes segments on South Africa, India, Denmark, Poland, Chile, and the U.S.
Director: Steve York Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, nonviolence, Gandhi, politics
Forgiveness (DVD : 105 min. ) [2004]
DVD 7903
Abstract: Tertius Coetzee was a police officer during the Apartheid era and was responsible for the torture and death of Daniel Grootboom, a young freedom fighter. After being granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he travels to the West Coast fishing village of Pater Noster to visit Daniel's family and ask for their forgiveness.
Director: Ian Gabriel Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, apartheid, police, history, feature film
Furiosus. A Question of Madness (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS VHS 6015
Abstract: In Capetown, South Africa, in September 1966, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid, was stabbed to death in Parliament. The course of South African history was changed by the assassin, Dimitri Tsafendas, who was written off as mad and condemned to twenty eight years of imprisonment.
Director: Liza Key Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, racism, assassination, apartheid, history, law
Gaan Sharon Gaan: Gelyke Regte vir Vroue Plaaswerkers = Employment Equity for Women Farm Workers (Videocassette : 25 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8199
Abstract: An examination of the rights of women farm workers in South Africa, specifically in the Western Cape. In Afrikaans. Accompanied by a workbook entitled Employment Equity in the Workplace.
Director: NA Distributor:Shoot the Breeze Productions
Keywords: South Africa, women, agricultural labor
Generations of Resistance (Motion Picture : 53 min. ) [1979]
MP-16MM 220
Abstract: Rare archival footage combined with eye witness accounts documents the rise of black nationalism in South Africa in the 20th century.
Director: Peter Davis Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, politics, nationalism
Gerrie and Louise (Videocassette : 75 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 4558
Abstract: This documentary film focuses on newlyweds Gerrie and Louise. Gerrie Hugo is a former member of the South African military and was involved in operations in support of apartheid, including operations where civilians in opposition to apartheid were tortured. Louise Flanagan is a former journalist who covered the protests leading to the fall of apartheid and then became the principal investigator for South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using interviews and documentary footage, the film looks at some of the operations Gerrie played a part in, and at some of the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission exposing the actions of former government officials involved in maintaining apartheid.
Director: Sturla Gunnarsson. Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, politics, history, TRC
Goldwidows (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1991]
V. CASS.VHS 3265
Abstract: Interviews with women in Lesotho, a small country surrounded by South Africa. The women live as virtual widows; most of their husbands work in South African gold mines. Written and produced: . Don Edkins, Ute Holl and Michael SchlomerSee also The Colour of Gold.
Director: Don Edkins, Ute Holl and Michael Schlomer Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Lesotho, South Africa, women, economic conditions, social conditions
Gotta Give (Videocassette : 5 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8258
Abstract: Gotta Give is a music video for a song that encourages young women to take control of their sexual relationships. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 19).
Director: Eddie Edwards Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, popular culture, music, Steps for the Future
Guguletu Ballet (DVD : 23 min. ) [2007]
DVD 8107
Abstract: In 1992, a white South African ballet dancer ventured into a township and began teaching classes in an empty schoolroom. Within a few years, hundreds of township children took up ballet, and a program called Dance For All was born. Guguletu Ballet profiles some of the extraordinary people behind Dance For All's success -- from prima ballerinas who left the international stage to teach in the townships, to students who are overcoming great odds. Their stories offer a glimpse at the harsh realities of township life...and proof that ballet dancers can come from the most unlikely places.
Director: Kristin Pichaske Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, dance, performance
Guilty (Videocassette : 15 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8257
Abstract: Guilty dramatizes the HIV-related issues of blame, trust and responsibility, and examines preconceptions concerning high-risk groups and how these assumptions not only lead to denial but can further stigmatize HIV. The video follows Meg, a white woman, who is making a film about the spread of HIV in underdeveloped areas. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 18).
Director: François Verster Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, experimental film, Steps for the future
Gumboots (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 80 min. ) [2000]
DVD 1441
Abstract: This film is a celebration of song and dance, an international phenomenon that has swept across the globe like a tidal wave of soaring voices and stomping feet.
Director: Aubrey Powell Distributor:Image Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, dance, music, miners, feature film
Have You Heard From Johannesburg?: Apartheid and the Club of the West (DVD : 90 min. ) [2006]
DVD 9477
Abstract: Six documentary stories chronicling the history of the global anti-apartheid movement that took on both the South African government and its international supporters, who considered South Africa an ally in the Cold War.
Director: Connie Field Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, history, politics
Heart of Soweto (The) (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Four-part series examines social life, politics and history in late-apartheid era Soweto. Examines motherhood, political imprisonment, soccer and the legacy of the Freedom Charter.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, sport, political movements, apartheid
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 1: Everything I Never Had (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Rebecca Molete and Eugenia Twala are two of over one thousand mothers who gave birth in Soweto in October 1990. Eugenia wants her baby to have everything she never had, and visits an expensive private clinic. Rebecca is cared for by a local state clinic. The film documents the weeks leading up to her giving birth and provides a portrait of the two women's lifestyle, attitudes and hopes.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, health, political movements
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 2: When You Come Back Home (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Florence Williams and Nombulelo are mothers waiting for the return of their children, one from political imprisonment, the other from exile. Mrs. Williams has been waiting for months, highly expectant since De Klerk's announcement that all political prisoners will be released. Her daughter, Pumla, is in Pretoria Central Prison.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, political movements
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 3: Klip (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Soweto is famous as the place where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955. In 1991, a large informal settlement lives in an area near the Freedom Charter site where the progressive vision of the Freedom Charter stands in contrast to the living conditions of the people. However, in spite of its poverty, this community has maintained a vibrant culture and strong political will of throughout the years. This documentary is creatively produced wth cheerful puppetry scenes.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, motherhood, politics, history, sport, political movements
Heart of Soweto (The), Part 4: Once a Pirate (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
ON-ORDER
Abstract: Soccer is the favorite sport among South Africans. In the dark show of apartheid, soccer has become much more than just a football game. It is a way of life. The vibrancy, dynamic images, creative songs and electrifying atmosphere characterize every game. The Orlando Pirates is one of South Africa's oldest, biggest and most celebrated clubs, and, as its fans have come to believe, once a pirate, always a pirate.
Director: NA Distributor:Video News Services Double Exposure
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, social life, politics, history, sport, political movements
Heavy Traffic (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8254
Abstract: The increasing number of deaths attributed to AIDS has affected many areas of life in Soweto, South Africa. This documentary examines the impact of these deaths upon the funeral industry of South Africa. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 15).
Director: Kgomotso Matsunyane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, HIV/AIDS, funeral rituals, Steps for the Future
Ho ea rona = We are going forward (Videocassette : 17 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8260
Abstract: Ho ea rona is about three friends who meet and reminisce about the past. Thabiso was a national boxer; Thabo, known to his friends as Kwasa Kwasa, is a disc jockey at a local radio station; Bimbo is an intellectual and a man of short sentences. All three are HIV-positive. They reflect on their lives, cry, express regret, but also laugh. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 21).
Director: Dumisani Phakathi Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Lesotho, HIV/AIDS, men, Steps for the Future
Hoffnung im Herz: Mündliche Poesie (Videocassette : 20 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 5063 and 4082
Abstract: A profile of the life and work of Afro-German poet May Ayim, including interview footage and performances at a festival in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1995.
Director: NA Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: poetry, gender, identity
Hot Wax (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8908
Abstract: Ivy is a big, bubbly black woman living in the poor township of Alexandra, who managed to surreptitiously run her own beauty salon during the apartheid years. Her loyal and considerably more privileged white clients live in the Johannesburg suburbs. In a personal way, this engaging documentary reveals how much has changed after the end of apartheid - and how much has not.
Director: Andy Spitz Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Alexandra, Johannesburg, women, race, class, apartheid, beauty
House of Love (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8255
Abstract: This film explores the lives of sex-workers in the small Namibian harbor of Walvis Bay. The women are dependent on the business from the brief visits of foreign shipping trawlers. They give insights into the choices they have made and why they have made them. Their conflicts center around notions of love, sex, sin, and redemption, while the threat of HIV/AIDS exists only in the background. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 16).
Director: Cecil Moller Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Namibia, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, labor, Steps for the Future
I Talk About Me, I am Africa (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1980]
VHS 9336
Abstract: Filmed in black areas of South Africa. Provides look at the response of black culture to the system of apartheid through performances in a variety of theatrical forms.
Director: Chris Austin Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, theater, art, race
Iindawo Zikathixo = In God's Places (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS.VHS 3962
Abstract: Filmed in the remote hills and valleys of the southern Drakensberg, this documentary is a unique and timely record of a rapidly vanishing South African culture. Features Bushman rock art as a background against which the story of the Bushmen unfolds. Explores aspects of Bushmen culture through music, dance, oral history and traditional rituals. Narration in English along with the many variations of the San language used by the Bushmen.
Director: Richard Wicksteed Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: South Africa, Bushmen, art, petroglyphs, rock paintings, performance
Images in Struggle: South African Photographers Speak (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1990]
V. CASS. VHS 6442
Abstract: South African photographers speak about their work and aspirations. All are concerned to document the developing liberation struggle, as well as the lives and hopes of the South African people. Discusses the challenges to the development of the medium and the nature of their work in the 1990s. Interviews with Omar Badsha, Lesley Lawson, Rashid Lombard, Santu Mofokeng, Cedric Nunn, Zubeida Vallie, Paul Weinberg.
Director: Barry Feinberg Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, photography, apartheid, politics, history
Imita Ikula (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8250
Abstract: Memory is one of the 75,000 street kids in Lusaka, most of them orphans due to the AIDS epidemic. This documentary illustrates that she is streetwise and ready to fight, and yet she has her softer, more vulnerable side. Follows her as she finds a way to watch the solar eclipse, gets her hair braided, cooks, and sings and talks with her friends. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 11).
Director: Sampa Kangwa, Simon Wilkie Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zambia, Lusaka, HIV/AIDS, children, orphans, family, Steps for the Future
In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid (Videocassette : 108 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 2907
Abstract: Turns the lens toward filmmakers and the South African society they so often misrepresented. Films generally supported the ethos of racial domination that led to apartheid and it was only after Africans insisted on being heard that they began to be portrayed on-screen as more than adjuncts of whites. Written, filmed, edited and produced by Peter Davis and Daniel Riesenfeld. (2 videocassettes: 54 min. each)
Director: Peter Davis, Daniel Riesenfield Distributor:Nightingale/Villon
Keywords: South Africa, motion pictures, apartheid, popular culture
In My Country (DVD : 103 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5485
Abstract: A Washington Post journalist and an Afrikaans poet strike up a friendship and become romantically involved as they try to come to terms with their feelings about what they've learned at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. Based on the book Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog, and originally produced as a motion picture in 2004. Special features include audio commentary by director John Boorman; deleted scenes with optional commentary; interviews with Juliette Binoche, director John Boorman and producers Robert Chartoff, Mike Medavoy and Lynn Hendee.
Director: John Boorman Distributor:Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, feature film
In a Time of Violence (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 151 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 2797 v. 1-3
Abstract: The most controversial program broadcast on South African television, this film provides fascinating insights into the lingering divisions confronting the country as it attempts to forge a new post-apartheid national identity. A story concerning changing values, violent cultural and political clashes and conflict among black families in Johannesburg, South Africa. Writer: Oliver Schmitz. Three episodes: The Line, All on Edge, Fire with Fire.
Director: Brian Tilley Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, politics, social change, popular culture
Inside (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 94 min. ) [2000]
DVD 845
Abstract: An idealistic university professor is arrested for conspiring to overthrow the racist government in South Africa and is ruthlessly interrogated by a police colonel during his imprisonment. Ten years later, another political prisoner who witnessed the event has become an investigator of crimes of physical and mental abuse by the previous regime. When he confronts the colonel will justice finally be done?
Director: Arthur Penn Distributor:Artisan Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, police, political prisoners, torture, apartheid, history, feature film
Ipi Ntombi: An African Dance Celebration (Videocassette : 100 min. ) [1998]
V.CASS. VHS 7912
Abstract: Re-make of the musical Ipi Tombi. A Johannesburg mine worker sings of his love for the girl back home and his sense of separation from his roots.
Director: Be-Be Egnos, Gail Lakier Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, mine workers, musical drama
Isitwanlandwe (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 6443
Abstract: Historical documentary tells the story of the adoption of the South African Freedom Charter (6/26/55). Includes documentary footage and photos of the Congress and a depiction of the government's response. Contemporary interviews with leaders of the African National Congress and other organizations speak to the relevance and importance of the Freedom Charter today.
Director: Barry Feinberg Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, nationalism, civil rights, history, politics, race
It's My Life (Videocassette : 73 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7486
Abstract: Zackie Achmat is an AIDS activist who refuses to take anti-retrovirals until they are available in public hospitals and clinics. He leads the court battle against the multi-national drug companies and takes on the South African government for its confusing policies around HIV/AIDS. As a leader in the campaign for affordable treatment, Zackie's provocative position is not one all his friends and colleagues support.
Director: Brien Tilley Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, Zackie Achmat, activism, drug companies
James' Journey to Jerusalem (Videocassette : 87 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8698
Abstract: In the imaginary village of Entshongweni, very far from the Western world, the young James is chosen to undertake a mission--a pilgrimage to Holy Jerusalem. At the airport, however, James is suspected of trying to infiltrate the country in order to work illegally and is jailed by the Israeli immigration authorities. This contemporary Candide is miraculously bailed out by a shady small-time businessman only to become part of his migrant labor pool. Undeterred, James perseveres in his religious quest, until he gets a taste of fortune by exploiting his employer's friends and colleagues for his own profit. Director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz offers an astute exploration of the economic, moral and spiritual hypocrisies of Western society through an evocative portrait of modern Israel's cultural and generational divisions. Topped with a moving and charismatic performance by South African actor Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe, James' Journey to Jerusalem stealthily layers these serious issues with biting wit and a lilting fairy-tale charm. In Hebrew, English and Zulu with English subtitles.
Director: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz Distributor:Zeitgeist Films
Keywords: Israel, South Africa, race, religion, migrant labor, feature film
Karoo Kitaar Blues (DVD : 92 min. ) [2006]
DVD 7760
Abstract: Follows South African songwriter David Kramer and slide guitarist Hannes Coetzee into remote regions of South Africa on their quest to find musicians who play an almost forgotten folk music.
Director: Lizza Key Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Namaqualand, music
Land Affairs (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1995]
VHS 9197
Abstract: Hundreds of thousands of rural South Africans, displaced during the apartheid years, want land --land which white farmers now own. On the day of two meetings held in rural Natal, one with black farmers who want land, and one with white farmers who want to keep it, Weekly Mail Television filmed a white farmer, a displaced black tenant farmer, and Derek Hanekom, the Minister of Land Affairs. An important look at still unresolved tensions facing rural South Africa.
Director: Guy Spiller Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films, NY
Keywords: South Africa, Natal, agriculture, apartheid, displacement, land affairs, politics, race relations
Landscape of Memory (Videocassette : 104 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 7479 Pt. 1-4 (PAL format)
Abstract: A documentary series of four films created as a regional project about truth and reconciliation in Southern Africa. Filmmakers from four different countries show how people are dealing with the need to reconcile themselves to the violent past each country has recently emerged from. The series includes From the Ashes, I Have Seen=Nda Mona, The Unfolding Sky, and Soul in Torment. (4 videocassettes: 104 min.)
Director: Karen Boswall, Antjie Krog, Ronelle Loots, Richard Pakleppa, Prudence Uriri Distributor:Film Resource Unit [www.fru.co.za]
Keywords: Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, history, war, reconciliation, race, apartheid, politics
Last grave at Dimbaza (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [2006]
VHS 9290
Abstract: Shot illegally in the Republic of South Africa, this documentary exposes the oppression of Blacks and other people designated as 'coloured' under apartheid rule in South Africa. The film contrasts the lives of black and white South Africans, focusing on inequities in housing, education, wages and health care. This is a digitally remastered version of the original 1973 film.
Director: Chris Curling and Pascoe MacFarlane Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, economy, apartheid, race, history, politics
Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife (The) (Videocassette : 70 min. ) [1991]
V.CASS. VHS 8722
Abstract: Award-winning documentary about the Afrikaner neo-Nazi society AWB and its leader, Eugene Terreblanche.
Director: Nick Broomfield Distributor:Nick Broomfield, Inc.
Keywords: South Africa, race relations, white supremacy movements, apartheid, history
Let's Talk About It (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8261
Abstract: Let's Talk About It examines the attitudes of young people in Cape Town towards HIV and AIDS, and the challenges they face in practicing safer sex. Part of the Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the of AIDS/HIV (Volume 22).
Director: Sithunyiwe Gece Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, HIV/AIDS, youth, Steps for the Future
Life Story of an African Inyanga (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [1986]
V. CASS. VHS 6444
Abstract: Interview and dramatization of the life of Samuel B. Jamile, a South African inyanga (herbalist/medicine man). Examines the inyanga's medical, psychological, social, and moral role in Zulu life. Also discusses the inyanga's role in modern society.
Director: NA Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, medicine, healers
Life and Times of Sara Baartman 'The Hottentot Venus' (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 4688
Abstract: Using historical drawings, cartoons, legal documents, and interviews with noted cultural historians and anthropologists, The Life and Times of Sara Baartman 'the Hottentot Venus' deconstructs the social, political, scientific and philosophical assumptions which transformed one young African woman into a representation of savage sexuality and racial inferiority.
Director: Zola Maseko Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, gender, representation, science, history.
Lions of the African Night (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 60 min. ) [1988]
V. DISC 1199
Abstract: At dusk, a pride of lions sets out to hunt. The camera captures intimate glimpses of lion behavior - care of the young, the struggle for food, the interplay of the pride with other African bushveld animals.
Director: NA Distributor:Image Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Kruger National Park, wildlife, environment
Long Night's Journey Into Day (Videocassette : 95 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS VHS 5503
Abstract: For over forty years, South Africa was governed by the most notorious form of racial domination since Nazi Germany. When it finally collapsed, those who had enforced apartheid's rule wanted amnesty for their crimes. Their victims wanted justice. As a compromise, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was formed. As it investigated the crimes of apartheid, the Commission brought together victims and perpetrators to relive South Africa's brutal history. By revealing the past instead of burying it, the TRC hoped to pave the way to a peaceful future.
Director: Frances Reid and Deborah Hoffman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, politics, apartheid, history, TRC
Long Tears: an Ndebele Story (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 5950
Abstract: This program, seen through the eyes of one family, documents five years in the life of a South African people, the Ndebele, exploring their art, culture and traditions. It shows the famous Ndebele wall art and dress traditions and puts them in the context of the new South Africa. Francina Ndimande is an internationally recognized mural artist, as is her daughter Angelina. The film explores the rituals and traditions associated with the rites of passage of both men and women. Also traces the history of the Ndebele defeat in war against the Boers and their subsequent enslavement and mistreatment at the hands of the Boer farmers.
Director: David Frost Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Ndebele, art, painting, ritual, history
Long Walk of Nelson Mandela (The) (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6115
Abstract: This film biography of Mandela tells the story of his life through interviews with intimates, from his most trusted associates to his jailers on Robben Island, the prison where he was held for 27 years. This film offers an insider'saccount of his extraordinary will to lead and of the great risk and personal sacrifice he endured to achieve democracy and equality for the people of his nation.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, biography, politics, history
Looking for Busi (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8242
Abstract: This is the story of a fifteen-year old South African girl, Busi, who is an HIV-positive mother. Busi's mother abandoned her when Busi became pregnant, even before testing positive for AIDS. Busi is chosen for a mother-to-child drug trial and to be the subject of a documentary. After the documentary airs and exposes that she is HIV-positive, Busi disappears, and the filmmaker and her friend search for her. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 3).
Director: Robyn Hofmeyr Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, drugs, gender, Steps for the Future
Lost City of Zimbabwe (The) (Videocassette : 22 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 1910
Abstract: Long mistakenly identified as the remnants of ancient white civilization, the spectacular ruins of Great Zimbabwe are only now being recognized for what they are: southern Africa's first city. This program looks at the work being done to restore this archaeological site to its African heritage.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: Zimbabwe, archeology, history
Love Stories (Videocassette : 72 min. ) [2000]
See individual titles
Abstract: South Africa's extraordinary history has produced a wealth of stories. Among the heroic tales of sacrifice in the struggle against apartheid are the love stories of ordinary people, people with fascinating, hidden worlds that were often shattered by politics. Now, from South Africa's leading documentary production company, and made by three different South African filmmakers, the Love Stories series documents three remarkable love affairs. These stories are not sweet or sentimental - they are very much of the world. Although these stories are not overtly 'political' or 'sociological,' while watching them we learn about South Africa past, and its heart. See individual titles for details: The Moon in my Pocket (Kgomotso Matsunyane), Bubbles and Me (Mary Human) and White Girl in Search of the Party (Pat van Heerden). Love Stories is a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Kgomotso Matsunyane, Mary Human, Pat van Heerden Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, race relations, love narratives, romance
Love in a Time of Sickness (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8251
Abstract: Khalo Matabane tells friends at dinner about meeting a woman he felt attracted to, then breaking off with her after she disclosed her HIV-positive status. Intercut with Khalo's thoughts about his own protected past and his attitudes to gender roles. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 12).
Director: Khalo Matabane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, Steps for the Future
Luggage is Still Labeled (The): Blackness in South African Art (DVD : 60 min. ) [2003]
DVD 4336
Abstract: Many contemporary South African artists explore the construction of race and gender through their art.
Director: Vuyile C. Voyiya, Julie L. McGee Distributor:Vuyile C. Voyiya and Julie L. McGee
Keywords: South Africa, art, artists, race, gender
Maids and Madams (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1986]
V. CASS. VHS 2304
Abstract: Describes how apartheid affects the daily life of women in South Africa by focusing on the relationship between black household workers and white employers. Writer/Director: Mira Hamermesh.
Director: Mira Hamermesh Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, domestic labor, women
Make Believe (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9200
Abstract: In August 1993, Ordinary People (a South African television series) visited the town of Schweizer-Reineke and its neighboring township, Ipelegeng, to observe two contrasting but simultaneous ceremonies - one held for the African National Congress, the other for the Afrikaner Resistance Movement (AWB). When the conservative white town council decided to give the 'freedom of the city' to Eugene Terre Blanche and the Wenkommando, the AWB's paramilitary group, the neighboring black township chose to honor Joe Modise, commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC's armed wing. As these two diametrically opposed events are witnessed through the eyes of three of the town's children, Make Believe reveals, through their hopes and their misgivings, the future of a country where children grow up entrenched in hatred and fear. Adri supports the AWB in what she sees as a God-ordained quest against communism. Kenny, a member of the ANC's Young Pioneers, hates AWB leader Eugene Terre Blanche, but is prepared to talk to his children about a non-racial future. Niels is not taking sides, but believes that God's will will prevail. Amidst the sharply contrasting festivities, the children demonstrate their innocence as they grapple with long standing prejudices and hatreds that they do not fully comprehend. As they speak, it becomes evident that the attitudes which children like them will develop toward each other may determine South Africa's future.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Film
Keywords: South Africa, Afrikaner Resistance Movement, apartheid, African National Congress, children, politics, race relations
Mali & Senegal: The Power of Islam (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS VHS 7507
Abstract: Islam has influenced West Africa since the 11th century, but only in the last 100 years has the religion grown so rapidly in Senegal and Mali. One prominent sect, the Mouride movement, has millions of followers and wealth accumulated from peanut cultivation. As a force of conservative Islam, its economic and political power must be watched by the West. Part of a three part series entitled Africa in the 21st Century, see Somalia: The Neglected Civil Warand Zimbabwe & South Africa: Still Far From Coexistence.
Director: Hiroyuki Shima Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mali, Senegal, Islam, Mouride movement, religion
Mama Awethu! (Videocassette : 53 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9202
Abstract: Mama Awethu! follows the day-to-day lives of five black South African women in the townships around Cape Town, revealing the inhuman legacy of the apartheid system. Evelyn, once an African National Congress branch secretary, lives in a squatter location called Philippi and works as a cleaning woman. Iris, also from Philippi, is a member of the ANC Women's League who is involved in community politics. Sheila, a resident of Khayaletisha, is a committed activist; Dinah is new to politics; and Nopopi focuses on issues affecting women. As they share their lives with the camera, the film reveals how township life has necessitated their involvement in the struggle for better living conditions and equal rights. Although set in South Africa, the inspiring voices heard in Mama Awethu! are a call to empowerment for all women. They speak eloquently of hope in the midst of immense violence and killing. Much more than a record of South African women, Mama Awethu! is a song about life and the courage to live.
Director: Bethany Yarrow Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Cape Town, African National Congress, apartheid, social situation, women
Man Who Stole My Mother's Face (The) (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8881
Abstract: Two days before Christmas in 1988, Cathy Henkel's 59 year-old mother Laura was sexually and brutally attacked in her home in Johannesburg, South Africa by a local white teenager. Although Laura identified her attacker, the man was never charged and remained free. For fourteen years, unable to recover, Laura Henkel retreated from her family and rejected contact with the outside world. In an attempt to help her mother heal, Cathy Henkel took matters into her own hands, returned to Johannesburg and confronted her mother's attackers. What begins as an exploration about the unsolved case of Laura Henkel's rape becomes a revelation about the healing process.
Director: Cathy Henkel Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, women, rape, violence
Man, God and Africa (DVD : 51 min. ) [1993]
DVD 8037
Abstract: While the media has focused on the violent history of South Africa, it has paid little attention to a social phenomenon of great importance. Some nine-million South African blacks live with a strong commitment to their religion, Pentecostal Christianity. Their faith has enabled them to survive appalling hardship and deprivation. Their religion is a blend of deep-rooted African traditions and the imported values of Christianity. This commitment could be a stabilizing force in the new South Africa. This film captures the joyous singing and rhythmic movement that is common to the various black churches. It shows the African influence on funerals, baptisms, and weddings. Through these ceremonies the churches foster a sense of community and pride at being black South African. Adherents cut across all social classes. One sees an educated civil rights lawyer practice centuries-old healing practices. We hear from representatives of the traditional Church hierarchy, such as Archbishop Tutu and Alan Boesack, who have a profound respect for the adaptation of Christianity to the African culture.
Director: Don Boyd Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, religion, Pentecostal churches, ceremony
Mandela's Fight for Freedom (Videocassette : 145 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 6498 (2 videos- pt. 1, pt. 2)
Abstract: Part George Washington, part Abraham Lincoln, part Gandhi, South Africa's Nelson Mandela occupies a unique position in the history of the human spirit. From youthful protester, to political prisoner, to the president of a newly free nation, Nelson Mandela embodies the ideals of freedom as no other man of this time. Through a combination of moral strength, political cunning, and sheer luck, he brought about the dismantling of the hated policy of racial apartheid, without the bloodbath many feared.
Director: Mick Gold Distributor:Discovery Channel Video
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, apartheid, politics, history, biography
Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation (Videocassette : 120 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 6703
Abstract: This candid and provocative portrait of Nelson Mandela takes you to the very heart of the struggle for majority rule in South Africa.
Director: Jo Menell Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, history, apartheid, politics
Mandela: the Man (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. 2260
Abstract: This hour long presentation offers viewers a unique perspective into the life of Nelson Mandela.
Director: NA Distributor:Library Distributors of America
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, politics, race, history, apartheid
Mapantsula (Videocassette : 102 min. ) [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 1556
Abstract: Panic is a mapantsula, a Zulu term for a petty crook. Set in South Africa, he is imprisoned with anti-apartheid activists. There he is transformed into a man willing to become involved with social change.
Director: Oliver Schmitz and Thomas Mogotlane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, popular culture, music, feature film
Master Harold-- and the Boys (Videocassette : 90 min. ) [1984]
V. CASS. VHS 359
Abstract: Stagey cable presentation of South African Athol Fugard's play about the relationship between a white man and two black servants.
Director: NA Distributor:Karl Lorimar Home Video
Keywords: South Africa, theater, race, Fugard
Master Positive (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8256
Abstract: Master Positive tells the story of an HIV-positive Namibian coffin maker, Simon Elago. The video follows Simon as he constructs a prototype papier-mâché coffin and makes his first sale. Simon strives through humor and a positive outlook to overcome the social and personal consequences of the virus. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 17).
Director: Kelly Kowalski Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Namibia, HIV/AIDS, craft, Steps for the Future
Max and Mona (Videocassette : 98 min. ) [2004]
VHS9296
Abstract: In this funny and engaging film from South Africa, young Max leaves his small farming village to become a doctor in the big city. But things start to go wrong right away as Max is mistakenly sent on his journey with the sacred village goat, who he names Mona. Upon arrival in Johannesburg, he crosses paths with a sexy siren and becomes embroiled in a gangster face-off triggered by his crooked Uncle Norman.
Director: Teddy Mattera Distributor:First Run Features
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, urbanization, gangs, feature film
Miner's Tale (A) (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8246
Abstract: Joaquim is a migrant laborer with a junior wife in urban South Africa and a senior wife and family in rural Mozambique. He is torn between his responsibilities for both. He is also torn between his understanding of his HIV infection when visiting his home village after being absent for four years and what traditional society expects of him. Joaquim must make a choice since the elders are adamant that it is his traditional duty to father more children with his wife, but Joachim does not want to infect her. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 7).
Director: Gabriel Mondlane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, migrant labor, kinship, family, Steps for the Future
Moment (The) (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8257
Abstract: The Moment features men and women from different backgrounds who share their most personal thoughts about courtship and sexual behavior. They discuss the six stages of seduction: the moment you meet, the moment you connect, the moment you seduce, the moment you kiss, the moment you take your clothes off, and the moment before penetration. A caption asks us: at which moment do you decide to use a condom? Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 18).
Director: Siyabonga Makhatini Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior, gender, Steps for the Future
Moon in my Pocket, The (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
VHS 9203
Abstract: Wilton Mkwayi, a senior ANC guerrilla commander, was convicted of treason during the Rivonia Trial in 1966. Every year for twenty years, he applied to the prison authorities for permission to marry his sweetheart Irene Khumalo, but was denied each time. In the 21st year of his term they were finally allowed to marry, but six months later she died of cancer. He was released from prison shortly thereafter. Told through letters, interviews and reconstructions, The Moon in my Pocket is a classic story about a love that almost survived against the odds. It reveals the other side of political history, the personal lives of people usually seen as soldiers and politicians, but seldom as lovers. See also Bubbles and Me (Mary Human) and White Girl in Search of the Party (Pat van Heerden) .Part of Love Stories, a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Kgomotso Matsunyane Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, African National Congress, love narratives
My Mother Built This House (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7408
Abstract: There are four million homeless people in South Africa who live in shacks in slums or squatter settlements. Government programs are building houses for these homeless, but it is a slow process. This program looks at the difference the South African Homeless People's Federation is making. The federation members, most of whom are women, save up money to add to their government grants, allowing them to build larger houses, helping women and their families live in a home of their own. Additional materials available at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1114
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, women, housing, homelessness, economy
N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. 180 and VHS 3003
Abstract: Explores the life of N!ai, a native, who lives on a reservation in the Namibia/Botswana area of South Africa. Chronicles the changes in lifestyle with the coming of the white man. See also Guide to N!ai.
Director: NA Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Namibia, San (Bushmen), women, biography
N/um Tchai: the Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen (Motion Picture : 20 min. ) [1973]
MP-16MM 183
Abstract: Documents a formalized Bushman curing ceremony in the Kalahari Desert area of Southwest Africa by showing an all-night 'medicine dance' in which a number of men go into trance and exercise special curing powers. Divided into two parts: the first reviews and explains typical dance scenes; the second shows the ceremony without subtitles or narration (motion picture: 20 min., 3 study guides).
Director: John Marshall Distributor:NA
Keywords: Botswana, San (Bushmen), healing, trance, ritual, dance
Nadine Gordimer: On Being a Liberal White South African (DVD : 30 min. ) [2006]
DVD 7957
Abstract: Bill Moyers interviews South African writer Nadine Gordimer who talks about growing up in a racially segregated country. She also analyzes the current political situation with special reference to the roles of Nelson Mandela, Gatsha Buthelezi and the African National Congress.
Director: Catherine Tatge Distributor:Filams for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, novelists, apartheid, race, government, African National Congress, history
Ndebele Women and the Rituals of Rebellion (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 3320
Abstract: Ndebele men's and women's initiation rites and performance art are explored. Includes discussion of house structure and women's house painting.
Director: Peter Rich Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Ndebele, women, rites and ceremonies, art
Ndodii? = What shall I do? (Videocassette : 13 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8259
Abstract: Ndodii is set in a remote village in Zimbabwe; it dramatizes the impact of HIV/AIDS on the traditional practice of wife inheritance. Village elders instruct MaMoyo, an HIV-positive widow, to choose a new husband. Faced with being ostracized and blamed for her husband's death, she must decide whether or not to break the tradition. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 20).
Director: Farai Matambidzanwa Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, women, kinship, widow inheritance, Steps for the Future
Nelson Mandela: the Struggle is My Life (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [1986]
V.CASS. VHS 7986
Abstract: A documentary on the life and political career of Nelson Mandela, including interviews with persons who have known him well and footage of some of the significant newsworthy events of the South African apartheid era.
Director: Lionel Ngakane Distributor:Impact Video
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, Nelson Mandela, history, politics
New South Africa: A Personal Journey, The (DVD : 58 min. ) [1995]
DVD 8148
Abstract: The white expatriate playwright Tug Yourgrau (The Song of Jacob Zulu) returns to South Africa after the election of Nelson Mandela to learn about the changes there. He finds a people exhilarated to have been spared a horrifying civil war but still grappling with how to bring about reconciliation. Everywhere he looks he sees that the enormous gulf between white and black still exists, not just in standards of living, but also in their understanding of one another. Yet there are also signs of change. His old school which was totally white, now has a mixed student body and teaches Zulu in addition to Afrikaans. He rejoices in the new diversity in the press, which reflects voices ranging from the hard Right nostalgic for apartheid to the revolutionary Left impatient for change. It is not easy to overcome so many years of inequity. Crime, pollution and shanty towns are still in evidence. But here and there real progress is in evidence. Ndaba Ntsele, who once would have been a manual laborer, now owns a successful construction company and drives a BMW sedan. Here is a fascinating, first hand report on a country undergoing immense social change as the whole world watches.
Director: Tug Yourgrau and Joel Olicker Distributor:Flimakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, race, apartheid, history
Night Stop (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8244
Abstract: This documentary tells of the lives of eight prostitutes living in northern Mozambique. They reveal their individual stories of pregnancy, the search for a husband, unrequited love, violence and resignation. While the women are aware of the dangers of HIV and AIDS, they continue to have unprotected sex. The video also illustrates the world of the truck drivers as they talk among themselves. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 5).
Director: Licinio Azavedo Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, violence, labor, gender, Steps for the Future
Not Afraid (Videocassette : 7 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8256
Abstract: Not Afraid tells the story of Cathy from Namibia, who is 36 and has four children. During her second marriage, she got pregnant four times but lost the baby on each occasion. During her fourth pregnancy she took an HIV test, and was told that she was HIV-positive as she was going into labor. Not only was she informed insensitively at an inappropriate moment with no counseling, she also received no special care for the delivery of her child. Born prematurely, her baby had to remain in hospital but did not survive. Cathy now counsels HIV-positive people. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 17).
Director: Carla Hoffmann Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Namibia, HIV/AIDS, pregnancy, counseling, Steps for the Future
On Tiptoe: The Music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Videocassette : 56 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 7172
Abstract: Tells the inspiring story of the group that introduced South African music to the world, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The film recounts how a music affirming its deeply traditional roots has been passed down and popularized under the most hostile circumstances.
Director: Eric Simonson Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, music, apartheid, popular culture, politics
Ordinary People. Sebokeng by Night (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1994]
VHS 9321
Abstract: Zone 12 in Sebokeng, a township outside Johannesburg, had been the scene of many massacres in the years before South Africa's first democratic election. 'Invisible' gunmen came out in the night to kill arbitrarily, leaving the township a tense war-zone. On the night of filming, Aviva, a young 'comrade' who works to defend the township at night, takes one crew to an ANC affiliated 'Self Defense Unit' (SDU) vigil for a murdered resident. Another crew spends the night with Amelia, a housewife terrified by nightfall; and a third follows a member of the South African Police's 'Internal Stability Unit' (ISU), which patrols the township in armored cars from dusk to dawn each night. As the night passes, Sebokeng By Night conveys the experience of township life in the midst of murderous conflict, and the toll the violence takes on ordinary people on all sides.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Sebokeng, apartheid, vigilantes, crime, government
Ordinary People. The Lawyer, The Farmer and The Clerk (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1994]
VHS 9319
Abstract: June 25, 1993. Ordinary People, on hand to cover constitutional negotiations, captured footage broadcast around the world of a tank smashing through the glass wall of Johannesburg's World Trade Center, as right wing extremists occupied the negotiating chamber. This program chronicles this historic day through the eyes of three characters: Rashni, a clerk who was trapped inside the building when the protesters simply walked past the passive police; Leon, a right wing extremist who took part in the takeover; and Patrick, a member of a dispossessed black African community who had come to picket against the loss of his people's land during apartheid.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, constitutional negotiations, history
Ordinary People. The Penalty Area (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1994]
VHS 9322
Abstract: Baviaanspoort Maximum Security prison, outside Pretoria, was notorious for its inhumane conditions - until 1992 when a new recreational soccer program was introduced. In July, 1993, the Orlando Pirates - South Africa's most popular team who, as a symbol of Soweto, are heroes to the inmates - came to Baviaanspoort to play the prison team. This film, the first ever shot inside a South African prison, covers this unprecedented sporting event as, for one day, a sense of humanity is restored to thousands of convicts.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, prison, soccer, sports
Ordinary People. City of Dreams (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9320
Abstract: City of Dreams spends a day in Ponte City, perhaps the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere, and home to thousands of immigrants from all over Africa. This film introduces Babu, a bandmember in Ponte City's Zairian evangelical church; Mary, organizer of the on-premise nightclub's Miss Manhattan Africa competition; and James, a Zimbabwean banker and complex resident, who attends the pageant. The film reveals a city of dreamers, who in turn lend fascinating insights into the aspirations of urban Africans in South Africa.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, urbanization, immigration, religion, performance
Ordinary People: Following On (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [1996]
On Order
Abstract: The first chapters of Ordinary People, created in 1993, were produced in a starkly different South Africa. Amidst social and political turmoil and strife, leaders were deep in negotiations for a new order and the ramifications were being felt throughout the country's social structure. In this, the final episode of the 1995 season, Following On revisits a number of the men, women, and children featured in the inaugural series. Intercut with scenes from the first shows more than two years after they were assembled, this program reveals the repercussions that the events chronicled in five of those programs (The Peacemakers; The Lawyer, The Farmer, and The Clerk; The Tooth of the Times; The Penalty Area; and Make Believe -- see individual titles in catalogue) have had on the their subjects as they share the personal tolls the new South Africa has taken on their lives. The end result is a film which presents far more than just nostalgia and reflection as it bears witness to perhaps the most enormously tumultuous period of change in South Africa's history.
Director: Harriet Gavshon Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, human rights, sociology, politics, history
Our Developing World: Studies in Regional Political Geography (Videocassette : 241 min. ) [1996]
IN-PROCESS
Abstract: Each video of this series presents the political geography of a certain region. Topics frequently reviewed for each region are economic development, education, politics, cultural geography, and other subject areas. Produced by the Information Department of the United Nations Developmental Programme with the support of UNICEF and PROWESS. Ten videocassettes (volumes five through seven concern African nations): (v. 1) Central America: Costa Rica; (v. 2) Central America: Cuba; (v. 3) South America: Brazil; (v. 4) South America: Paraguay; (v. 5) Africa: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt; (v. 6) Africa: Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya; (v. 7) Africa: Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho; (v. 8) Asia: Mongolia, China, Nepal; (v. 9) Asia: Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam; (v. 10) South Pacific/Oceania: The Philippines, Kiribati.
Director: Josy Dubie Distributor:Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Keywords: Costa Rica, Cuba, Brazil, Paraguay, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Oceania, the Philippines, Kiribati, politics, history, economics
Out in South Africa (Videocassette : 51 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 3699
Abstract: A look at the social and political conditions for gay and lesbian people in present-day South Africa. Features interviews and historical background on the country's transformation into an open society for gay people. Produced, directed, and edited by Barbara Hammer.
Director: Barbara Hammer Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, gay/ lesbian sexuality, gender, social activism, social life
Passing the Message (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1981]
VHS 9401
Abstract: Black workers under South Africa's system of apartheid produce that nation's wealth, while enjoying little of it. Passing the Message is a film about the struggle to organize trade unions for black majority in the face of a vast entanglement of repressive government policies. Three black union activists who we follow through their grassroots organizing efforts tell this story of courage and hope. Black trade unions, although legal since 1979, have had to register and operate under state control. Some unions have refused to comply. These unions have been opening a new chapter in the struggle for justice in South Africa, a chapter revealed in Passing the Message.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, labor unions, apartheid, politics, race, economy
Patience and Pinkie: Mother to Child (Videocassette : 44 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8247
Abstract: Follows the lives of two pregnant and HIV-positive women fortunate enough to be on a drug trial at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto. The film charts the lives of Kholiwe (Patience) and Ntombekaya (Pinkie), who have made friends at the clinic's support group for HIV-positive mothers as they approach the delivery of their babies. It is about their expectations, hopes, and inevitable fears concerning not only the health of their babies, but the trauma around the disclosure of their status to their families and partners as well. It is also about the commitment of the people at the HIV perinatal clinic. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 8).
Director: Jane Thandi Lipman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, HIV/AIDS, women, pregnancy, counseling, Steps for the Future
Patient Abuse: TAC's Struggle for Treatment Access (Videocassette : 59 min. ) [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7173
Abstract: The film presents the early missteps by the South African government health officials concerning AIDS. Film follows the controversial statements made by current President Thabo Mbeki which advance doubts that HIV is the cause of AIDS. Treatment Action Campaign challenges pharmaceutical companies for charging high prices for AIDS drugs. Efforts of Zackie Achmat highlighted.
Director: Jack Lewis Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, medical care, health, politics
Patterns of Subsistence: Food Foragers and Pastoralists (Videocassette : 29 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 5840
Abstract: Examination of various subsistence patterns. Selected roles among the !Kung, Mbuti and Nuer of Africa, the Netsilik Eskimos, and the Baseri of Iran are used to illustrate patterns and relationships.
Director: Ira R. Abrams, John Bishop Distributor:Insight Media
Keywords: South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, !Kung, Mbuti, Nuer, pastoralists, hunting and gathering, agriculture, economy
Paying the Price (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7421
Abstract: Paying the Price investigates the history of AIDS treatment in Africa. It details Uganda's success with a UN-sponsored program of price reduction and medical education, and South Africa's refusal to begin a national AIDS treatment program despite defeating a drug company court challenge to the government's import and manufacture of generic anti-retroviral drugs. Finally, it looks at the success of smaller local programs that are bringing hope for the future to many infected Africans. Additional materials available at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1171
Director: Toni Strasburg Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Uganda, South Africa, HIV/AIDS, health, politics, drugs
Peacemakers (The) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9199
Abstract: This inaugural episode of Ordinary People (a South African television series) visits the 1993 rallies in Vosloorus township commemorating the Sharpeville massacre of 1961. Historically an occasion for demonstrations of unity and resistance to apartheid, this day became more dramatic when separate opposing assemblies were convened by both the Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress. The Peacemakers introduces four people at Vosloorus: Gertrude, an Inkatha-supporting peace monitor; Faith, her ANC counterpart; David, an organizer for the regional peace committee; and Clive, a policeman. As the day progresses, the truce between the warring parties is continually tested, even while all work determinedly to keep at bay the violence that has marked the conflict between these parties.
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, African National Congress, apartheid, commemoration, Inkatha Freedom Party, politics, race relations
Phela-ndaba = End of the Dialogue: Apartheid in South Africa 1970 (Videocassette : 45 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8728
Abstract: This film was shot illegally in South Africa during 1969-1970 by members of the Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa. The documentary presents the stark contrast between the quality of life of whites and blacks of South Africa under apartheid in 1970, with minimal narration. Made by a small group of South African exiles and film students based in London.
Director: Antonia Caccia, Chris Curling, Simon Louvish, Nana Mahomo, Vus Make, Rakhetla Tsehlana. Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, race relations, apartheid
Political Organization (Videocassette : 29 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 7829
Abstract: Profiles the four forms of political organizations: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. Shows how small bands such as the !Kung lead to a relatively egalitarian society, while large chiefdoms such as the Kpelle of Liberia maintain a hierarchy based on wealth. Narrated by Kate Porter.
Director: Harry Ratner Distributor:Insight Media
Keywords: Southern Africa, Liberia, !Kung, Kpelle, political organization, anthropology, inequality
Prime Time South Africa (Videocassette : 108 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3797
Abstract: Consists of six segments from South African Broadcasting Corporation television programming. The segments were chosen to demonstrate the variety of ways the media is portraying South Africa's new, post-apartheid society. Segments include commercials and excerpts from programs entitled Soul City, Local Voter, Rhythm and Rights, Generations, and Going Up.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, media, popular culture, politics, social life
Reasonable Man (A) (Videocassette : 103 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS VHS 8295
Abstract: This film tells the story of a city lawyer who defends a herdboy from rural Zululand. The herdboy is accused of murdering a one year old baby in the mistaken belief that he was killing an evil spirit known as the Tikoloshe. Dark secrets lie buried deep within the lawyer and on taking the case he enters aworld of witchcraft and mysticism in order to discover the truth about the killing, and himself.
Director: NA Distributor:Ster-Kinekor Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, law, religion, feature film
Red Dust (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 110 min. ) [2004]
DVD 9029
Abstract: A political thriller set in a small South African town during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. Human rights lawyer Sarah Barcant must represent Alex Mpondo, a former political activist, who was held captive and sadistically tortured by a police officer under the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Director: Tom Hooper Distributor:HBO Video
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, thriller, reconciliation, human rights, politics, feature film
Red Hot + Riot : Encounters with AIDS in Africa (DVD : 58 min. ) [2003]
DVD 5021
Abstract: This film focuses on and documents the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the lives of the people of Nigeria and South Africa. Using the music of Fela Kuti, the documentary reveals the magnitude of the AIDS problem, the personal tragedies, as entire households are wiped out by the disease, and what needs to be done to stem the flow of this epidemic. Included in this DVD are interviews with Yeni Kuti (Fela's daughter ), with Femi Kuti (Fela's son) and with Paul Heck, co-producer of the album as well as behind-the-scene footage.
Director: Maria Lovett Distributor:Red Hot Organization, New York
Keywords: Nigeria, South Africa, afro-beat, HIV/AIDS, popular culture, music, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti
Red Ribbon Around my House (A) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8252
Abstract: A mother and daughter are in crisis because of their different responses to AIDS. The mother, Pinky, is flamboyant and open about the fact that she is HIV-positive. The daughter, Ntombi, battles to be just like everyone else. Her mother's refusal to be passive in the face of AIDS sets them both apart. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 13).
Director: Portia Rankoane Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, women, Steps for the Future
Regopstaan's Dream (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8927
Abstract: On March 21st, 1999, at a ceremony in the Kalahari desert, a community of 300 Bushmen were granted 125,000 acres of their own land for the first time by the South African government. Twenty-five years earlier, they had been evicted from the Kalahari by the previous, apartheid government of South Africa who said that they were 'too westernized' to cohabit with the wild animals in the National Park. Forced to live in shanty conditions on a patch of land just outside the park, their eviction was just one more chapter in a history of violence and exploitation dating from the beginnings of Dutch settlement. Regopstaan Krupier was an elder in the #Khomani clan of the Bushmen who initiated the fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. Regopstaan's Dream follows the story of his son, Dawid Krupier's campaign to make the dream come true by making sure that the South African government honors their agreement to allow him and his extended family the right to live in their Kalahari home.
Director: Chris Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Kalahari, Bushmen, San, national parks, apartheid, politics, conservation, land
Regopstaan's Dream (DVD : 24 min. ) [2000]
DVD 8128
Abstract: In 1974, the South African apartheid government evicted the Bushmen inhabiting areas of the Kalahari Desert as part of an ongoing genocide against these people, which had gone on for generations. Forced to live in shanty conditions on the edge of their own land, the Khomani clan of the Bushmen initiated a fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. On 21st March 1999, at a ceremony in the Kalahari Desert, 300 of the world's remaining Bushmen were granted 125,000 acres of land by the new South African government. Regopstaan Krupier was an elder in the #Khomani clan of the Bushmen who initiated the fight to regain control of their ancestral lands. Regopstaan's Dream follows the story of his son, Dawid Krupier's campaign to make the dream come true by making sure that the South African government honors their agreement to allow him and his extended family the right to live in their Kalahari home.
Director: Chris Walker Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Kalahari, Bushmen, San, national parks, apartheid, politics, conservation, land
Remember Mandela! (Videocassette : 31 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 1108
Abstract: A portrait of the world's most famous political prisoner, who has been in jail since 1962. It outlines his career, and shows why he was such a threat to white rule, through personal accounts.
Director: NA Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, Mandela, apartheid, politics, history
Return of Sara Baartman (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS.VHS 7702
Abstract: Chronicles the return of the remains of Sara Baartman, a Black woman who had been exhibited as a freak in early nineteenth-century Europe. Her remains were returned to South Africa from France, where they had been kept at the Museum of Man (Musée de l'Homme). On April 29, 2002, Sara's remains were officially handed back to the South African people at an emotionally charged ceremony at the country's embassy in Paris and, on August 9 (National Women's Day), she was ceremonially buried on the banks of the Gamtoos River. Sara's repatriation involved years of lobbying by people in South Africa, including Professor Phillip Tobias, South African poet Diana Ferrus, and French senator Nicolas About who, when told that only a law could force the country to give up Baartman, introduced one. Originally produced as a movie in 2002.
Director: Zola Maseko Distributor:First Run
Keywords: South Africa, France, Sara Baartman, science, history, popular culture, racism, anthropology
Rhythm of Resistance: The Black Music of South Africa (Videocassette NA ) [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 2939
Abstract: Takes you across the forbidden boundaries of apartheid to experience the authentic joy and sorrow of Black South African music. Features music that has been ignored, suppressed or ghettoized, some filmed clandestinely.
Director: Chris Austin and Jeremy Marre Distributor:Shanachie Records
Keywords: South Africa, music, popular culture
Road from Rio (The) (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8130
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. This segment questions the relevance and success of the World Summit on Sustainable Development which opened in August 2002 in Johannesburg. As world leaders prepared for the meeting, hard questions were raised -- when governments had failed to deliver on so many of the promises they made in Rio -- why should the world believe they'd be any more responsive at the second summit?
Director: Steve Bradshaw Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, economic development, globalization, pollitics
Roots of African Culture (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8348
Abstract: A documentary film which attempts to dispell apartheid ideology by showing black students proof of South African settlements prior to the arrival of Europeans.
Director: Michael Chapman Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, history
Samora Machel: Son of Africa (Videocassette : 28 min. ) [1989]
VHS 9345
Abstract: Before his death in a tragic plane crash that many believe to have resulted from South African sabotage, Mozambican President Samora Machel gave the filmmaker an exclusive interview that forms the basis for the look at one of Africa's most important freedom fighters and revolutionaries.
Director: Ron Hallis Distributor:First Run, Icarus Films
Keywords: Mozambique, South Africa, government, history, revolution
Sangoma: Traditional Healers in Modern Society (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 2960
Abstract: A documentary on traditional healers in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. The film addresses how they are being integrated into the new South Africa's health care system in the area of AIDS education and plant conservation. Produced by Peter Davis and Harvey McKinnon.
Director: Peter Davis Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, HIV/AIDS, medicine, health, traditional healing
Scorpion Under the Rock: Afrikaans from Colonialism to Democracy (Videocassette : 78 min. ) [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 6957 Pts. 1- 3
Abstract: This three part docudrama looks at the relationship between language and political, social and economic power in South Africa from the beginning of Dutch colonial rule until today. The story of the origins and development of the Afrikaans language is narrated by Zaine Lackay (played by David Isaacs), a student activist from Salt River. His experience of the Afrikaans language is used as a central point at which to relate a series of historical tableaux. (3 videocassettes)
Director: Zackie Achmat and Jack Lewis Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, Afrikaans, language, race relations, history
Shouting Silent (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7761
Abstract: Explores the South African AIDS epidemic through the eyes of Xoliswa Sithole, an adult orphan who lost her mother to AIDS in 1996. The devastation wrought on the orphaned children of South Africa by the HIV/AIDS pandemic shows how entire generations of young people are growing up without parents.
Director: Renée Rosen Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, youth, health, orphans
Silent Killer. The Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger (DVD : 57 min. ) [2005]
DVD 7636
Abstract: There are still a billion hungry people in the world. Fifteen thousand children -- the equivalent of five times the victims of the World Trade Center bombings -- die each day of hunger. Yet it doesn't have to be this way. We can end hunger -- if we make a commitment to doing so. Silent Killer shows how it can be done. Hosted by National Public Radio's Scott Simon, the film begins in South Africa's Kalahari Desert, where razor-thin Bushmen use the Hoodia cactus to fend off hunger. But now, a drug firm has patented the Hoodia's appetite-suppressant properties and is using it to make a diet product for obese Americans and Europeans. Hoodia is a metaphor for a world where some people die from too much food, but millions more die from too little. We discover how serious the problem is in Kenya as we meet Jane Ininda, a scientist who is trying to make agriculture more productive in her country, while her own brother, Salesio, barely survives the drought, poor soils and pests that constantly threaten his crops. Through powerful stories, we come to understand the dimensions of the hunger crisis. At the World Food Summit in Rome, we learn how activists have been working to end hunger since President John Kennedy declared war on it in 1963. But today, America's commitment to food security is less clear. In fact, world financial commitments to hunger research have been declining in recent years. But Silent Killer does not leave viewers feeling helpless. A visit to Brazil finds a nation energized by a new campaign called 'Fome Zero' -- Zero Hunger. In the huge city of Belo Horizonte, we meet a remarkable leader and see how, under the programs she supervises, the right to food is guaranteed to all. In the countryside, we are introduced to the Landless Peasants' Movement, which is giving hope to millions of hungry Brazilians.
Director: Hana Jindrova and John de Graaf Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: South Africa, Kenya, Brazil, Kalahari, Bushmen, hunger, drought, food, agriculture, development
Silent Killer: AIDS in South Africa, The (DVD : 52 min. ) [2005]
DVD 8142
Abstract: South Africa is hard hit by the HIV epidemic which is infecting more than 1500 people per day. At Johannesburg's biggest hospitals, forty to fifty percent of the beds are occupied by patients with AIDS-related infections It is estimated that one fourth of the population will be affected soon. The history of social and economic division that still continues in South Africa is reflected in the way the disease has spread. Poor black women in the townships get only inferior mixtures of AZT to prevent their babies from being born infected. They do not get the information necessary to prevent infection. The disease is not confined to the poor, for affluent whites are also affected by HIV. We hear from patients, social workers, medical experts and government policy makers on the magnitude of the problem.
Director: Marika Griehsel Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, HIV/AIDS, health, race, government
Simon & I (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8241
Abstract: The story of Simon Nkoli and his friend, Bev Ditsie, both activists in the anti-apartheid and gay and lesbian liberation movements in South Africa. Their relationship is viewed against the backdrop of intense political activism and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 2).
Director: Bev Ditsie, Nicky Newman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, gay and lesbian activism, anti-apartheid movement, Steps for the Future
Six Days in Soweto (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [1977]
V. CASS. VHS 1801
Abstract: The violent Soweto student strike of June 17, 1976 is re-lived by residents of Soweto.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, politics, history
Sizwe Bansi is Dead (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1978]
V. CASS. VHS 2556
Abstract: Presents a dramatization of the play by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona entitled Sizwe Bansi is Dead. Preceding and following the play Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee express views on the play's theme, the struggle for human dignity in apartheid-ruled South Africa.
Director: Graeme McDonald, John Davies Distributor:Insight Media
Keywords: South Africa, race, apartheid, theater, Fugard
Sky in her Eyes (The) (Videocassette : 11 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8263
Abstract: The Sky in her Eyes tells the story of a young girl in Kwazulu-Natal struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother from AIDS. A young boy befriends her and allows her to attach a drawing of her mother to his kite. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 24).
Director: Ouida Smit. Madoda Ncayiyana Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Kwazulu-Natal, HIV/AIDS, children, Steps for the Future
Slavery and the Making of America. Volume 1: The Downward Spiral (DVD : 60 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5288 PT. 1
Abstract: Program One covers the period from 1619 through 1739, and spotlights the origins of slavery in America, focusing on Dutch New Amsterdam (later New York City). This installment shows how slavery in its early days was a loosely defined labor source similar to indentured servitude, in which Africans and others of mixed race and/or mixed culture had some legal rights, could take their masters to court and could even earn wages as they undertook the backbreaking labor involved in building a new nation --clearing land, constructing roads, unloading ships. But further south, the story of John Punch served as an omen of things to come. Captured after attempting to escape his tobacco plantation, he received a sentence far harsher than the two white men who ran with him. Indeed, in the Carolinas, where the enslaved were teaching struggling white planters how to grow the wildly lucrative crop oryza (rice), the labor system was already progressing towards the absolute control, dehumanizing oppression and sheer racism we today most commonly associate with slavery. The first hour culminates with the bloody Stono rebellion in South Carolina, which led to the passage of 'black codes,' regulating virtually every aspect of slaves' lives. The first episode features the stories of John Punch, Emanuel Driggus and Francis Driggus. This volume is part of the Slavery and the Making of America series.
Director: James Danté Distributor:Ambrose Video Publishing
Keywords: America, Africa, New York, South Carolina, indentured labor, overview, history, slavery
Slavery and the Making of America. Volume 3: Seeds of Destruction (DVD : 60 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5288 PT. 3
Abstract: The series' third program looks at the period from 1800 through the start of the Civil War, during which slavery saw an enormous expansion and entered its final decades. As the nation expanded west, the question of slavery became the overriding political issue of the time. These years saw an increasingly militant abolitionist movement and a widening rift between the North --which had largely outlawed slavery but continued to reap the vast economic benefits of the system -- and the South, now home to millions of enslaved black men, women and children. This is the period of slavery most commonly depicted in history books and captured by dramas. Leading Southerners such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had been convinced slavery was nearing its end. But the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican War brought vast new territories into the United States, and the battle between those for and against slavery intensified. By 1860, every attempt at striking an agreement --the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, a draconian federal fugitive slave law-- had failed, splitting apart the Union. Men and women featured in the series' third episode are: Harriet Jacobs, Solomon Northup, Louis and Matilda Hughes. This volume is part of the Slavery and the making of America series.
Director: Ghana Gazit Distributor:Ambrose Video Publishing
Keywords: America, Africa, overview, history, slavery, abolitionism, emancipation
Slavery and the Making of America. Volume 4: The Challenge of Freedom (DVD : 60 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5288 PT. 4
Abstract: The series' fourth program follows the life of Robert Smalls as it takes viewers through the Civil War, the Reconstruction and beyond. A South Carolina slave who rode a stolen Confederate ship to freedom, Smalls became a sailor in the Union Navy, bought the mansion in which he had been enslaved, and went on to a long, successful career in politics. The program follows the transformation of the Civil War from a conflict intended to restore the Union to a conflict over slavery. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves under the control of the Confederate government. The Reconstruction period that followed offered much promise to the newly freed slaves, but by the 1876 Presidential election the North had tired of dealing with civil rights and decided to leave the issue of the treatment of the freed slaves to the Southern states, where many former Confederate leaders had taken the helm of government. With Smalls' story as a framework, this final installment looks at the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and militant opposition to black rights, the end of the Reconstruction and its replacement with a whole new kind of legalized oppression. This volume is part of the Slavery and the Making of America series.
Director: Leslie Farrell Distributor:Ambrose Video Publishing
Keywords: America, Africa, overview, history, slavery, emancipation, civil war
Somalia: the Neglected Civil War (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS VHS 7506
Abstract: Independent since 1960, Somalia has seen virtually constant political upheaval. Some eighty percent of the nation is under the power of guerillas and local warlords. Recently, Somalia has become a target in the post-Afghanistan 'war against terrorism'. Part of a three part series entitled Africa in the 21st Century, see also Zimbabwe & South Africa: Still Far from Coexistence and Mali and Senegal: The Power of Islam.
Director: Seijun Hata Distributor:Filmakers Library, Inc.
Keywords: Somalia, civil war, guerillas, politics
Song of Africa (Videocassette : 59 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 4560
Abstract: In this all Black production made in the early 1950s and directed by an Afrikaner, a Zulu band leader, Daniel Makiza, returns to his village with a gramophone and musical instruments determined to start a Zulu jazz band. He takes his band to the city where their jazz contest performance constitutes the body of the film. This film, produced at the inception of apartheid, contains many of the clichés and self-delusions that were to make apartheid tenable. Thecosmetic world depicted is completely in harmony with Afrikaner Nationalist philosophy, a mass fantasy indulged by thousands of Afrikaners.
Director: Emil Nofal Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, music, popular culture, history, urban life
Songololo: Voices of Change (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 54 min. ) [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 3228
Abstract: Examines the role of black resistance to apartheid in South Africa through a look at two of the nation's leading cultural activists and popular performers, poet Mzwakhe Mbuli and writer/performer Gcina Mhlophe. Through their poetry, music and storytelling, they show us the important role culture played in changing South Africa. In addition to interviews with, and dynamic performances by, both Mbuli and Mhlophe, the film includes rousing scenes of hostel dancing,church singing, township jazz and freedom songs.
Director: Marianne Kaplan Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, intellectual life, social conditions, politics and government, music, theater, poetry, popular culture, performance
Songs of the Adventurers (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 2341
Abstract: Depicts the poetic songs, known as difela, of Sotho migrant workers, who must go from their homes in Lesotho to work in the mines in the Republic of South Africa.
Director: Gei Zantzinger Distributor:Constant Spring Productions
Keywords: Lesotho, migrant workers, song
South Africa (Motion Picture : 27 min. ) [1968]
MP-16MM 245
Abstract: Describes the nature of the unusual historical background out of which modern South Africa has evolved, and the many social problems which the peoples of South Africa face. Discusses criticisms of the government's racial policies and shows why South Africa will probably not change very much within the near future.
Director: NA Distributor:McGraw-Hill Films
Keywords: South Africa, history, apartheid
South Africa (Videocassette : 19 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 1130
Abstract: CBS news. Produced by John Tiffin.
Director: NA Distributor:Carousel Films
Keywords: South Africa, journalism, media
South Africa Belongs to Us (Motion Picture : 35 min. ) [1980]
MP-16MM 261
Abstract: Five black women describe their lives under the South African system of apartheid.
Director: Chris Austin Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, women, apartheid
South African Chronicles (Videocassette : 105 min. ) [1988]
VHS 9346
Abstract: The nine short documentaries comprising South African Chronicles were produced by twelve young filmmakers at the racially integrated Varan Workshop. Focused on such subjects as a meeting of the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, an election campaign in a small mining town, a homeless children's shelter in the racially mixed Hillbrow section of Johannesburg, and the distribution of pension checks to senior citizens in Soweto, these films show the realities of South African life behind the sensationalism and rhetoric of most reports out of South Africa. In this way, South African Chronicles tells the story of apartheid all the more vividly.
Director: Varan Workshop of Johannesburg Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, human rights, sociology
Southern Africa Safari (Videocassette : 60 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 6660
Abstract: Photo safari visits Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Points of interest include the Okvango delta, the Luangwa Valley, the Matopos, Victoria Falls and the white water rapids of the Zambezi River.
Director: NA Distributor:International Video Network
Keywords: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, photography, travel, geography
Soweto: A History (Videocassette : 156 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS VHS 7521
Abstract: Completed on the eve of South Africa's first democratic election, a groundbreaking six part documentary series [each part is 26 minutes in length] which reclaims the untold story of South Africa's largest city. A wealth of extraordinary archive footage, personal and documentary photographs evoke the drama of daily life in Soweto. The six parts are: Building Matchbox City, Divide and Rule, Best of the Worst, This is Our Day, By War-the Era of the Comrades, End Beginnings. Accompanies the book by the the same name by P. Bonner and L. Seagal.
Director: Angus Gibson Distributor:Film Resource Unit, Johannesburg
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, anti-apartheid movements, politics, history
Spares & Besties (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6955
Abstract: A sexuality, HIV/AIDS video workshop for youth. Produced with the help of the students of Guguletu Comprehensive and Tafelsig Senior Secondary in Cape Town, young men and women discuss their experiences of sex with startling frankness. The programme is not a safer sex information tape. Rather, it seeks to place the basic facts about safer-sex in the context of the real world in which young people are expected to act on this information.
Director: NA Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, sexuality, health, HIV/AIDS, youth, education
State of Denial (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 7868
Abstract: South Africa is the country with the highest number of HIV positive people in the world. This video illustrates how they must fight not only the disease but the drug cartels and the inactivity of their own government to get treatment.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, drug companies
Stepping Out (Videocassette : 29 min. ) [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 3262
Abstract: Denzel, a teenager from the 'colored' township of Newclare, takes part in the Miss Gay Transvaal competition. The cameras are on Denzel, as well as his mother and a local gay rights activist who were both in attendance. Part of the Ordinary People series (South African television series).
Director: Nicolaas Hofmeyr Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, sexuality and gender, performance, popular culture
Steps for the Future (Video Recording Series) (Videocassette NA ) [2001]
See individual titles 25 Cassettes
Abstract: Steps for the Future is a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS. In 25 volumes. See individual title for descriptions: It's My Life, Wa 'N Wina, Simon & I, Looking for Busi, Body & Soul, Night Stop, Dancing on the Edge, A Miner's Tale, Mother to Child, Eclipse, A Fighting Spirit, Imita Ikula, Love in a Time of Sickness, A Red Ribbon Around My House, A Luta Continua, Heavy Traffic, 6000 a Day, Master Positive, Not Afraid, Guilty, The Moment, Dreams of a Good Life, Gotta Give, Ndodii, Big Balls, Ho Ea Rona, Tsoga, Let's Talk About It, Dispel Your Attitude, That's Me, Choose Life, The Ball, The Sky in Her Eyes, True Friends.
Director: Don Edkins (Series Producer) Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Southern Africa, HIV/AIDS, youth, marriage, romance, health, gay and lesbian, Steps for the Future
Stories My Country Told Me: Tutu and the Rainbow Nation (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6134
Abstract: 'You'll never be free until we are free,' said Archbishop Desmond Tutu to the white citizens of South Africa, and thanks to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, blacks and whites alike are finally free to put down the burden of guilt and come together as one people. This program follows a busy day in the life of Nobel Laureate Tutu in 1996, which begins with a tour through his Cape Town diocese and ends with a trip to Johannesburg to greet his mentor, Trevor Huddleston, on his return to South Africa.
Director: Tim May Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: South Africa, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Desmond Tutu, history, politics, apartheid
Story of a Beautiful Country (Videocassette : 73 min. ) [2004]
VHS 9229
Abstract: Story of a Beautiful Country is the journey of Khalo Matabane, a young black filmmaker in search of his 'new country,' the promised land -- the new South Africa. Matabane, traveling with a hand-held camera throughout nine provinces of his country, films entirely from the seat of a mini-bus taxi, capturing the physical beauty of a still troubled land. The taxi also serves as an open forum for ordinary people to talk about their feelings and impressions of the new South Africa, which broke away from apartheid in 1994. Following the format of talk radio, a national obsession, topics range over controversial issues such as land, race, language, globalization, democracy, identity, and violence. Many realize that after hundreds of years of racial oppression, peace and tolerance will not come to this country overnight. Despite the hurdles, however, South Africans -- regardless of race and social status -- are proud of their country and willing to defend it. Story of a Beautiful Country expresses the hopes and dreams of the youth -- the next generation of people trying to find their way and their voice in the new South Africa.
Director: Khalo Matabane Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films, NY
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, democracy, identity, post-apartheid era, race relations
Thapelo: A Prayer for Africa (DVD : 53 min. ) [2003]
DVD 3114
Abstract: In post-apartheid South Africa, one in two children die of AIDS, one in two women are raped, and 20,000 homicides occur annually, the world's highest murder rate. Against these appalling statistics and a disintegrating social fabric, this program presents examples of South Africa's greatest hope, the spirit of its people.
Director: Jo Willesee Distributor:Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, social life, violence, children
That's Me (Videocassette : 7 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8262
Abstract: In That's Me, a HIV-positive drag queen discusses being gay and HIV-positive in Zimbabwe. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from South Africa about life in the time of AIDS/HIV (Volume 23).
Director: Sasha Wales-Smith Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Zimbabwe, HIV/AIDS, gay and lesbian, transvestites, Steps for the Future
This Crazy Thing Called Grace: Desmond Tutu and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Videocassette : 40 min. ) [1997]
On Order
Abstract: The main objective of this documentary is to communicate the synthesis Desmond Tutu has made in his own mind of politics, liberation, Africanness and the practice and dedicated interpretation of the Christian faith in the context of a South Africa in full transition, as he took on the role of Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Director: Joëlle Chesselet Distributor:Journeyman Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, Desmond Tutu, TRC, religion, reconciliation
Tooth of The Time (The) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1993]
VHS 9198
Abstract: Eddie Jacobs dreamed of being buried under an old prickly pear tree on the farm owned by his family for four generations. But when the government ceased its policy of 'buying' farmers' votes with subsidies - while an extended drought continued - Eddie was bankrupted, unable to pay back numerous loans. Thousands of other farmers and their workers faced the same plight. The Tooth of The Time spends a day with Eddie; Faan, a black laborer also born and raised on the farm; and Rudy Nagel, who is charged with auctioning away Eddie's life. Part of the Ordinary People series (a South African television series).
Director: Clifford Bestall Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: South Africa, agriculture and farming, economy, labor, land
Tribal Mind (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 8933
Abstract: South Africa is struggling to overcome the legacy of racism and ethnic division that plagues so many countries. Against a backdrop of ongoing violence, a new breed of South Africans is struggling to create a real democracy. Is the rest of the world prepared to relinquish its own 'tribes?' Is there enough time?
Director: Torben Schioler, Gwynne Dyer Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, race, ethnicity, politics, democracy
True Friends (Videocassette : 20 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8264
Abstract: A trilogy of short films (each 7 minutes long) using hand-made animal puppets to dramatize different issues around HIV/AIDS, making them easily accessible to young children aged 5 to 8 years old. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 25).
Director: Bert Sonneschein Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mozambique, HIV/AIDS, children, Steps for the Future
Tsoga = Wake Up (Videocassette : 8 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8260
Abstract: Tsoga presents the story of a community confronting a terrible dilemma after 70% of the students of a highly productive community school test positive for HIV. Joyce, who has been positive since she was raped as a school girl seven years ago, talks about discrimination at schools which leads to students dropping out. Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 21).
Director: Sechaba Ramotoai Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, HIV/AIDS, rape, children, school, Steps for the Future
Tsotsi (DVD : 94 min. ) [2006]
DVD 7818
Abstract: A young man running with a criminal gang on the streets of Johannesburg, Tsotsi - a nickname meaning thug - is immersed in a world of violence that seems to leave him unaffected, until he discovers an infant in the backseat of a car he has stolen.
Director: Gavin Hood Distributor:Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, Johannesburg, criminals, gangs, youth, poverty, feature film
Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela: A Son's Tribute to Unsung Heroes (DVD : 73 min. ) [2006]
DVD 6399
Abstract: Twelve Disciples of Nelson Mandela provides a rare inside look into the organizational and psychological dynamics of liberation movements in general and the ANC in particular. At the same time its poignant story of the bonds between a son and his father strained by our politically turbulent times has universal resonance.
Director: Thomas Allen Harris Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, liberation movements, ANC, politics, apartheid
Two Rivers, The (Videocassette : 59 min. ) [1986]
VHS 9350
Abstract: Documentary which looks at the rural South African man's perspective on his country through the eyes of writer Rashaka Ratshitanga. Rashaka Ratshitanga lives in Venda, a rural area of South Africa, recently declared by them to be an independent black state in accordance with their policy of apartheid. Detained many times for his opposition to the white regime, Ratshitanga spent twenty years as a migrant worker in Johannesburg. He takes the viewer on a journey from his small rural village across the country to Johannesburg.
Director: Mark Newman Distributor:British Film Institute
Keywords: South Africa, Venda, Johannesburg, apartheid, urbanization, migrant labor
Uku hamba 'ze = To Walk Naked (Videocassette : 13 min. ) [1995]
V.CASS. VHS 5937
Abstract: In 1990 a group of South African women protested the destruction of their homes in the squatter camps of Dobsonville by the Afrikaaner National Government. Five years later the women reflect on their experiences and describe the social stigma of stripping themselves naked to protest their oppression.
Director: Jacqueline Maingard with Sheila Meintjes and Heather Thompson Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, women, housing, politics, history
Unbannings and Mandela Freed (The) (Videocassette : 44 min. ) [1992]
V.CASS. VHS 8671
Abstract: Portrays the events surrounding the release of Nelson Mandela from prison in South Africa.
Director: NA Distributor:Film Resource Unit, Video Library & Distribution Services
Keywords: South Africa, Nelson Mandela, politics, history
Unexplained: Voodoo Rituals (The) (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [1998]
V.CASS. VHS 6862
Abstract: As a young man, Yuseff Abdulla ventured into the swamplands of South Carolina in search of spiritual fulfillment. He found his way to the Oyutunji African village 65 miles south of Charleston, where the people live in a culture modeled on that of the West African Yoruba people. An essential part of their culture is the practice of Voodoo. Twenty years after his introduction to Oyotunji, Yuseff, now a high priest of Voodoo, begins another odyssey, journeying to West Africa to confirm that the traditions he has devoted his life to reflect those of his ancestors.
Director: Andrew Holland Distributor:New Video Group
Keywords: United States, West Africa, Yoruba, voudou, ritual, religion, diaspora
Unfolding of the Sky (The) (Videocassette : 26 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 7479 Pt. 3 (PAL format)
Abstract: Features a dialogue between an Afrikaans woman who has reported on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, and an African woman who has been a victim of the apartheid system in South Africa. Part three of the series Landscape of Memory. See also From the Ashes, I Have Seen=Nda Mona, and Soul in Torment.
Director: Antjie Krog and Ronelle Loots Distributor:Film Resource Unit [www.fru.co.za]
Keywords: South Africa, women, apartheid, reconciliation, history, politics
Up in Smoke (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8141
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. This segment looks at the country of Malawi in Southern African where tobacco is the major export crop, responsible for 70% of all export earnings. But dependence on tobacco crops and manipulation by the tobacco industry has stunted the economy of Malawi, and despite the diminished returns from tobacco growing, the government has increased the land under cultivation.
Director: Martin Otanez, Christopher Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Malawi, economic development, tobacco, farming
Vanishing Cultures: Bushmen of the Kalahari (DVD : 58 min. ) [2005]
DVD 7839
Abstract: The film takes a look at the San people, traditionally hunter-gatherers, but who are now facing outside pressure to change to a 21st century life. They find themselves having to stand up for their heritage, their land and their dignity. They realize that they can benefit economically from their distinct knowledge and traditions.
Director: Jeffrey Hayes Kazmark Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Southern Africa, San people, land tenure, hunting, economy
Wa 'n wina = Sincerely Yours (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8240
Abstract: Filmmaker Dumisani Phakathi returns to his old neighborhood in Phiri, Soweto and engages with friends to discuss relationships, sex, love, and AIDS. They talk intimately about the realities of the street and choices they have been forced to make. The video reveals the gaps between everyday life and the AIDS campaigns that often talk past the very people they are supposed to address.Part of Steps for the Future, a unique collection of documentaries and short films from Southern Africa about life in the time of HIV/AIDS (Volume 1).
Director: Dumisani Phakathi Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, HIV/AIDS, Soweto, social conditions, gender, sexual behavior, Steps for the Future
Walk in the Night (A)= Nagstappie (Videocassette : 79 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 4809
Abstract: Recounts a single terrible night when the fragile world of Mikey Adonis, a young coloured steel worker, disintegrates; illustrates how a decent man can be driven to an act of brutality by a racist society which humiliates him at every turn.
Director: Mickey Madoda Dube Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, race relations, history, feature film
Water for Tonoumassaé (DVD : 28 min. ) [1987]
DVD 7931
Abstract: During the long, dry season in the south of Togo, in West Africa, a woman's day began at 1:00 a.m. with an eight-hour trek for water. Unbeknownst to her, the water so arduously collected was contaminated. Water for Tonoumassé shows the efforts of a group of villagers to get clean water by drilling a well nearby. It chronicles the success of this project in which women played a key role. To the surprise of the village men, the women were capable of making decisions, handling money, and learning the mechanics of keeping the pump in working order. We share their joy as they celebrate when water pours forth. By taking responsibility, these women have transformed daily life, both for themselves and their families. They are able to care for their children better and have more time to grow food. This vivid example of a development project that works is an excellent resource for exploring issues relating to women's roles in developing countries.
Director: Gary Beitel Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Togo, water, technology, development, women
We Jive Like This (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [1991]
V. CASS. VHS 6302
Abstract: Records the dance, poetry, theatre and music of South Africa's streets and backyards which provide a kind of street education, an outlet for self-expression, and a celebration of everyday life.
Director: Deborah May Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, music, popular culture
We Never Give Up (Videocassette : 70 min. ) [2002]
VHS 9051
Abstract: This documentary is a collection of stories told by eleven survivors of apartheid violence. They are all members of the Khulumani Support Group, Western Cape, and are involved in a battle to hold the South African government accountable to its promise to pay final reparations. The difficulties experienced by the storytellers raise pertinent questions about the efficacy of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Director: Cahal McLaughlin Distributor:Human Rights Media Centre
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, violence, reconciliation, reparations, TRC
Welcome to the Human Race (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 4541
Abstract: In Wolpert's earlier film, Mama I'm Crying, she documented the grassroots suffering and anger during the apartheid years. Now Wolpert follows up on some of the people from the earlier film, several of whom are now in positions of power in the new South Africa. This film shows the extraordinary meeting between two families: the eighteen-year-old son of the Zondos who was executed for planting a bomb which killed the seven-year-old son of the Smits. As the two families mourn together the loss of their children, a poignant and moving reconciliation takes place.
Director: Betty Wolpert, Matthew Wolpert Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, politics, history, social life, apartheid
Where Truth Lies (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1999]
V.CASS. VHS 8932
Abstract: This moving film is about one of the many terrible cases to come before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Twenty-two year-old student leader Siphiwo Mtimkulu, and his friend Topsy Madaka, were shot and burned in 1982 by the feared Security Police under the former apartheid government. Gideon Nieuwoudt - nicknamed 'Notorious Nieuwoudt' - was a colonel in the Security Police. He and his colleagues are responsible for the torture, poisoning, and death of numerous black activists, including Steve Biko. In 1995 a group of top Security Police officers got a court order to block Mtimkulu's family from giving evidence before the TRC, threatening to undermine the whole process. Forty-eight hours before the deadline expired, the officers finally applied for amnesty. Filmmaker Mark Kaplan documented the case for three years, during which time Nieuwoudt met with the Mtimkulu family seeking their forgiveness with unexpected and dramatic consequences.
Director: Mark J. Kaplan Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: South Africa, TRC, politics, apartheid, history, violence
White City, Black Lives (Videocassette : 57 min. ) [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 6163
Abstract: Five residents of White City, a neighborhood in Soweto, South Africa, are given small cameras with which to tell the story of their lives providing a view of black urban life in South Africa.
Director: Teboho Mahlatsi Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Soweto, urban life, photography
White Girl in Search of the Party (Videocassette : 24 min. ) [2000]
VHS 9234
Abstract: In 1943 Pauline Podberry, the daughter of Lithuanian immigrants in South Africa, fell in love with the dashing trade union hero, H.A. Naidoo. The events that followed, including his listing as a Communist, their exile in Hungary and London, and H.A.'s disillusionment with the Communist Party and subsequent isolation, tell a complex story. Told through the eyes of Pauline, now living in Cape Town, and with the testimony of their daughters and friends, White Girl in Search of the Party is a film about history and heroes, and about how political passion and love are often intertwined. See also The Moon in my Pocket (Kgomotso Matsunyane) and Bubbles and me (Mary Human). Part of Love Stories, a series produced by Harriet Gavshon & David Jammy.
Director: Pat van Heerden Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: South Africa, Hungary, England, apartheid, Communist Party, race relations, love narratives
William Kentridge / CD ROM created by Andrew Macklin, Michéle Cooke, Mandy J. Watson (CD-ROM NA ) [1997]
CD-ROM 392
Abstract: CD-ROM collection of reproductions of images from South African artist William Kentridge's drawings and prints, excerpts from his writings and lectures, excerpts from his animated films, films of his theater productions, and from reviews of his work. Some narration by the artist.
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Kentridge, art, film
Winnie (Videocassette : 15 min. ) [1987]
V. CASS. VHS 1153
Abstract: Presents interviews and scenes from fiery rallies with Winnie Mandela and several of her longtime supporters. Tells how the former pacifist now encourages extreme violence by Blacks against Blacks who collaborate with whites. Shows scenes of two brutal murders inspired by her fanaticism.
Director: NA Distributor:Carousel Film and Video
Keywords: South Africa, W. Mandela, politics
Witchdoctors: a Day in the Other Africa (DVD : 55 min. ) [2007]
DVD 10030
Abstract: Film by Brooklyn librarian/documentary filmmaker Boniface Wewe that aims to show viewers the other Africa full of life and culture, as opposed to the stereotyped images of poverty and corruption often presented on the evening news. Filmed in West Central and South Africa, the film offers a first-hand look at some of the people and the professions that play a role in African cultures and lives. Highlights indigenous professions from palm wine tapping in Santa, Cameroon; thumb piano ( ndenge ) playing in Bali, Cameroon; Zulu singing ( isicathamiya ) by the award-winning Hlahlindlela High School choir; and an interview with the Prime Minister to the King of the Zulu Nation. The bulk of the program, however, is comprised of a day spent with a community of traditional healers ( sangoma ) in Kwangcolosi Village in the Valley of 1000 Hills, South Africa, who train together in an apprentice system under an experienced practitioner. The chief sangoma , Ma Nokusho Bhengu, has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal for her collaboration with President Bush and an American program which sees a partnership between Western and traditional doctors in South Africa. We meet a variety of people who have trained under Ma Bhengu as the viewer becomes acquainted with the criteria for becoming a sangoma , sample medications (muti) and their cures, the initiation of a young sangoma and esoteric dances punctuated with hallucinating growls when the ancestors are invoked. A traditional African blessing and prayer to the ancestors concludes the day.
Director: Boniface Ndemping Wewe Distributor:African Artistic Videos
Keywords: Cameroon, South Africa, healing, music, religion
Women and War (Videocassette : 52 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7966
Abstract: Interwoven with footage from recent conflicts in the Middle East, Bosnia, northern Uganda, and South Africa, this program captures women's personal experiences of military violence, explains how they survived, and reflects on their growing resistance to war. The women's feelings of loss, uncertainty, and anguish are expressed through stories of cruelty, degradation, and psychological trauma, while their attempts to achieve reconciliation and rebuild shattered communities demonstrate their positive efforts to create a more peaceful future for everyone. Narrated by Pamela Nomvete.
Director: Robyn Hofmeyr, Minky Schlesinger Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: South Africa, Uganda, Bosnia, Middle East, women, war
World through Children's Eyes (The) (Videocassette : 67 min. ) [1996]
V.CASS. VHS 8275
Abstract: These six short programs provide an intimate and unique insight into the reality and dreams of children from all over the world with a candor that can only be achieved by self-documentation. While the rights of the child have been the subject of many documentaries, this is the first time children have been given the opportunity to create one themselves. Each story reflects one of the articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but from the uncensored and sometimes unsparing viewpoint of children themselves. Contents: Philipines: sexual exploitation (15 min.); Peru: child workers (12 min.); Brazil: street kids (11 min.); USA: inner city kids and police brutality (7 min.); India: girls and education (12 min.); South Africa: political violence (11 min.). Accompanied by discussion guide.
Director: Ilan Ziv Distributor:Maryknoll World Productions
Keywords: Philipines, Peru, Brazil, United States, India, South Africa, children, human rights, U.N.
Woza Albert! (Motion Picture : 60 min. ) [1982]
MP-16MM 383
Abstract: Percy Mtwa and Mbongeni Ngena, two black former music hall performers, have crafted a series of sketches organized around the premise that Jesus Christ (Morena in Sotho) returns to the self-proclaimed 'Christian' nation of South Africa. As one point, He turns to the audience and calls out 'Woza Albert! Rise up Albert' summoning back to life the spirit of Albert Luthuli and other martyred South African freedom fighters. The film shows the life experiences of writer-actors, the humiliation and terror suffered as well as the resiliency of Blacks in South Africa today. The film includes historical footage on Albert Luthuli.
Director: NA Distributor:Films Incorporated
Keywords: South Africa, theater, politics, Luthuli
Yesterday (Videocassette : 95 min. ) [2006]
DVD 5599
Abstract: After falling ill, Yesterday (Khumalo) learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday's one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school. Set against the awesome, harsh landscapes of South Africa, Yesterday is an eloquent, unsentimental film that quietly builds an overwhelming emotional force.
Director: Darrell James Roodt Distributor:Home Box Office
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, HIV/AIDS, gender, feature film
You Can't Eat Potential: Breaking Africa's Cycle of Poverty (DVD : 57 min. ) [1996]
DVD 9104
Abstract: The world faces an impending catastrophe if nothing is done. In the context of the steepest rises of population in human history, world food security is an increasingly urgent issue. The film focuses on Africa, south of the Sahara, the region of the world most under threat of food shortages and where absolute poverty is increasing at an alarming rate. The key issue is the development of agriculture in this severely disadvantaged region. How this situation can be reversed is highlighted primarily by the experience in Tanzania, Ghana and Benin. The film explores the critical changes needed to reduce poverty and protect the environment in sub-Saharan Africa -- for example tackling the massive 'mining' of soil nutrients. Expert testimony is provided by Dr. Norman Borlaug (Nobel Peace Prize winner) as well as other distinguished agricultural scientists, and on the political front by Frederick Sumaye (Prime Minister of Tanzania) and Ibrahim Adam (Minister of Food and Agriculture in Ghana). The problems are huge, the situation is urgent, but there is vast untapped potential in the people and environments of the region. The right policies can avert a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.
Director: Tony Freeth Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Tanzania, Ghana, Benin, poverty, food, development, agriculture, famine, environment, government
You Have Struck a Rock (Motion Picture : 28 min. ) [1981]
MP-16MM 353
Abstract: Examines the situation of women and political repression in southern Africa.
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, women, politics
Zimbabwe and South Africa: Still Far From Coexistence (Videocassette : 49 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS VHS 7507
Abstract: Zimbabwe still reels from the after effects of independence. Former colonials are blamed for failing to work out compensation and land reallocation, and violence against whites is on the increase. South Africa emerged from the evils of apartheid more than a decade ago, and today faces an expanding gap between the rich and poor, increasing interracial conflict, a rising crime rate, and an AIDS epidemic that is decimating the mostly black population. Part of a three part series entitled Africa in the 21st Century, see also Somalia: the Neglected Civil War and Mali and Senegal: The Power of Islam.
Director: Kazuta Hioki Distributor:NA
Keywords: Zimbabwe, South Africa, colonialism, apartheid, HIV/AIDS, land, politics
Zonk! (Videocassette : 58 min. ) [1950]
V. CASS. VHS 4561
Abstract: In the early 1950's, at the beginning of apartheid with its racial segregation and classification, this film was produced by Africans with an all Black African cast. It is a series of musical numbers, relying heavily on American Hollywood stereotypes of the black entertainer. The music ranges from 'Dixie' presentations to Harlem dance-hall, to Broadway top-hat and tie. In imitation of Al Jolson from the American minstrel tradition, one performance presents a black man imitating a white man in blackface.
Director: Hyman Kirstein Distributor:Villon Films
Keywords: South Africa, music, popular culture, history, race, apartheid
Zulu Dawn (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 117 min. ) [1986]
V. DISC 1143
Abstract: A dramatic and true story that recounts the breathtaking defeat of British forces at the hands of a 2,500 strong and determined Zulu army.
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, history, colonialism
Zulu Love Affairs (DVD : 52 min. ) [2005]
DVD 8049
Abstract: Set in the verdant hills of Kwa-Zulu Natal, this is an intimate and spontaneous depiction of the lives of women left behind while their husbands, migrant laborers, work in the mines far away. By turns sad, touching or amusing, this film bears eloquent testimony to the ravages of an economic system which tears families apart to feed South Africa's insatiable mines. These women raise huge families, tend the fields, herd the cattle, and generally run village affairs. One says defiantly 'I'm the man of the house.' As they talk with each other and the filmmaker one hears many of the same joys and sorrows, angers and hopes as one would anywhere in the world. But here life is shaped by the absence of men, who seem to come home only to make children and contribute paltry pay to the subsistence of their families. Some women treasure their rare nights of passion with their husbands, while others resent their being left to languish in loneliness and sexual frustration. The filmmaker, a Western woman married to a Zulu musician has lived in the society. Her film captures the warmth and humor of the Zulu women, which they retain despite the challenges of their lives.
Director: Emmanuelle Bidou Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, Zulu, women, poverty, marriage, gender, migrant labor, economy, work
Zulu Love Letter (Videocassette : 100 min. ) [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9142
Abstract: It is ten years since the last vestiges of apartheid's political regime were dismantled. For the average South African, the notion of struggle has been all too quickly relegated to the question of which cellular network is better than the next. But for Thandi, a journalist suffering from writer's block, a more profound struggle continues to rage within. Living in a nation that seems too eager to forget its past, Thandi cannot shake the gnawing sense of guilt that continues to alienate her from her own family.
Director: Ramadan Suleman Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, children, terrorism, trauma, women, feature film
September 16, 2008: Geoffrey Nyarota
