5. Crafts and Crafts People (DVD 8384)
Adesuwa, aged 10, and Akugbe, aged 11, are going to have new party dresses made. They choose a tie-dyed fabric, and we learn how it is made. We also learn how the famous bronzes were cast. Today's chief bronze caster narrates the dance drama that explains how the bronze casters became the most important craft guild in Benin.
Director: Ben Onwukwe, Deborah Isaacs Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: Nigeria, Benin, agriculture, urban life, family, history, economy, crafts

Benjamin and His Brother (DVD : 87 min. )  [2002]
DVD7071
Abstract: Tells the story of Benjamin and William Deng, two young Sudanese men who left Sudan in the mass exodus of boy refugees in 1987. This group became known as the Lost Boys, and in 2001, the U.S. government began a project to resettle them from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya to the United States. William went to Houston, Texas, and eventually was reunited with his grandmother and other relatives in Kansas City. Benjamin remained at the refugee camp and is waiting to be allowed to emigrate.
Director: Arthur Howes Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Kenya, Sudan, Kakuma refugee camp, orphans, immigrants, civil war

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

Birth of a Democracy (Videocassette : 25 min. )  [1991]
VHS 9317
Abstract: On May 26, 1990, Cameroon declared itself a multi-party democracy after 30 years of totalitarian rule. This survey looks at the country's political climate and gathers the thoughts of Cameroonians from all backgrounds. Through their juxtaposed analyses, a revealing collage of the birth of a uniquely African democracy is presented.
Director: Bassek Ba Khobio Distributor:First Run / Icarus Films
Keywords: Cameroon, independence, history, politics, government

Black Athena: a Film on the Controversy (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1991]
V. CASS. VHS 1659
Abstract: Examines Martin Bernal's iconoclastic study of African origins of Greek civilization and its explosive impact on academic discourses and disputes aroundmulti-culturalism, 'political correctness' and Afrocentric curricula sweeping college campuses today. Producer: Bandung File.
Director: NA Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Afrocentrism, history

Black Man's Land Trilogy (Videocassette : 156 min. )  [1986]

Abstract: Three films on colonialism, nationalism and revolution in Kenya: White Man's Country; Mau Mau; and Kenyatta. See individual titles for description.
Director: David Koff, Anthony Howarth Distributor:NA
Keywords: Kenya, history, settler colonialism, Mau Mau, Jomo Kenyatta, nationalism, politics

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

Blood Stained Diamonds: The Diamond Empire (CD-ROM )  [2001]
HD9677 .A2 F59 2001
Abstract: CD-ROM contains both the documentary film The Diamond Empire and the companion e-book Blood Stained Diamonds. Central to the diamond's role as a romantic symbol is the belief that diamonds are one of the rarest, most precious gifts for a loved one. This documentary examines how the great myth about the scarcity of diamonds and their inflated value was created and maintained over the decades by the diamond cartel. The author has spoken publicly about what she sees as the international suppression of both the book and the film due to pressure from De Beers.
Director: Janine Farrell-Roberts Distributor:Impact Media
Keywords: diamonds, mining, politics, economic conditions, human rights

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

Bosnia Hotel: Kenya Warriors in Bosnia (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3898
Abstract: Juxtaposed with reflections of Samburu warriors from Kenya upon their experience as part of the UN peace-keeping force in Bosnia are their traditional practices of circumcision and blood drinking.
Director: Thomas Balmès Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Kenya, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Samburu, ritual, transnationalism, army, United Nations

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

Ca twiste à Poponguine=Ponpoguine Twists (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 90 min. )  [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 4392
Abstract: Director Moussa Sene Absa's comedy is set during the weeks before Christmas, 1964, in a seaside village, where the local teenagers are divided into rival cultural camps. The Ins (or Inseparables) have adopted the names of French pop stars - Johnny Halliday, Sylvie Vartan, Clo Clo and Eddie Mitchell. Their clique attends school, has a female auxiliary, exchanges fervent love poetry - but they don't own a record player. The Kings, on the other hand, style themselves after African American Rhythm and Blues legends - Otis Redding, Ray Charles and James Brown. They work as fishermen, don't have any girls but they do have a record player. The story of their rivalry is told through the memories of Bacc, a husky-voiced, street-smart little boy who acts as a messenger for the older kids. Abandoned by his father and mother, he's been adopted by the whole village. His grandmother, Madame Castiloor, the keeper of the local tales, predicts: Someday you too will be a storyteller, who will make Africa famous throughout the world. Her counterpart is M. Benoit, the gruff but well-loved, French teacher, who continues to propagate French culture in the post-colonial period. He makes his students memorize the fables of Jean de la Fontaine and paddles anyone who speaks anything but French in class.
Director: Moussa Sene Absa Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Senegal, youth, popular culture, feature film

Chef! (Chief!) & La Tête dans les nuages (Head in the Clouds) (Videocassette : 96 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4854
Abstract: In Chef!, director Jean-Marie Teno locates the roots of Africa's authoritarian regimes in the patriarchal family, reinforced by traditional kingship and the colonial experience. Teno insists that this film was not planned but imposed itself on him during a visit to his ancestral village, Bandjoun, in the Ghomala speaking region of Western Cameroon. He had gone to film dances dedicating a monument to King Kamga Joseph II, the filmmakers' great grand uncle, but the ceremony soon turned into a celebration of one-man rule, in particular Cameroonian President Paul Biya's. In La Tête dans les nuages, Teno investigates the ties between unaccountable government and an unproductive economy. Kleptocracy has become an accepted fact of Cameroonian life described by the proverb: 'The goat grazes where it is tied.' The government controlled formal sector, like its colonial predecessor, is essentially parasitical. An informal sector has emerged parallel to it which increasingly supplies the daily subsistence needs of the people. Irene, for example, works at the Ministry of Education for an unreliable and inadequate salary; she earns the money she needs to eat from selling beignets in the market. She also belongs to a tontine or 'credit union' which offers its members a pool of capital to draw on for business ventures. Such clubs, ubiquitous among African market women, help fill the economic and social vacuum left by the decay of traditional society and the unresponsiveness of the formal banking sector.
Director: Jean-Marie Téno Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Cameroon, politics, history, economy, education

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

Chutney in Yuh Soca (Videocassette : 36 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 4540
Abstract: Three short films that focus on the role of music in forming ethnic identities in multicultural settings. Chutney in Yuh Soca is a film showing the interaction of the East Indian and African populations of Trinidad and Tobago through the popular music 'Chutney' which is a combination of Indian folk tunes with the tempo and spice of the Caribbean. The Gospel Truth shows how a Black family in Great Britain reaffirms their values and family cohesiveness through the singing of gospel music. In Songs for Our Daughters, West Indian women in Britain discuss the way they pass their heritage and culture on to their mixed race daughters.
Director: Karen Martinez Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, music, dance, race relations, social conditions, immigration

Cinema of Senegal (The) (Videocassette : 27 min. )  [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 3823
Abstract: Following a five-week program at the Museum of Modern Art on film makers in Senegal, Larry Kardish interviews Senegalese film directors Paulin Soumanou Vieyra and Ousmane Sembène on the growth of the number of films from Senegal, the production of these films, and cultural influences. Includes clips from their films to illustrate points.
Director: Roger Englander Distributor:Creative Arts Television
Keywords: Senegal, Sembène, Vieyra, film, cultural production

Coffee-Go-Round, The (DVD : 26 min. )  [2005]
DVD 7920
Abstract: Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world - a major cash crop for many poor, developing countries trying to trade their way out of poverty. Coffee promises to increase developing countries' share of income from agricultural products on world markets - in line with Millennium Development Goal No 8's commitment to a global partnership for development. But for the last 10 years the international coffee industry has been in crisis - and many coffee-producing countries are facing disaster. The world's 25 million coffee farmers receive less than one per cent of the price of a cup of coffee sold in a coffee bar. Life visits Ethiopia, the cradle of coffee cultivation, and speaks to players in the international coffee trade to find out how individual coffee growers can survive the boom and bust of the global coffee market.
Director: Joost de Haas Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Ethiopia, coffee, industry, agriculture, development, economy, trade

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

Conakry Kas (Videocassette : 82 min. )  [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8968
Abstract: In January 2003, director Manthia Diawara visited Guinea-Conakry to see what was left of the artists (Ballets Africains, Bembeya Jazz National) and intellectuals (D.T. Niane, Telivel Diallo) of the Guinean cultural revolution, and how citizens of Conakry were coping with globalization. The film casts a nostalgic look at Pan-Africanism in the 1960s, and asks what is the utopia of the Guinean youth today.
Director: Manthia Diawara Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: Guinea (Conakry), nationalism, history, artists, post-colonialism, Pan-Africanism, youth

Congo, Heart of Darkness (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 108 min. )  [2002]
DVD 1382
Abstract: The war in Congo is a tragedy of historic proportions, a war that has claimed more lives than all other current wars around the world. But outside of Africa, no one seems to have noticed. This 5-part series documents the scope of human suffering that the war is causing. Originally shown on Nightline; with Ted Koppel.
Director: George Murphy Distributor:ABC News Productions
Keywords: Congo, history, war, politics, refugees

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

Creative Revolution (The) (Videocassette : 55 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 2471
Abstract: Fifty thousand years ago a dramatic change swept through the hunter-gatherers then living in Africa. They began to paint, carve, talk, bury their dead, to travel and trade. Scientists continue to debate the reasons for this sudden transformation. Don Johanson sets out to retrace the migration of our ancient ancestors from Africa, to Asia, to Europe and even to Australia. Prehistoric art and cave paintings are investigated in an effort to find clues to how and when our ancestors evolved into modern human beings. Part of Nova television series In Search of Human Origins, (see also The Story of Lucy, Surviving in Africa). Written and produced by Lauren Seeley Aguirre.
Director: NA Distributor:WGBH Educational Foundation
Keywords: Human evolution, Neanderthals, Homo erectus, hunting and gathering, petroglyphs, art

Crossroads (Videocassette : 55 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3801
Abstract: The location is a crossing of roads leading from Uganda into Tanzania and from Kenya via Rwanda to Zaire. Some years ago, Mama Shillingi started her 'hotelli' at the crossroads. She offered food and shelter to truck drivers. Until, in 1994, thousands of dead bodies came floating down the nearby Kagera river. Shortly thereafter, the refugees came across the border. Within a few days, half a million people had settled there. Around a hamlet of four houses, a boom town arose called Benaco.
Director: Hillie Molenaar and Joop van Wijk Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: East Africa, Rwanda, refugees, genocide, social life

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

Cry of the Owl: The Himba in Namibia (DVD : 70 min. )  [2005]
DVD 8842
Abstract: In Namibia, in one of the most desolate regions of Africa, lives the Himba tribe, one of the last tribes trying to maintain a traditional way of life. Today the modern world is pressing in on them. Coupled with the real menace of HIV/AIDS, the Himba find their situation threatened from all sides. The film reveals the everyday lives of one family in an intimate manner. They open their home to us, and their hearts as well, as over the course of one year they share their innermost thoughts, desires and fears.

Big Mama, the head of the clan, has been diagnosed with a life-threatening case of tuberculosis. She is hospitalized in the nearest town which is hundreds of miles away from the village. Without her presence, the clan finds it hard to cope. On top of their worries about losing her, they have to deal with a mysterious cattle disease that is killing their herd at an alarming rate. The film follows three generations of strong Himba women, as they raise their children, trying to cope with the immense difficulties to simply survive.
Director: Erez Laufer Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Nambia, Himba, HIV/AIDS, women, family, health

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

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

Deep Hearts (Videocassette : 53 min. )  [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 2743
Abstract: An ethnographic portrayal of the Bororo people of Niger, showing an annual ritual dance, which symbolizes their beliefs about containing and controlling their feelings of love.
Director: Robert Gardner Distributor:Phoenix Films/BFA Films and Video
Keywords: Niger, Wodaabe, dance, ritual, pastoralists

Deniers Colons (Les) = Last Colonials (The) (Videocassette : 61 min. )  [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 3249
Abstract: Visits with the last of the white population living in Zaire. They are managers, missionaries, businessmen and land owners who have chosen to settle in the heart of Africa, and who remain there in spite of the violence and danger. They reminisce on the 'good old days of the colonial era' and reveal shattered dreams in a country they thought might have been the new El Dorado.
Director: Thierry Michel Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Democratic Republic of Congo, politics, government, colonialism, social conditions, history

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

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

Drilling Fields (The) (Videocassette : 24 min. )  [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 5034
Abstract: Looks at the land rights dispute in the Niger Delta area between the Nigerian government, the indigenous Ogoni people and the Shell Oil Company (Part of the Cutting Edge series).
Director: Glenn Ellis Distributor:Catma Films
Keywords: Nigeria, Ogoni, human rights, pollution, environment, politics and government, history

E Minha Cara = That's My Face (Videocassette : 56 min. )  [2001]
VHS 9145
Abstract: E Minha Cara traces the filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris's journey to Salvador Da Bahia, the African heart and soul of Brazil, as he seeks the identity of the spirits who haunt his dreams. Paralleling the journey his mother made 20 years before to Tanzania in search of a mythic motherland, the film incorporates an innovative sound design that uses rap and hip hop strategies of multi-voice sampling.
Director: Thomas Allen Harris Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: Brazil, Tanzania, African diaspora, music

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

Educating Lucia (Videocassette : 24 min. )  [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8926
Abstract: Part of a series on how the globalized world economy affects ordinary people. Across the African continent only 24 percent of girls actually complete primary school, compared to 65-70 percent for boys. This program focuses on the story of three African sisters who want to graduate to secondary school but are more likely to receive no formal education, working as seasonal laborers on one of Zimbabwe's large tobacco farms. They're being raised by their grandmother who can only afford school fees for one girl.
Director: Charlotte Metcalf Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Africa, Zimbabwe, women, education

Emerging Africa in the Light of its Past (160 Slides 160 )  [1964]
MEDIA 44
Abstract: Four half-hour slide/sound presentations on the arts and history of Africa. Text by Peter Hammond; illustrations selected and notes by Roy Sieber; music selected and notes by Alan Meriam. (160 Slides)
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: overview, history, art

Emperor's Birthday (The) (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 7193
Abstract: Rastas come from various parts of the world to celebrate the centenary birthday of Haile Selassie, the late Emperor of Ethiopia. Through the testimonies of Rastas and Ethiopians, archival film and music, this film explores the origins of Rasta belief and what it means in Ethiopia today.
Director: John Dollar Distributor:NA
Keywords: Ethiopia, Jamaicans, Rastafari, religion, history

Eritrean Artists in War and Peace (Videocassette : 53 min. )  [1997]
V. CASS. VHS 3812
Abstract: International artist and art educator Betty LaDuke examines the relationship between art, war and peace as seen through the work of twelve Eritrean artist-fighters. Their contemporary art movement was initiated in a war zone by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front during the struggle for independence from Ethiopia. Producer: Betty LaDuke.
Director: Brian Varaday Distributor:Cinema Guild
Keywords: Eritrea, art, women, war

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

Fang: An Epic Journey (Videocassette : 8 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 8718
Abstract: Fang mixes documentary and fiction techniques to recount an African art object's journey through a century of peril and adventure, and uses the film styles of each historical period to tell its story. Beginning in Cameroon in 1904, the film then traces what happens to the sculpture in Paris in 1907 and 1917, Berlin in 1933, and New York in 1948. The sculpture finally ends up in a museum in 1970. Attempts to convey a century of Western attitudes towards African culture in the course of eight minutes.
Director: Susan Vogel Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Cameroon, Fang, art, history

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

Five Species: Images from the Field (Videocassette : 53 min. )  [1997]
V.CASS. VHS 4904
Abstract: This video is designed to provide comparative behavioral information on five African primate species in their natural habitats. The video focuses on the roles that various individuals play in the life of the group, and provides information on foraging, locomotion, infant specialization, and male-female interactions in a comparative manner among the five species. The species are two cercopithecine types, the vervet (Cercopithecus aethiops) and the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis), one colobine, the black-and-white colobus (Colobus abyssinicus), and two apes, the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) from Gombe, and the eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla graueri) from Zaire. Some of the video material is in the form of slides to include situations for which no other information was available. Interactions with humans are not a focus of this video, although some scenes demonstrate the close quarters at which humans and primates exist. This video could also provide some background for discussions of conservation problems in Africa.
Director: Anne Zeller Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, primatology

Flip-Flotsam (DVD : 26 min. )  [2003]
DVD 8239
Abstract: This beautifully photographed, charming documentary traces the fantastic journey of Africa's most popular shoes: the flip-flop. Easily bought, quickly discarded, for Westerners the flip-flop stands as a symbol of the summer holiday. But in its African homeland, it has a unique life cycle, and their story reveals much about Africa¹s economy and culture. The flip-flops' journey begins in the factories of Mombasa, where 20 million pairs a year are made. Cheap and colorful, they have become an integral part of Swahili dress and are everywhere: aboard dhows and donkeys, bearing loads and left waiting for their owners on mosque door steps. Worn-out ones are taken to the cobblers who specialize in flip-flop maintenance. But some are too damaged to repair and are discarded. Every May, the monsoon rains wash rubbish into the ocean where the flip-flops' buoyancy allows them to host barnacles and crabs. Finally they come to rest further down the African coast. The colorful debris is prized by vilagers who ingeniously carve the flip-flops into toys and mobiles, fuelling a new cottage industry that provides precious income for many families. Newly transformed, the flip-flops are transported back to the shop-lined shores of Mombasa -- where their journey first began.
Director: Etienne Oliff Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Kenya, Mombasa, Swahili, economy, clothing, recycled products, crafts

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

Force d'art: Voix de Femmes en Afrique, La = The Power of Art: Women's Voices in Africa (DVD : 51 min. )  [2007]
DVD 8627
Abstract: The idea of culture is evolving, and is no longer simply a static collection of knowledge, values and practices, shared and transmitted by a community, but a dynamic reality. La Force d'art: Voix de Femmes en Afrique explores how contemporary women who choose to be professional artists reach their position and battle stereotypes associated with their African-ness and their identity as women. The film also explores the role an artist can play in addressing the problems that women face on the African continent. Artists interviewed include Aminata Diaw Cisse, Gabi Ngobo, Penny Siopis, Pelagie Gbaguidi, Marie-Blanche Ouedraogo, Zainab Toyosi Odunsi, Suzanne Ouedragog, Mawa Kone, Fatoumata Diabater and others.
Director: Claudine Pommier Distributor:Claudine Pommier
Keywords: women, art

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

Freedom Now, 1947 (Videocassette : 56 min. )  [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 4210
Abstract: In 1947, 160 years of British rule came to an end as India became the world's largest democracy, inspiring the fight for freedom on another continent. This film talks with the people who witnessed and participated in the struggle for independence in India and Africa. While Mohandas Gandhi showed the world how the masses could successfully defy their imperial masters, his example spurred others on: European empires in Africa and Asia began to crumble, and in short order, Ghana, Kenya, Algeria, Mozambique, and dozens more would win their freedom.
Director: Jennifer Clayton Distributor:WGBH Boston Video
Keywords: Ghana, Kenya, Algeria, Mozambique, history, Gandhi, politics, colonialism

From the Ashes (Videocassette : 26 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 7479 Pt. 1 (PAL format)
Abstract: Shows how people in a small Mozambican village are working towards reconciliation following the civil war. Part one of the series Landscape of Memory. See also I Have Seen=Nda Mona,'The Unfolding Sky, and Soul in Torment.
Director: Karen Boswall Distributor:Film Resource Unit [www.fru.co.za]
Keywords: Mozambique, civil war, reconciliation, history, politics

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

Future Remembrance: Photography and Image Arts in Ghana (Videocassette : 55 min. )  [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 5029
Abstract: Documentary about the role of photography, photographers and the art of image making in Ghana. Meet the photographers, sculptors and painters who tell us in their own words about the economic, social, cultural, aesthetic, and spiritual motivations of their work.
Director: Tobias Wendl and Nancy du Plessis Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Ghana, photography, art, popular culture, gender

Future of Mud: A Tale of Houses and Lives in Djenne: A Constructed Documentary (DVD : 58 min. )  [2007]
DVD 9917
Abstract: Through the story of a mason in Djenne, Komusa Tenapo, and his family, this documentary examines an African tradition of mud architecture in Mali.
Director: Susan Vogel Distributor:Icarus Films
Keywords: Mali, architecture, construction, heritage, education, art

Geldoff in Africa (DVD : 240 min. )  [2005]
DVD 5559
Abstract: If Bob Geldof had never seen news footage of the horrific famine in Ethiopia back in the mid-'80s, he might have carried on in relative obscurity, making so-so records with his band the Boomtown Rats. But see it he did, which led to Band Aid (and 'Do They Know It's Christmas' ), Live Aid, Live 8, knighthood, and now Geldof in Africa, a profound, provocative, beautifully made six-part series that aired in 2005 on Britain's BBC. Sir Bob, who narrates both on- and off-screen, visited many parts of what he calls the Luminous Continent (as opposed to the Dark Continent moniker that was ironically bestowed on Africa by Europeans whose own countries were often gray and grim), including Somaliland, a sort of non-country whose very existence isn't acknowledged by any other nation; Ghana, from which slaves were once shipped to America and elsewhere; the Congo, the true heart of darkness, which still bears the ugly scars of Belgian colonization; the Sahara desert, where 'you discover the absolute insignificance of you'; Uganda, where a brutal 'rebel leader' abducts children and turns them into sex slaves and soldiers; and Ethiopia, where it all started for Geldof (and where conditions are actually improving). But Geldof and producer-director John Maguire's film is not a travelogue. Nor is it a scientific documentary, although we learn something about geography, anthropology, meteorology, geology, agriculture, history, religion, and, inevitably, politics. What distinguishes Geldof in Africa is the presence of Geldof himself. An excellent writer and articulate speaker, he brings a decidedly subjective point of view to the work. 'I can't do slick television,' he admits; neither cynical nor naïve, he says exactly what he thinks, and expresses his wonder, fascination, rage, grief, sympathy, blame, and hope with a quiet passion that compels the viewer to feel those things as well. The camera work is flawless throughout, with shot after shot of breathtaking beauty, and Pete Briquette's music provides graceful accompaniment. Extras include audio commentary by Geldof and Maguire, deleted scenes, photos, and a Geldof interview. --Sam Graham
Director: John Maguire Distributor:BBC/Warner Vision International
Keywords: Africa, Congo, Ghana, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, charity, development, NGO, travel

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

Ghanaian Video Tales (DVD : 60 min. )  [2005]
DVD 8925
Abstract: Five Ghanaian filmmakers, actors and producers introduce us to the genre of Ghanaian horror films. Low cost of production allows the filmmakers to reach local audience who identify with the films which depict the customs and myths that are a part of their daily lives.
Director: Tobias Wendl Distributor:IWF Knowledge and Media
Keywords: Ghana, arts, film, ethnography, horror, supernatural, myth

God Sleeps in Rwanda (DVD : 28 min. )  [2005]
DVD 5902
Abstract: Uncovering amazing stories of hope in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, Academy Award-Nominee God Sleeps in Rwanda captures the spirit of five courageous women as they rebuild their lives, redefine women's roles in Rwandan society and bring hope to a wounded nation. The 1994 Rwandan Genocide left the country nearly 70 percent female, handing Rwanda's women an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity. Girls are attending school in record numbers, and women now make up a large part of the country's leadership. Working with two cameras and no crew except for their translator --a genocide survivor herself-- the filmmakers uncover incredible stories: an HIV-positive policewoman raising four children alone and attending night school to become a lawyer, a teenager who has become head of household for her four siblings, and a young woman orphaned in her teens who is now the top development official in her area. Heart-wrenching and inspiring, this powerful film is a brutal reminder of the consequences of the Rwandan tragedy, and a tribute to the strength and spirit of those who are moving forth. In Kinyarwanda and English, Subtitled
Director: Kimberlee Acquaro, Stacy Sherman Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Rwanda, gender, genocide, race relations, women

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

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

Guinea Worm: The End of the Road (Videocassette : 29 min. )  [1992]
V.CASS. VHS 8727
Abstract: Guinea worm is a water-borne parasite which lodges in the lower extremities of the human body, matures, and then burrows out through the skin. Once prevalent throughout Asia, Africa, and the Americas, 100 million people in India, Pakistan, and western Africa are still at high risk of suffering this disease. The film visits Nigeria, Benin, and Ghana, three of the nations with the greatest incidence of guinea worm, and examines steps being taken to fight this affliction. From the strategic planning level, involving the World Health Organization, Global 2000 and such well known individuals as former President Jimmy Carter, to governments' involvement in implementing workable plans for their countries, and finally to the actual field doctors and villagers who are the 'last battleground,' this film is a case study of a major health initiative at work in the Third World. Narrated by Frank Baker, with commentary by Donald Hopkins, Jimmy Carter, Dan Bloomington, and O. O. Kale.
Director: Sharon K. Baker Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, guinea worm, medicine, public health

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

Healing Passage, The (DVD : 90 min. )  [2006]
DVD 7577
Abstract: Cultural artists, along with historians and healers, look at present day behavior that is connected to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. For more than 300 years Africans were carried from their homeland, across the Atlantic Ocean (The Middle Passage), into chattel slavery in the Americas and the Caribbean. The residual impact of this African Holocaust still reverberates in the world today through psychological trauma, genetic memory, personal and community consciousness. The artists use music, dolls, dance, altars, spoken word, visual art and ritual to create paths to healing.
Director: S. Pearl Sharp Distributor:A Sharp Show
Keywords: Slave trade, The Middle Passage, African Americans

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

Heart of the Congo (DVD : 57 min. )  [2004]
DVD 7637
Abstract: Amid threats of violence, corruption, and a legacy of colonial dependency, aid workers in the Congo help refugees who have lost everything. They seek to strengthen villagers' will, essential for a self-sufficient future. Heart of the Congo is a film about courage, perseverance and ways in which humanitarian aid makes a lasting difference.
Director: Tom Weidlinger Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Congo, refugees, humanitarian assistance, colonialism

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

Hemelse Modder: Architectuur en Magie in West Afrika = Heavenly Mud: Architecture and Magic in Mali (DVD : 52 min. )  [2003]
DVD 9032
Abstract: This unique film takes us on a journey down the Niger River in Mali (West Africa) filled with rarely seen traditional African architecture. These edifices are as visionary as anything conceived by Gaudi in the 20th century. The power and striking beauty of African architecture is immediately apparent. The film compares ancient African architecture to twentieth century 'organic' architecture as practiced by Frank Lloyd Wright and Antonio Gaudi. A famous Dutch organic architect, Max van Huut, believes modern Western architecture has contributed to alienation, whereas contemporary organic architecture, with its more human scale, contributes to a sense of community.
Director: Ton van der Lee Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mali, architecture, religion, art

Heroi (O) = The Hero (Videocassette : 97 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9129
Abstract: Tells the story of Angola, a nation torn apart by 40 years of uninterrupted war, and now trying to piece itself back together, and its capital city, Luanda, a city, like so many in the Third World, trying to absorb the millions of people displaced by civil strife and global economic change. Follows the interlocking stories of five central characters: Vitório, an ex-soldier who lost his leg in the last months of the civil war and now struggles to find work; Manu, a bright ten year-old orphan who lost his father during the war but still dreams of his return; Judite, a prostitute with whom Vitório begins a relationship, who lost her own son during the war; Joana, Manu's second-grade teacher, who takes an interest in Vitorio's story and the plight of other veterans; and Pedro, Joana's boyfriend and a cynical young member of the emerging bourgeoisie with ties to the political elite.
Director: Zézé Gamboa Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Angola, Luanda, class, economy, gender, post-colonialism, war, feature film

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

Hokonui Todd: A Living Legend in Zimbabwe (DVD : 50 min. )  [1992]
DVD 9912
Abstract: When Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980 after a bloody civil war, very few whites survived the fray with any honor. One man had the vision and moral strength to support the black's claim to self determination. Garfield Todd, a New Zealander, has lived and worked there with his wife for more than fifty years. Starting as a missionary farmer, Todd came to respect the local people he lived among. He became active in government, eventually becoming the last Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia before Ian Smith. An outspoken and unpopular opponent of Ian Smith's racist government, Todd weathered fifteen years of bloody civil war, including prolonged house arrest. The Todds refused to leave Hokonui Ranch, although their lives were in constant jeopardy. Old photographs and film footage gives a vivid picture of the era.
Director: NA Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Zimbabwe, Southern Rhodesia, race, history, civil war, resistance

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 Have Seen= Nda Mona (Videocassette : 26 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 7479 Pt. 2 (PAL format)
Abstract: Looks at the question of reconciliation faced by victims of war crimes committed by members of the national liberation movement in Namibia, who are now governing and want the past to be forgotten and forgiven. Part 2 of the series Landscape of Memory. See also From the Ashes, The Unfolding Sky, and Soul in Torment.
Director: Richard Pakleppa Distributor:Film Resource Unit [www.fru.co.za]
Keywords: Namibia, SWAPO, war, politics, reconciliation

I Have a Problem, Madam (Videocassette : 59 min. )  [1995]
V. CASS. VHS 3254
Abstract: Run by female lawyers, FIDA-Uganda has set up several legal aid centers for women in domestic trouble. With the help of a weekly radio show, the centers fill daily with women waiting to tell their stories. FIDA lawyers attempt to reconcile the women and their men in face to face meetings, even if it means traveling to isolated villages. The attitudes of both men and women are beginning to change, but this slow process sometimes leads to conflicts between official and traditional law. A film by Maarten Schmidt and Thomas Doebele.
Director: Maarten Scmidt, Thomas Doebele Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Uganda, women, law, marriage, social conditions, development, family violence

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 Danku the Soup Is Sweeter: Women and Development In Ghana (DVD : 30 min. )  [2000]
DVD 9105
Abstract: As in many African villages, life in Danku in the north of Ghana has been a struggle for subsistence. The women bear the burden of caring for the children, raising food, and trying to make life better for their families. Through a special project of the Canadian International Development Agency, the women were given access to credit for the first time. This film shows how this little bit of financial aid allowed the women to become 'entrepreneurs.' We follow two women who take advantage of this program, borrowing a little bit of start up money. We see how hard they work to pay back their loans. One makes butter from arduously pounding vegetables; the other cooks delicious soup from seasonal crops. They each sell their products from door to door and at the market near their village. Eventually their efforts make a small profit that affords their families some more comforts. This beautifully filmed video captures the rhythms of village life and the tenacity of the women who, though uneducated, are willing to undertake new responsibilities.
Director: Gary Beitel Distributor:NA
Keywords: Ghana, women, development, NGO, economy, credit associations

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 Search of Bin Laden (Videocassette : 60 min. )  [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 6528
Abstract: Investigates Osama bin Laden, his followers, and the bombings of two United States embassies in Africa in 1998. This special edition of the television show Frontline has been updated to cover the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, of which bin Laden is also accused.
Director: Martin Smith Distributor:PBS Video
Keywords: Kenya, Tanzania, terrorists, bombings, politics, history

In Their Own Voices (DVD : 16 min. )  [2004]
DVD 3719
Abstract: Interwoven stories of four Africans in Philadelphia who find in the African continent the inspiration for their art. Features a Liberian drum maker, a Sierra Leonean singer, a Nigerian visual artist and a Guinean artisan.
Director: Filmon Mebrahtu Distributor:Reel Voices
Keywords: United States, diaspora, African immigrants, art, music

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

In and Out of Africa (Videocassette : 59 min. )  [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 2170
Abstract: Story about Gabai Baare, a merchant who brings wood carvings from West Africa to sell in the United States. Producer/Director: Ilisa Barbash, T. Lucien Taylor. Based on research by Chris Steiner.
Director: Ilisa Barbash, T. Lucien Taylor Distributor:University of California Extension Center for Media
Keywords: West Africa, art, trade

In the Name of God: Changing attitudes Towards Mutilation (Videocassette : 29 min. )  [1997]
VHS 9189
Abstract: Ethiopian women who refuse to be circumcised are called 'filthy dog.' There is a whole mythology going back thousands of years that such women are repulsive and unmarriageable. Even today, over 115 million women's genitals are mutilated by razors, scissors or even more primitive and painful methods. Twenty-five nations in Africa, in parts of Asia, and in Arabic countries maintain this practice and through refugees it is being performed in Europe and the U.S. On the bright side, there are small inroads being made. This film takes us to the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, one of the few places giving medical care to victims of infibulation. Here, recovered patients are even trained to assist doctors in repairing the damages to other women. An increasing number of Ethiopian women have started to protest against these ancient traditions, even giving out information in schools. But change will not happen overnight.
Director: NA Distributor:Filmakers Library, NY
Keywords: Ethiopia, education, female circumcision, infibulation, social condition, women

In the Wake of War (Videocassette : 24 min. )  [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8988
Abstract: Philippe Mvuyekure has spent the last five years living in a refugee camp in Tanzania. Now, he's on his way home. He's among thousands of refugees convinced that the bitter, 10-year civil war that decimated his homeland of Burundi may be coming to an end. The civil war here between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army uprooted over a million people and killed more than 300,000. But the benefits of a peace process are finally beginning to emerge. Using traditional mediation systems and peacemakers, Burundi is introducing innovative peace and reconciliation projects. The aim is to start a grass roots movement to bring a lasting peace to Burundi and its long-suffering citizens. This program examines the future for Burundi, for power sharing and for a rapprochement between warring factions.
Director: James Heer Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Tanzania, Burundi, Hutu, Tutsi, war, refugees, conflict resolution, politics

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

Invisible Children (DVD : 55 min. )  [2006]
DVD 5486
Abstract: In Uganda's long-lasting civil war, many children have been abducted to be trained as child soldiers. This film documents the children's life and general social conditions in Uganda in 2003. What started out as a film-making adventure in Africa, transformed into much more, when the three young Americans original travels took a divine turn, and they found themselves stranded in Northern Uganda. They discovered children being kidnapped nightly from their homes and subsequently forced to fight as child soldiers. Children as young as eight are methodically kidnapped from their homes by a rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The abducted children are then desensitized to the horror of brutal violence and killing, as they themselves are turned into vicious fighters. Some escape and hide in constant fear for their lives. Most remain captive, and grow to maturity with no education other than life in the bush and fighting in a guerilla war. Of the many ramifications that a 20 -year-long war can cause, the film highlights what the community refers to as 'night commuters.' We watch thousands of children commute out of fear, from their villages to nearby towns each night in order to avoid the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) abductions. They sleep in public places, vulnerable, and without supervision.
Director: Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, Laren Poole Distributor:Invisible Children
Keywords: Uganda, children, civil war, child soldiers

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

Issakaba (DVD : 97 min. )  [2000]
DVD 8368
Abstract: This fictionalized feature provides a thoughtful, if romanticized, account of the rise of vigilantism in southeastern Nigeria in the late 1990s. Based on the notorious Bakassi Boys, the Issakaba wield machetes and powerful magic to defend a village against armed robbers. Starring Sam Dede. First in a four part series.
Director: Lancelot Odua Imasuen Distributor:KAS-VID International Ltd
Keywords: Nigeria, crime, vigilantes, supernatural, feature film

J'y Crois: La Route de la Décentralisation au Mali = I Believe in It: The Path to Decentralization in Mali (Videocassette : 55 min. )  [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8765
Abstract: Since the 1990s, Mali has been trying to transfer political and economic power to democratically elected political bodies in decentralized communities. The film looks at the reforms from the perspective of all the Malians involved, as the government seeks to convince the people of the necessity and fairness of these policies and attempts to increase people's participation.
Director: Emile van Rouveroy van Nieuwaal, Maarten van Rouveroy van Nieuwaal Distributor:FirstRun/Icarus Films
Keywords: Mali, politics, decentralization, democracy

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

Jean Rouch and His Camera in the Heart of Africa (Videocassette : 74 min. )  [1986]
V. CASS.VHS 3963
Abstract: This program provides an in-depth look at the film work of Jean Rouch and his associates from Niger who participated in production of many of Rouch's Niger-based films. Written by Philo Bregstein and Jan Venema. Produced by Philo Bregstein.
Director: NA Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Niger, Jean Rouch, documentary films, anthropology, history

Jit (Videocassette : 92 min. )  [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 4414
Abstract: The beat of jit-jive drives the story, set in Zimbabwe, of a fun-loving youth called UK, who is determined to win the heart of Sofi, a stately beauty closely guarded by her gangster boyfriend. UK's efforts are both helped and hindered by Jukwa, a pesky ancestral spirit.
Director: Michael Raeburn Distributor:Documentary Educational Resources
Keywords: Zimbabwe, comedy film, music, popular culture, youth, feature film

Justice Pursued (DVD : 50 min. )  [1997]
DVD 9220
Abstract: Rwanda, Argentina, East Germany and Bosnia have been the locus for the most heinous acts of the last 20 years. In this program, Gerald Gahima, Rwanda's Minister of Justice, has the unenviable job of tracking down hundreds of Rwandans accused of perpertrating hideous atrocities against their neighbors during that country's recent civil war. We follow Gahima to Israel where, in an emotional meeting with a former Nazi-hunter, Gahima receives advice on how to proceed. The torture and murder of thousands of young Argentines by the Pinochet regime are detailed by a survivor. In East Germany, newly discovered Stasi training tapes paint a brutal portrait of political repression behind the Berlin Wall, while in Bosnia, efforts to track down the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing are ongoing.
Director: Jane Dibblin, Paul Mitchell, Michael Stewart Distributor:Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Keywords: Rwanda, genocide, political persecution, human rights, war crimes, law, genocide

Justice at Agadez (Videocassette : 78 min. )  [2005]
VHS 9201
Abstract: In the Western African country of Niger, the official justice system of this former French colony is based on the Napoleonic Code. A small percentage of the population still subscribe to superstitious beliefs and seek the advice of traditional healers. But in this largely Muslim nation, many citizens seek justice from the local Islamic judge, or Cadi, who interprets Koranic law. Filmed in the village of Agadez in northern Niger, Justice at Agadez chronicles seven typical cases heard by the local Cadi. The film unobtrusively witnesses these seven 'stories' --small civil disputes, domestic conflicts, marriage problems, accusations of theft. With the small vestibule of his home serving as a 'courtroom,' the Cadi listens to the complaints and often heated arguments of all parties to the dispute -- sometimes just a husband and wife but at other times a room full of shouting people-- listening patiently, frequently posing questions and seeking clarification, before rendering his judgment. The movie not only demonstrates the power of Islamic religious beliefs in enforcing both moral and civil behavior, but also provides viewers with a rare opportunity to see how Islamic law actually functions on an everyday basis, unlike the manner in which it has often been sensationalized in the Western media.
Director: Christian Lelong Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Niger, justice system, Islam, Koranic law, law, religion, disputes, marriage

Kabala (Videocassette : 112 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9144
Abstract: 'Kabala is a small West African village suffering from a terrible drought. The only source of water is a holy well that shows signs of contamination. The village elders decide that a traditional dance of fire is needed to bring life back to the village. Hamalla (Modibo Traoré), one of the village's many youths, prepares to join this sacred dance until his torch doesn't light, and he is cast out of the ceremony as doubts begin to surface about his legitimacy. Humiliated, he leaves the village and the woman he loves, Sokona (Djénéba Koné ), to work as a dynamite blaster in a distant mine. Four years pass, and Hamalla hears news of tragic fatalities in his village due to the tainted well water. He decides to return home to provide assistance. There he is reunited with Sokona, who is now betrothed to Hamalla's brother, Sériba (Fily Traoré), who already has a pregnant wife. The men's father, Babji (Baba Dabo), attempts to reconcile a violent dispute between his sons, suffering a severe heart attack. On his deathbed, Babji reveals a secret to Hamalla that explains why he was originally cast out of the sacred fire dance ­ Hamalla's mother is the local witch, Bayassa (Nakani Koné). Their love was not allowed to exist; Babji was forced to raise Hamalla with a new wife. Hamalla tries to convince the village elders of the necessity to drill within the sacred well, but his entreaties are presumed to be a desecration of the village's spiritual symbol. Hamalla goes to Bayassa to tell her he knows she is his mother. He also confides his despair over Sokona's pending-marriage to his brother. Bayassa agrees to help Hamalla win back Sokona. Using her magical powers, Bayassa makes Sériba's marriage begin to sour. Sériba is unable to consummate the marriage, bringing much joy and laughter to Sokona and the local women. When Sériba learns of Bayassa's role in his impotence, he seeks the help of a male sorcerer who is unable to combat Bayassa's spell. A furious Sériba sets Bayassa's hut on fire. Hamalla comes to Bayassa's rescue, but his mother is severely burned. Before she dies, Bayassa manages to ensure that Sériba's first wife gives birth to a healthy baby. The sacred well has fallen into further disrepair, but when one of the staunchest objectors to Hamalla's plan falls deathly ill due to drinking the contaminated water, Hamalla makes a new case to the Kabalais of his ability to drill for cleaner water. In light of other recent deaths, the villagers agree to the plan if the Kabalais themselves can work on the project under Hamalla's guidance. When the whole village works on the well, fresh water springs forth --and Sokona is betrothed to Hamalla.' (Synopsis from http://www.globalfilm.org/library.htm) Originally released as a motion picture in 2002
Director: Assane Kouyaté Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Mali, ritual, traditional religion, witchcraft, water, feature film

Kafi's Story (Videocassette : 54 min. )  [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7170
Abstract: This film captures Nuba life just at the moment before it was engulfed in the Sudanese civil war in 1989. The Nubian native Kafi narrates his journey to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, from his village Torogi in the Nuba Mountains.Torogi is in the middle of Sudan's encroaching civil war, between the Muslim North and the Christian South. Torogi itself is neither Muslim nor Christian and is trying to remain neutral. See also Nuba Conversations for a return ten years later. Inquiries about the film can be directed to Amy Hardie Amy Hardie at a.hardie@eca.ac.uk
Director: Arthur Howes, Amy Hardie Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Sudan, Nuba, civil war, politics, history

Ken Saro-Wiwa: An African Martyr (Videocassette : 23 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3900
Abstract: Ken Saro-Wiwa, the celebrated Ogoni writer and political activist, was hanged in November 1995 by the Nigerian military dictatorship. Saro-Wiwa had been campaigning for the rights of Nigeria's Ogoni people, who have suffered fromdecades of resource exploitation by foreign oil companies and oppression by the Nigerian military government. This program tells Saro-Wiwa's story through his own words and those of his wife and features the only in-depth interview he gave before his death.
Director: Mark Johnson Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: Nigeria, Ogoni, politics, environment, prisoners, industry, human rights

Kenyatta (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1979]
V.CASS. VHS 8855/ DVD 9267
Abstract: Jomo Kenyatta's death in 1978 brought to an end a political career that encompassed more than 50 years of African history. Kenyatta entered politics in the mid-1920s and then spent 17 years in exile in Europe. He returned to Kenya in 1946, and in 1947 took over leadership of the Kenya African Union. Arrested and imprisoned in 1952 in the wake of the mau mau uprising, he was released in 1961 and two years later became Kenya's first Prime Minister. In power, the man whom Europeans had once reviled as 'the leader to darkness and death' was eulogized by them as a pillar of stability. This film weaves archival and contemporary images with interviews with friends and relatives, comrades and opponents to create a biographical portrait of a key figure in 20th century politics, and a case study of nationalism as a political force in Africa. Also available in DVD format (DVD 9267). This film is part 3 of the Black Man's Land trilogy; see also White Man's Country (part 1) and Mau Mau (part 2).
Director: David Koff, Anthony Howarth Distributor:Bellwether Group
Keywords: Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, history, settler colonialism, politics, nationalism, biography

Kenyatta (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 52 min. )  [1973]
DVD 9267/ VHS 8855
Abstract: Jomo Kenyatta's death in 1978 brought to an end a political career that encompassed more than 50 years of African history. Kenyatta entered politics in the mid-1920s and then spent 17 years in exile in Europe. He returned to Kenya in 1946, and in 1947 took over leadership of the Kenya African Union. Arrested and imprisoned in 1952 in the wake of the mau mau uprising, he was released in 1961 and two years later became Kenya's first Prime Minister. In power, the man whom Europeans had once reviled as 'the leader to darkness and death' was eulogized by them as a pillar of stability. This film weaves archival and contemporary images with interviews with friends and relatives, comrades and opponents to create a biographical portrait of a key figure in 20th century politics, and a case study of nationalism as a political force in Africa. Also available in videocassette format (VHS 8855). This film is part 3 of the Black Man's Land trilogy; see also White Man's Country (part 1) and Mau Mau (part 2).
Director: Anthony Howarth and David Koff Distributor:Cinemagician Productions
Keywords: Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, politics, history, biography, colonialism, nationalism

Kingdom of Bronze (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1976]
V. CASS. 66
Abstract: Traces the history of Benin and Yoruba bronzes and examines both thetechniques used in making them, and the finished works. Produced by BBC-TV and Warner Bros. (2 videocassettes: 52 min.)
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: Benin, Yoruba, history, art

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 and Memory: Martinican Land - People - History (Videocassette : 30 min. )  [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8985
Abstract: French West Indies' most renowned identity theoreticians - Jean Bernabé, Patrick Chamoiseau, and Raphaël Confiant - investigate the different ways in which France, as a colonial power, marks colonized lands and peoples. In five different sections, the writers examine the possibilities of landscape as a repository for a forgotten past, Martinique's economic dependence on France, the recent 'cementification' of Martinique, the politics of commemoration, and the possibilities for Creole culture.
Director: Renée Gosson, Eric Faden Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: Martinique, France, African diaspora, cultural identity, colonialism, landscape, history, economy, creolization

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 Year's Rain Fell on Monday (Videocassette : 58 min. )  [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 4539
Abstract: Film about Namibia, one of the driest countries on earth and how this affects people's lives.
Director: Laase Berg, Anders Ribbjö Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Namibia, environment

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

Leaving Home for Sugar (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1986]
VHS 9179
Abstract: Leaving Home for Sugar continues the history of sugar, focusing on later developments in the West Indies and Zimbabwe. Following the withdrawal of the Dutch in 1654 from the Brazilian sugar cane industry, the Caribbean became the center of world sugar production. With an ever-increasing demand for sugar in Europe, and as many as 15 million slaves transported from Africa, the West Indian sugar industry was for 200 years one of history's most profitable enterprises. Following Abolition, the plantations of the West Indies declined and the market favored European sugar beet production and newer ventures in the Pacific and Africa. Besides looking at the rise and fall of sugar in the West Indies, the film contrasts two sides of the history of sugar in Zimbabwe: the companies' story of turning semi-desert into model plantations, and the story told by local farm workers who were dispossessed or brought in as forced labor. Today in Europe and North America, the demand for cane sugar is falling as a result of protectionist policies, health concerns, and the use of new artificial sweeteners. The film ends with the multi-national agricultural companies looking for new markets for cane sugar - ironically in the producing countries themselves. Volume 5 of The Commodities Series. A seven part series by Sue Clayton & Jonathan Curling.
Director: Sue Clayton Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Zimbabwe, West Indies, economy, globalization, history, plantation, sugar, slavery

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

Liberia: A Fragile Peace (DVD : 60 min. )  [2006]
DVD 6382
Abstract: Liberia: A Fragile Peace is a perfect follow-up to Liberia: An Uncivil War, picking up the Liberian saga in October 2003, with the departure of the despotic Charles Taylor, the arrival of interim President Gyude Bryant and the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force. More than a historical record, however, this film is an ideal case study in how difficult it is to rebuild a society once it has lapsed into anarchy, a condition afflicting more and more nations around the world. The success or failure of the Liberian experience could have long-lasting impact on peace-keeping missions in the future.
Director: Steven W. Ross Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Charles Taylor, civil war, government, history

Liberia: an Uncivil War (DVD : 102 min. )  [2005]
DVD 4954
Abstract: Liberia: An Uncivil War provides an in-depth case study of one of the many brutal civil wars which have sprung up like wild fires across Africa. It is an exciting example of war-time journalism - white knuckles reporting with bullets ricocheting just feet from the camera placed in a historical context stretching back nearly two hundred years. Liberia can uniquely claim to be made in America and has always looked to the U.S. in its times of crisis. Reporter Jonathan Stack is besieged in the Liberian capital of Monrovia where President Charles Taylor says he will not leave until peacekeepers are in place. He is remarkably equable for a man who has just been indicted on 17 counts of crimes against humanity by the United Nations. James Barbazon is 'embedded' with the LURD (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy) who have pledged to pillage the country until President Taylor leaves. He introduces us to General Cobra, Col. Black Diamond and soldiers, slightly more than children, who eat their victim's hearts in the belief it will make them stronger. With the rebels at the bridges leading to Monrovia, the Nigerians are at last persuaded to send 750 peacekeepers and the U.N. follows soon with 14,000. But what remains in the viewers' mind is President Bush's empty promises of help during the darkest days of Liberia's civil war.
Director: Jonathan Stack Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Liberia, child soldiers, civil war, journalism, peacekeepers, United Nations

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.

Lines in the Dust (Videocassette : 28 min. )  [2001]
V.CASS. VHS 7420
Abstract: In a small village in northern Ghana, a group of men and women discuss their daily chores with the help of a chart they've drawn in the dust. This village is part of a program called Reflect, which aims to reach the 900 million illiterate adults across the world. Reflect uses participants' own knowledge and experience as starting points for learning. Lines in the Dust looks at this program in Ghana and India, and how it not only teaches people to read, write, and work with numbers, but also encourages the participants to change their ideas about men's and women's separate workloads, stand up for their rights, earn more money for their families, and become more self-assured. Additional materials available at: http://www.tve.org/lifeonline/index.cfm?aid=1162
Director: Lucinda Broadbent Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Ghana, development, literacy, gender, labor

Live Aid (DVD : 600 min. )  [2004]
DVD 3977
Abstract: Documents the U.S. and U.K. concerts for famine relief in Ethiopia. Performers included: Coldstream Guards, Status Quo, The Style Council, The Boomtown Rats, Adam Ant, Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Elvis Costello, Nik Kershaw, Sade, Sting, Phil Collins, Howard Jones, Bryan Ferry, Paul Young, Alison Moyet, Bryan Adams, U2, The Beach Boys, Dire Straits, George Thurgood & the Destroyers, Queen, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Joan Baez, Pretenders, The Who, Kenny Loggins, Elton John, Kiki Dee, George Michael, Madonna, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Black Sabbath, REO Speedwagon, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Judas Priest, The Cars, Neil Young, Thompson Twins, Steve Stevens, Nile Rodgers, Eric Clapton, Duran Duran, Patti LaBelle, Hall & Oates, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, INXS, B.B. King, Ashford & Simpson, Teddy Pendergrass, Run DMC, Cliff Richard.
Director: NA Distributor:Warner Strategic Marketing
Keywords: United States, Great Britain, Ethiopia, concerts, famine, development

Living Memory: Six Sketches of Mali Today (Videocassette : 53 min. )  [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 7832
Abstract: A documentary about Mali's ancient culture and its place in modern Mali. Although one of the poorest nations in the world, its rich culture flourishes and Malian artists are well renowned in and outside of Africa today.
Director: Susan Vogel Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Mali, social life and customs, art, history

Living the HipLife (DVD : 61 min. )  [2007]
DVD 11338
Abstract: This film is a musical portrait of street life in urban West Africa. It follows the birth of Hiplife music in Accra, Ghana, a mix of various African musical forms and American hip hop. Archival footage and hip hop music videos are remixed with interviews and the daily lives of rap artists. We follow Reggie Rockstone, the Godfather of Hiplife in the founding of the musical movement, as well as the Mobile Boys a group of aspiring rap artists as they try to make it in the music business. With humor and personality these characters move across the political and musical landscape of urban Ghana.
Director: Jesse W. Shipley Distributor:Third World Newsreel
Keywords: Ghana, music, urban life, performance, art, economy

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

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

Lorang's Way (Videocassette : 69 min. )  [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 2503
Abstract: A multifaceted portrait of Lorang, the head of a Turkana homestead, a society of semi-nomadic, isolated herders who inhabit the dry thorn country of northwestern Kenya. Lorang has begun to recognize that his society is vulnerable to change from the outside. Part of Turkana Trilogy (see also The Wedding Camels and Wife among Wives).
Director: David and Judith MacDougall Distributor:University of California Extension Center for Media
Keywords: Kenya, Turkana, pastoralists

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

Malick Sidibé. Portrait of the Artist as a Portraitist (Videocassette : 8 min. )  [2006]
VHS 9192
Abstract: Malick Sidibé started out as a local photographer in Bamako, Mali. After independence in 1960, his snazzy studio portraits and party shots captured the buoyant optimism of a new nation. Today they are recognized internationally as masterpieces, and Malick is world famous. This short but sweet film looks at the work of the renowned African artist whose photographs have documented Malian society over a forty-year period. In an interview, this self-taught photographer, now seventy years old, describes how his photography answered a desire for immortality, discusses his views of photography as a 'social art form' and explains his documentary and portrait techniques, including methods of putting his subjects at ease and 'giving life to the image.' Another scene gives us a rare look at the photographer at work in his studio, placing his subjects in stylized poses while he quickly deploys humor and flattery in the service of his art. Malick Sidibé showcases many of his best known photos, especially those documenting Malian youth culture in the Sixties, including portraits of youngsters posing in the era's 'hip' fashions and his energetic images of Malian teenagers enjoying the latest dance crazes. This short film will serve as a useful introduction to a photographer whose body of work, writes Index Magazine, is 'characterized by acute observation, perfect timing and an infinite love for its subjects.'
Director: Susan Vogel Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films, NY
Keywords: Mali, Malick Sidibé, art, photography, popular culture, youth

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

Mama Wahunzi: Women Blacksmiths (Videocassette : 57 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8049
Abstract: A documentary on women and other citizens in Uganda and Kenya who face life with disabilities and without tools like wheelchairs, which would enable them to lead fuller lives. Through the efforts of some women, the wheelchair industry is now able to make the lives of citizens and in particular women more productive, by supplying these tools.
Director: Lawan Jirasuradej Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Uganda, Kenya, women, disability, economy

Mami Wata: Der Geist der Weissen Frau (Videocassette : 59 min. )  [1988]
V. CASS. VHS 3642
Abstract: Mami Wata is a water deity worshiped in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. In collaboration with the Institute fur den Wissenschaftlichen Film, Gottengen. Color VHS, English narration and subtitles.
Director: NA Distributor:Institut fur den Wissenschaftlichen Film
Keywords: Togo, Mami Wata, religion, ritual

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

Martin and Osa Johnson's Simba (Videocassette : 83 min. )  [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 2030
Abstract: Records Martin and Osa Johnson's expedition to East Africa, 1923-1928, the chief purpose of which was to capture on film the rapidly disappearing African wildlife as well as East African peoples and their customs. Includes footage of elephants, giraffes and lions. [1992/1920's]
Director: NA Distributor:Milestone Film and Video
Keywords: East Africa, wildlife, history

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

Mau Mau (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 52 min. )  [1973]
DVD 9266
Abstract: In October 1952 the British government declared a State of Emergency in Kenya in order to defeat Mau Mau. In the war that followed, fewer than 40 of 40,000 white settlers were killed while more than 15,000 Africans lost their lives and hundreds of thousands more were arrested and subjected to a humiliating and often brutal process of 'rehabilitation.' 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. Reveals the secret society known as Mau Mau to have been an attempt by the white minority to discredit the rising tide of black nationalism. Using newsreel and previously inaccessible archive footage, and drawing on interviews with participants on both sides, this film examines the myth and reality of Africa's first modern guerrilla war. This film is part 2 of the Black Man's Land trilogy; see also White Man's Country (part 1) and Kenyatta (part 3).
Director: David Koff, Anthony Howarth Distributor:NA
Keywords: Kenya, Mau Mau, history, colonialism, politics, settlers, nationalism, violence, war

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

Maîtres fous (Les) (Videocassette : 29 min. )  [1955]
V.CASS. VHS 2566
Abstract: Describes the Haouka, members of a religious cult living in Accra, Ghana. Shows them living and working in Europeanized Accra and participating in a spirit possession ceremony. Documents the annual religious ceremony of the Hauku cult which was widespread in Niger and Ghana from the 1920's to the 1950's. Ceremony took place on a rural farm, where the Haukas entered into trance, and were possessed with the spirits, associated with their former Western colonial powers. Supplicants consult the gods through trance, and may receive advice about their problems and illnesses. They may also find support and comfort although they can also be reprimanded for wrongdoings. Hauka first began in the person of a soldier who witnessed the decimating of their West African troops by the Germans, despite their outstanding performance in battle. The Hauka was suppressed by the French and British, subsequent administrators of Niger. After protestations against this suppression the agreement was reached that they should limit their ceremonies to prescribed places. Today the Hauka movement has been absorbed into the traditional religious systems and there is now an end to the Hauka development.
Director: Jean Rouch Distributor:Interama Video Classics
Keywords: Niger, Ghana, Hauka movement, Zabrama, colonialism, spirit possession, ritual

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

Mobutu, King of Zaire: an African tragedy (Videocassette : 156 min. )  [1999]
V.CASS. VHS 7971 1-3
Abstract: The definitive visual record of the rise and fall of Joseph Désiré Mobutu, ruler of Zaire (the Congo) for over 30 years. Drawing upon 140 hours of rare archival material found in Kinshasa, and 50 hours of interviews with those once close to him, it tells the story of the man at the heart of Central Africa's post-colonial history. Part 1. The quest for power, Part 2. The upper hand, Part 3. The end of a reign. (3 Videocassettes)
Director: Michel Thierry Distributor:Icarus/First Run
Keywords: Congo (Democratic Republic), Mobutu, history, politics

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

Mon Coeur est Témoin = My Heart is My Witness (Videocassette : 56 min. )  [1996]
V.CASS. VHS 4980
Abstract: Dramatization of correspondence and interviews with women from Africa and the Middle East about the condition of women in their countries.
Director: Louise Carré Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Africa, Middle East, women, social life

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

Motherland: Moving On (DVD : 60 min. )  [2003]
DVD 8835
Abstract: The film Motherland: A Genetic Journey followed three people of African descent who traced their roots through DNA testing. This new film picks up their story two years later. Shot in the UK, USA, Africa and Jamaica, this very moving film continues their soul-searching journeys, raising fundamental questions about who we are. Mark discovers that his ancestors belonged to the Kanuri tribe. When he connects with them, he cannot communicate since there is a language barrier. He goes through an emotional 'naming ceremony' but finds that he has mistakenly chosen a name that belongs to the slave catchers that oppressed his people. Beaula learns that she has ancestors that belong to more than one tribe and some of the tribespeople are only interested in what gifts she can offer them. Jacqueline visits English cousins who are white who accept her as part of the family. All three participants feel enriched by their new discoveries but understand that DNA tracing may lead to complicated emotional discoveries. With Dr. Rich Kittle, Howard University, and Fatimah Jackson, University of Maryland, and other experts.
Director: T. Jackson and A. Baron Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: ethnic identity, African diaspora, genealogy, genetics

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

Na cidade vazia = Hollow city (Videocassette : 88 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9143
Abstract: N'dala is an orphan from the Angolan province of Bie, a flashpoint in the rebellion that incited Angola's brutal civil war. In 1991, N'dala is airlifted by missionaries to the port city of Luanda, Angola's capital. He slips away from the nuns at the airport, choosing the solitude of the streets of the old city, but he is not prepared for living by his wits. His wandering leads N'dala to the beach where he takes shelter in an old fisherman's shack, but he is haunted by nightmares of the assault that left his family dead, and he soon disappears into the shanty-town neighborhoods of the city. N'dala meets Zé, an older boy who shares the epic story of a young warrior. Zé and his friends, who drift amongst the Luanda homeless, fascinate N'dala and he is tragically pulled into their existence of survival. Each step N'dala takes into the dark streets of the city leads him farther from his home.
Director: Maria Joao Ganga Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Angola, Luanda, children, civil war, homelessness, orphans, trauma, feature film

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

Naked Prey (The) (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 96 min. )  [1986]
V.DISC 1597
Abstract: This action-adventure picture, filmed in Maputi, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, stars Cornel Wilde as Man, a great white hunter whose safari is wiped out by angry tribesmen. He is stripped of his clothes and his weapons and given a head start in a 'lion's chance' to save his life. Man is given the opportunity to prove his bravery as, for four days and nights, he is pursued by the village's best lion killers.
Director: Cornel Wilde Distributor:Paramount Home Video
Keywords: Zimbabwe, Botswana, hunting, feature film

Nawi (Videocassette : 23 min. )  [1970]
V. CASS. VHS 2971
Abstract: Depicts a segment of the life of the Jie, a semi-nomadic people from northeastern Uganda. Follows their move to northwestern Kenya during the dry seasons from their homestead to a temporary camp (nawi) where grass is plentiful for their cattle. By David and Judith MacDougal. Part of Jie Trilogy (see also To Live With Herds and Under the Men's Tree).
Director: David and Judith MacDougal Distributor:University of California Extension Center for Media
Keywords: Uganda, Jie, pastoralists

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

Ndeysaan: Le Prix du Pardon = Ndeysaan: The Price of Forgiveness (Videocassette : 90 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8111
Abstract: In a mythical pre-colonial fishing village on the south coast of Senegal, a strange ocean mist hangs over the waters for weeks and the local fishermen fear to go out to sea. One son of a wise elder decides to take his boat onto the waters and returns when the mist lifts with a full catch. He has become a hero, and has won the heart of the prettiest girl in the village, but has also won the envy of his best friend, who also covets the girl.
Director: Mansour Sora Wade Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Senegal, Lebou, feature film

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

Neria (Videocassette : 100 min. )  [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 2851
Abstract: Patrick and Neria, through shared hard work and resourcefulness, built a comfortable home, a good life and family in the city. But when their loving and equal partnership suddenly ends with the tragic death of Patrick, Neria's nightmare begins. Utilizing a new Zimbabwean law protecting women, the widow fights back. A box office hit in Zimbabwe.
Director: NA Distributor:KJM3 Entertainment Group/Documentary Educational Resource
Keywords: Zimbabwe, gender, law, marriage, development, feature film

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

Nkuleleko Means Freeedom (Videocassette : 28 min. )  [1982]
VHS 9339
Abstract: The central theme of Nkuleleko Means Freedom is education with production, a system of education that combines theory with practice and is meant to develop a new 'integrated' person as well as to dignify manual labor. Back home in Zimbabwe, the former refugees, now students, have built new schools and are participating in the building of a new society.
Director: Ron Hallis Distributor:First Run, Icarus Films
Keywords: Zimbabwe, education, exile, refugees, work

No Spare Parts (Videocassette : 22 min. )  [1991]
VHS 9340
Abstract: No Spare Parts portrays the introduction and utilization of appropriate technology in a developing nation. In Ghana, thrown away materials are being recovered and used to build and modernize the economy. Requiring only minimal financial resources, small workshops use recycled automobile parts and traditional crafting skills to produce machinery of great benefit to the local people. Grinding mills, lathes, palm oil presses and lumber saws, all made from scrap, enable the population to improve their everyday lives. Ghana's utilization of discards as a resource for raw materials reduces their reliance on imports and improves their independence and self-reliance. The appropriate technology movement is burgeoning in Ghana and having a beneficial impact on all levels of society. There's a message here for our own throw-away society and a lesson in ingenuity.
Director: David Springbett Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Ghana, appropriate technology, recycling, economy

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

Nuba Conversations (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [2001]
V. CASS. VHS 7171
Abstract: Ten years after filming Kafi's Story, British filmmaker Arthur Howes re-entered the Sudan clandestinely to find out what had happened to the Nuba of Torogi. Everywhere he encountered the jihad or holy war. The fundamentalist Sudanese regime is pursuing its policy of forced assimilation through a systematic disruption of the Nuba people, by killing their cattle and burning their villages. While Nuban women hide in caves 60,000 Nuba children have been abducted to camps where they are forcibly converted to Islam. Howes estimates that 40% of the Sudanese Army is now composed of Nuba men. See also Kafi's Story.
Director: Arthur Howes Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Sudan, Nuba, jihad, civil war, Islam, politics, history

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: 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

Our Developing World: Studies in Regional Political Geography: Vol. 5 Africa: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt (Videocassette : 26 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.
Director: Josy Dubie Distributor:Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Keywords: Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, politics, history, economics

Our Developing World: Studies in Regional Political Geography: Vol. 6. Africa: Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya (Videocassette : 26 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.
Director: Josy Dubie Distributor:Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Keywords: Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, politics, history, economics

Our Developing World: Studies in Regional Political Geography: Vol. 7 Africa: Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho (Videocassette : 29 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.
Director: Josy Dubie Distributor:Films for the Humanities & Sciences
Keywords: Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho, politics, history, economics

Our Way of Loving (Videocassette : 50 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 3281
Abstract: The third program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. This film shows Duka, now a mother with two young children. Her life is dominated by caring for them and her husband, Sago. Although Sago and Duka seem to have an affectionate marriage, he beats her when provoked. She accepts this behavior for she believes it is a man's way of loving. Film also shows the ceremony of Sago's cousin's initiation into manhood. Producer: Chris Curling. (Part of the Hamar Trilogy. Other titles include: The Women Who Smile and Two Girls Go Hunting.)
Director: NA Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Ethiopia, Hamar, women, social conditions, family, marriage, gender, rites and ceremonies

Parchment Makers: An Ancient Art in Present-Day Ethiopia (Videocassette : 19 min. )  [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 5571
Abstract: Documents the way that books were created in the centuries before the printing press. The video follows the process from start to finish as Ethiopian artist and scribe, Meregeta Berhane Abade, works on a text for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which still requires that certain texts be hand-rendered on parchment. The video draws on the research of Neal Sobania, a historian at Hope College, and Ray Silverman, an art historian at Michigan State University, and their chronicling of traditions of art in Ethiopia.
Director: NA Distributor:Sola Scriptura
Keywords: Ethiopia, history, religion, art, writing

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

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

Peanuts (Videocassette : 46 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 7824
Abstract: Documentary on the introduction of appropriate technology in a village in Southern Mali. Film technician Jock Brandis alerted villagers to the fact that growing cotton would rob their soil of nitrogen, and suggested that they plant peanuts either around the cotton plants or in rotation, to improve the soil. Peanuts are also more profitable, but a mechanical peanut sheller was needed. Brandis set about designing a small scale sheller that local people could build on the spot and repair themselves. A living example of the difference that one person, with good will and determination, can make in the lives of countless others.
Director: Martin Harbury Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Mali, cotton, peanuts, agriculture, development, technology

Perfect Famine (The) (Videocassette )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8134
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. In Malawi bad weather, poor governance and profiteering have combined to create famine. This segment looks at the causes of, and solutions to this famine. Although many have thought foreign aid would lift the world's poor out of poverty, there is now a growing consensus that the policies of poor countries and ineffectual bureaucracies can be major obstacles to sustainable development.
Director: Steve Bradshaw Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Malawi, famine, economic development, globalization

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

Photo Souvenir (DVD : 54 min. )  [2007]
DVD 9925
Abstract: During the social and cultural euphoria of a newly independent Niger in the 1960s, Philippe Koudjina worked as a photojournalist and later opened his own photo studio. For many years, his snapshots of the youth scene in Niamey and his individual and family portraits provided Koudjina with a national reputation and a good living. Today he is no longer able to take photos because he is slowly losing his sight to glaucoma, and after having been hit by a car, he must use crutches to get around. His cameras, photographic equipment and a disorganized collection of negatives gather dust in a decaying cupboard, while he begs on the street in order to survive. Photo Souvenir features interviews with Koudjina, and contrasts his desperate situation with the fortunes of other African photographers such as Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keita, whose work from the same period has brought them renewed attention and financial rewards. While the film documents the effort by two French photo connoisseurs to organize an exhibition of Koudjina's work in Paris, Photo Souvenir reveals the fickle cultural process by which one-time 'photo souvenirs' become 'photographic art,' and whether or not an artistic reputation is made in the western world.
Director: Paul Cohen and Martijn van Haalen Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Niger, photography, journalism, youth, art, exhibitions

Pierre Fatumbi Verger: Mensageiro entre Dois Mundos = Messenger between Two Worlds (Videocassette : 90 min. )  [1998]
V.CASS. VHS 8354
Abstract: Retracing the adventurous life of photographer Pierre Verger, part of a French generation of ethnographers, this documentary reveals the reciprocal cultural influences between Brazil and the region of Benin and Nigeria in Africa.
Director: Lula Buarque de Hollanda Distributor:Latin American Video Archives
Keywords: Brazil, Benin, Nigeria, Pierre Verger, photography, diaspora

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

Prix de la Paix, Le (DVD : 83 min. )  [2005]
DVD7233
Abstract: With unprecedented access to the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping, The Peacekeepers provides an intimate and dramatic portrait of the struggle to save 'a failed state.' The film follows the determined and often desperate manoeuvres to avert another Rwandan disaster, this time in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC). Focusing on the UN mission, the film cuts back and forth between the United Nations headquarters in New York and events on the ground in the DRC. We are with the peacekeepers in the 'Crisis Room' as they balance the risk of loss of life on the ground with the enormous sums of money required from uncertain donor countries. We are with UN troops as the northeast Congo erupts, and the future of the DRC, if not all of central Africa, hangs in the balance. In the background, but often impinging on peacekeeping decisions, are the painful memory of Rwanda, the worsening crisis in Iraq, global terrorism and American hegemony in world affairs. As Secretary General Kofi Annan tells the General Assembly at the conclusion of The Peacekeepers: 'History is a harsh judge. The world will not forgive us if we do nothing.' Whether the world's peacekeeper did enough remains to be seen.
Director: Paul Cowan Distributor:NA
Keywords: Congo, United Nations Department of Peacekeeping, diplomacy, history

Quartier Mozart (Videocassette : 80 min. )  [1992]
V. CASS. VHS 2117
Abstract: Queen of the 'Hood is a proud young girl who doesn't want to be taken advantage of by men. She befriends a local sorceress who helps her enter the body of a young man, My Guy, so she can discover for herself the real 'sexual politics' of the quarter. Meanwhile, the sorceress assumes the shape of Panka, a familiar comic figure in Cameroonian folklore with sexual powers. In this sex farce, women's wisdom and 'witchcraft' help to temporarily regain the balance of power in a sexist world. Producer/Director: Jeanne-Pierre Bekolo.
Director: Jeanne-Pierre Bekolo Distributor:NA
Keywords: Cameroon, gender, popular culture, feature film

Race Against Time: The AIDS Crisis in Africa (DVD : 48 min. )  [2002]
DVD 8057
Abstract: The AIDS crisis in Africa is an epidemic of staggering proportions. Thirty-six million people are infected with the HIV virus worldwide, with over 25 million of them in Africa, and a staggering number of Africans -- 17 million -- have died. This film is about the inspiring work of Canadian Stephen Lewis, the United Nations Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa as he searches for solutions to the pandemic ravaging the continent. Lewis describes the 'Herculean effort' that has begun to relieve the suffering. A global trust fund has been set up through the United Nations, which has grown to $1.5 billion. Drug companies have slashed their prices for anti-viral drugs for Africans, and there is now hope for the dying. After years of denial, there is now a new willingness on the part of African leaders to confront the disease. Lewis travels to Zambia and Kenya witnessing the challenges first hand as he talks to widows of AIDS victims, who are often infected themselves. In many instances, these ill women must care for their deceased relatives' children as well as their own, despite their desperate financial situation. On the plus side, he finds many creative, community-based educational programs that feature preventive 'safe sex' songs, dances and dramas.
Director: Stephen Lewis Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Kenya, Zambia, HIV/AIDS, United Nations, politics, health, performance

Recalling the Future: Art in Contemporary Africa (Videocassette : 48 min. )  [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6165
Abstract: Filmed during the 1998 Dakar Arts Biennial (Dak'Art '98), Recalling the Future explores how the many professional modern visual artists on the African continent take their place in the worldwide evolution of artistic expression. Interviews with a number of contemporary artists and curators.
Director: NA Distributor:Arts in Action Society, Vancouver
Keywords: Senegal, art, biennial, exhibition

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 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

Reel Voices Video Collection (DVD : 53 min. )  [2004]
DVD 3719
Abstract: Contains three short films about the lives of African immigrants living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On one DVD. See individual titles for description: Stop Killing Taxi Drivers, In Their Own Voices, Rencontrer (To Meet).
Director: Filmon Mebrahtu Distributor:Reel Voices
Keywords: United States, diaspora, immigrantion, politics, art, labor

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

Republic Gone Mad: Rwanda 1894-1994 (A) (Videocassette : 60 min. )  [1996]
V. CASS. VHS 3790
Abstract: Recounts Rwanda's history from the 1885 partitioning of Africa that made it a German colony, to Belgian conquest decline, World War I, the creation of a republic under Kayibanda in 1961, and the ultimately catastrophic regime of Habyarimana. Provides background necessary to understand the recent massacres.
Director: Luc de Heusch & Kathleen de Bethune. Distributor:First Run/Icarus
Keywords: Rwanda, genocide, history, politics, ethnicity

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

Right to Choose (The) (Videocassette : 24 min. )  [2000]
V.CASS. VHS 8928
Abstract: Part of a series on how the globalized world economy affects ordinary people. Nibret is eleven -- and they're marrying her off to a man she's never met. Forced marriage isn't unusual in northern Ethiopia -- it helps to cement ties between families and establish land rights. Some Islamic leaders in northern Nigeria also advocate child-marriage. They believe women's role is to comfort men, and see nothing wrong with marrying girls as young as seven, often in polygamous marriages. This program reports on the dissonant voices arguing for change in local cultures -- and calls for reproductive health care and primary education for women and looks at widespread discrimination and violence against women.
Director: Charlotte Metcalf Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Ethiopia, Nigeria, women, children, marriage, human rights, land, education

Right to be Nuba (The) (Videocassette : 45 min. )  [1993]
V. CASS. VHS 3881
Abstract: Film maker/anthropologist Hugo D'aybaury presents the struggles felt by the Nuba people, caught in the middle of Sudan's civil war between the northern Islamic Khartoum and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army rebel forces. Writer, director, co-producer: Hugo D'aybaury.
Director: Hugo D'aybaury Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Sudan, Nuba, civil war, politics, religion, human rights

Rites (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1991]
VHS 9191
Abstract: This program explores the custom of female circumcision which has been commonplace throughout history. Today it is still practiced in many cultures, particularly in Africa. This program shows the efforts of women throughout the world to stop the practice. It considers three major contexts in which 'female genital mutilation' (FGM) occurs. The first context is 'cosmetic,' while the second one is 'punitive.' Medical historian Dr. Ornella Moscurri describes how women in the late 19th and early 20th century were subjected to FGM if they stepped out of line. The third context is part of the cultural transition to adulthood and initiation into female life. Routine 'mutilation' has been fiercely attacked by Western observers, although such attacks have themselves been the subject of accusations of cultural imperialism.
Director: Penny Dedman Distributor:Filmakers Library, NY
Keywords: female circumcision, infibulation, rites of passage, women

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

Sahara (Videocassette : 97 min. )  [1987]
V. DISC 1011
Abstract: An explosive war story about a ragtag battalion stranded in the great African desert during World War II. With Humphrey Bogart and Lloyd Bridges. [1987 (orig. 1943)]
Director: Zoltan Korda Distributor:RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video
Keywords: World War II, feature film

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

Searching for Hawa's Secret (Videocassette : 47 min. )  [1999]
VHS 9227
Abstract: Hawa Chelangat is a 37-year old prostitute who supports her five children through commercial sex. She met Frank Plummer, a Canadian microbiologist from the University of Manitoba, in a grim shanty town outside Nairobi. He had come to Kenya in 1981, before AIDS. The AIDS epidemic did not bring him to Africa, but it kept him there, searching for a vaccine. Since 1983 the center of Plummer's research has taken place at a clinic for female sex workers in the Nairobi slum where Hawa lives. In 1993 Plummer discovered that among the hundreds of women who came to his clinic, a small percentage of them, like Hawa, did not become infected with HIV. He became convinced that this apparent immunity was more than luck, that something in the immune women's bodies was preventing infection. A vaccine for the dreaded disease might emerge by duplicating whatever it was that seemed to make this small group of women immune. As this startling observation began to attract international attention, Plummer decided to study not the sick, but those women who stayed well, the women whose bodies held the secret. Searching for Hawa's Secret tells the remarkable story of the scientific quest to prevent rather than cure: a difficult endeavor when vaccine research gets only 1% of AIDS research funding globally. Despite funding inequities the work in Nairobi has shifted the paradigm of AIDS research, and has scientists across the globe seeking and finding similar groups with the natural immunity. It is also the human story of an unlikely partnership between a Canadian doctor and a Kenyan prostitute.
Director: Larry Krotz Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Kenya, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, medical research, vaccine

Seeing Is Believing (Videocassette : 23 min. )  [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8136
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. Health experts have long known that a lack of Vitamin A can lead to serious diseases during childhood, as well as increasing the risk of child and maternal mortality. This segment looks at the country of Zambia as it begins a nationwide program to deliver Vitamin A to its population through sugar fortification as just one part of a multi-pronged strategy.
Director: Christopher Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Zambia, economic development, malnutrition, globalization

Sembène: the Making of African Cinema (Videocassette : 61 min. )  [1994]
V. CASS. VHS 5295
Abstract: Follows the Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène from the Pan African Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso back to Senegal, and finally to the locations of his films.
Director: Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Manthia Diawara Distributor:NA
Keywords: Senegal, film directors, art, history

Senegal: the Power to Change (Videocassette : 30 min. )  [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6299
Abstract: The protest against female genital mutilation in Senegal started with an educational program set up by the United Nations in cooperation with a local NGO. News of the declarations spread through the media, inspiring women in other villages to demand education and to take similar decisions. This is a success story which shows that education makes all the difference.
Director: Gerd Inger Polden Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Senegal, female genital cutting, women's rights, gender, development

Setting the Grass Roots on Fire (DVD : 56 min. )  [2000]
DVD 8935
Abstract: Dr. Norman Borlaug, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, has spent his life battling against hunger and poverty in developing countries. With characteristic energy and a sense or urgency, he is setting the agenda for a 'Green Revolution' in sub-Saharan Africa as population increases overwhelm production. Borlaug grew up on a small farm in Iowa during the Depression years and trained as an agricultural scientist. He developed a lifelong determination to use science for the benefit of subsistence farmers. The film charts his struggle against third world poverty, using footage shot in Africa and Mexico over the last thirty years. In Mexico after World War II, Borlaug designed a simple approach for intensifying traditional agriculture that had dramatic results. It saved India and Pakistan from a repetition of the dreadful famine of the 1960's. Often embroiled in politics in his determination to put agriculture at the top of the agenda, he has also crossed swords with some environmentalists, who he felt had little understanding of life in developing countries. His faith has always been in small-scale farmers who are 'setting the grassroots on fire.'
Director: Tony Freeth Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Nobel Peace Prize, poverty, hunger, development, agriculture, environment

Shackles of Memory: Slave Trade and Slavery in the 18th and 19th Centuries (Videocassette : 52 min. )  [1994]
V.CASS. VHS 6001
Abstract: The film's primary focus is on the slave system in which ships from Nantes circled Africa and exchanged goods for black captives who were sold to the French colonies in the New World. Using a mixture of paintings, documents, artifacts and the words of those involved in this cruel system, the film brings the reality of slavery to life for a modern audience.
Director: Michel Moreau Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: France, Africa, Americas, slave trade, history

Sheltering Sky (The) (DVD : 139 min. )  [1990]
DVD 1830
Abstract: An American artist couple, drawn by desire to the Sahara, travel there shortly after World War II in order to follow their passionate obsessions in an attempt to recapture the love they once shared.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci Distributor:Warner Home Video
Keywords: North Africa, feature film

Si-Gueriki = The Queen Mother (Videocassette : 62 min. )  [2003]
V.CASS. VHS 8657
Abstract: This documentary film was intended as a tribute to the filmmaker's late father, a member of a royal family in northern Benin. But in the course of his investigations, the director discovers the lives of his mother and sisters, which had previously been invisible to him, and he decides to make a film about them instead. Si-Gueriki examines patriarchy and the role of women in a polygynous society...Mora Kpai's mother is the si-gueriki or 'queen mother' of the Borgu people. Yet her daily routine of grinding rice and potash show into what low estate this once noble position has fallen in many parts of Africa. The title of 'queen mother' is misleading to Westerners since the si-gueriki is most typically not the mother but the aunt, niece or cousin of the king. From Ghana to Swaziland, legendary noblewomen have been praised for their prowess as military leaders. They have had their own palaces, feudal land holdings, retinues and, like the king, even enjoyed sexual freedom. They characteristically resolved disputes especially in the marketplace and in agriculture, two arenas controlled by women in most of Africa. The 'queen mother' even could nominate the next king and serve as one of his counselors.The Borgu queen mother, like European monarchs today, fills largely a ritual function. In this film, for example, we witness the annual gaani festival over which the si-gueriki presides; she is announced by trumpeters, brightly caparisoned horses and riders pass in review and she accepts the tribute as her subjects prostrate themselves before her.
Director: Idrissou Mora Kpai Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Benin, Borgu, queen mother, kinship, history, government, festival

Simba (Videocassette : 99 min. )  [2005]
V.CASS. VHS 9082
Abstract: Filmed in documentary style partly in Kenya, Simba tells the story of a young Englishman's brother who has been murdered by Mau Mau terrorists. He, however, overcomes his hatred of blacks after a native physician sacrifices his life to prevent the massacre of a group of white colonists. A Peter de Sarigny production, this feature film originally released as a motion picture in 1955, with a screenplay by John Baines . This drama has also been released under the title of Mark of Mau Mau.
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst Distributor:General Film Distributors (U.K.) and Lippert Pictures (U.S.)
Keywords: Kenya, Mau Mau, drama, history, terrorism, murder, settler colonialism, feature film

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

Sing the Glory of Africa (Motion Picture NA )  [1971]
DT14. S5 (Theology Library)
Abstract: Gives a brief description of African history, culture, and contributions to Western art forms.
Director: NA Distributor:NA
Keywords: overview, art, history

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 2: Liberty in the Air (DVD : 60 min. )  [2005]
DVD 5288 PT. 2
Abstract: Spanning from the 1740s through the 1830s, the series' second hour explores the continued expansion of slavery in the colonies, the evolution of a distinct African American culture and the roots of the emancipation movement. The episode reveals the many ways the enslaved resisted their oppression, their role on both sides of the Revolutionary War, and the strength and inspiration many of them found in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, despite the inherent contradictions that lay in what those documents expressed and what this country practiced. This volume is part of the Slavery and the making of America series.
Director: Gail Pellett Distributor:Ambrose Video Publishing
Keywords: America, Africa, overview, history, slavery, emancipation

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