African Studies Media Catalog
Search results:49 records
| 49 records per page | Search by keywords (Criteria:"law")
Page(s): 1
Abolition: Broken Promises (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 4420
Abstract: This program presents a grim picture of the black experience after slavery through the eyes of those who experienced it and their progeny. Topics include the Fugitive Slave Law and the Dred Scott decision; Northern political abandonment of blacks; the Ku Klux Klan; failure of the post-war land-distribution act; the role of industry; the deliberately cultivated image of black males as criminals and rapists; and the perpetuation of Jim Crow well into the 1950s.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: African Americans, social conditions, segregation, race, slavery, politics, history
African American Lives (DVD : 240 min. ) [2006]
DVD 5313
Abstract: An unprecedented four-part series, African American Lives uncovers a new level of personal discovery. Using genealogy, oral history, family stories, and DNA analysis to trace lineages through American history and back to Africa, the series provides life-changing journeys for a diverse group of highly accomplished African Americans including Whoopi Goldberg, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Quincy Jones, Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, and Oprah Winfrey.
Director: Henry Louis Gates Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: Africa, African-American history, DNA fingerprinting, genealogy, history, slavery
Analysis of the Economic and Ethnic Composition of South Africa (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
VC NO. 466 LAW LIBRARY
Abstract: Abstract not available.
Director: Phyllis Dannhauser Distributor:South African Communication Service. Film and Video Production Unit.
Keywords: South Africa, economy, population, ethnicity
Apostles of Civilised Vice (Videocassette : 2 videos min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6956 pt. 1 & pt. 2
Abstract: A history of same-sex desire which investigates lesbian and gay experience and personalities from colonial times to the present. Between 1910 and 1933 thousands of men were convicted of sodomy and 'unnatural offences.' The majority of those tried, convicted and imprisoned were black. For over two centuries of South African history, lesbian and gay stories have been silenced, depriving contemporary queer life of a history.
Director: Zackie Achmat Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, homosexuality, gay men, lesbians, history, law
Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking at the Emory University School of Law 1994 Religious Human Rights Conference (Videocassette : 43 min. ) [1994]
LAW Library VC No 450
Abstract: Archbishop Desmond Tutu's address at the 1994 conference on Religious Human Rights held at the Emory School of Law.
Director: NA Distributor:Emory University School of Law
Keywords: South Africa, Desmond Tutu, human rights, religion, law
Born Slave (DVD : 52 min. ) [2004]
DVD 8215
Abstract: It is shocking to see that slavery still exists in contemporary Mauritania, even though it is outlawed on the books since 1981. It is estimated that there are 100,000 people enslaved there. This remarkable documentary, shot secretly by the production team disguised as tourists, provides the outside world's first look at this human rights abuse. The child of a slave woman belongs to her master. From the time it can walk, it is put to work and can also be given away to others. In the film we meet sixteen-year-old Bilal who was only two when his mother escaped and left him with his master. He finally ran away and found his mother in the slums of the capital. They describe their lives as mistreated and humiliated unpaid workers, explaining that the masters often use religion to frighten their slaves into submission. Boubacar Messaoud, leader of the organization SOS Slave, gives us the historical and sociological background of slavery.
Director: Helen Aastrup-Samuels and Bo Harringer Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mauritania, slavery, human rights, labor
Burden on the Land (DVD : 52 min. ) [1991]
DVD 9044
Abstract: Filmed in the face of enormous political and geographical obstacles, Burden on the Land is a comprehensive look at Africa's future as it faces the 21st century. It addresses the root causes of famine and suggests reasons why development efforts in Africa have been so disappointing. Examining the sub-Saharan countries - Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Ivory Coast, Mali, Ethiopia and Uganda - the documentary clarifies the conflicts and interrelated issues of politics, health, environment, and culture. When the colonial powers left Africa, the political vacuum was filled by authoritarian regimes whose armies continue to keep them in power. Frequent tribal wars keep countless people refugees, fleeing from one nation to another. Despite the efforts of international relief agencies, the vast number of refugees have depleted the host countries of resources. The film shows that despite the overwhelming problems there are small successes that improve the quality of life - dams, food processing, reforestation, road building, irrigation, and animal husbandry. But basically, it proposes that Africa's future depends on developing an infrastructure while maintaining the integrity of village life.
Director: Roger Pyke Productions Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: famine, development, colonization, environment, health, politics, history
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
Condoms, Fish and Circus Tricks: The AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [2002]
VHS 9182
Abstract: Shot in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia, this is a compelling documentary on the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is ravaging Southern Africa. It takes an intimate look at the people who are dying, those who are caring for them, and why this disease has had such a devastating impact on African society. In a remote village in Malawi, the struggle against AIDS is led by local volunteers who care for the orphan children and those that are dying, without medicines, clean water, or even rubber gloves. In a fishing village on Zambia's Kafue Flats the local fishermen earn their livelihood by selling their catch. When women don't have the money to pay, the men often trade their fish for sex. The result has been a huge surge of AIDS patients, overwhelming the local hospital which has only three doctors and three hundred beds. The film reveals a 'quiet revolution' is underway as young people are talking about sex and challenging traditional concepts of sexuality. Through performances in a street circus young people are spreading the message of AIDS prevention. It is these young people that offer hope for Africa's future.
Director: Brenda & Robert Rooney Distributor:Filmakers Library, N.Y. [www.filmakers.com]
Keywords: Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, children, HIV/AIDS, health education, disease prevention, orphans, youth
Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Videocassette : 9 min. ) [1990]
VC NO. 467 (Law Library)
Abstract: Produced by the South African Communication Service.
Director: NA Distributor:South African Communication Service
Keywords: South Africa, law, democracy, government
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
Feeding and Food Sharing (Videocassette : 23 min. ) [1976]
V.CASS. VHS 1605
Abstract: Dr. Jane Lawick-Goodall presents the food gathering and feeding habits of wild chimpanzees living near her research center in Tanzania. Observes conditions under which they will share food and other possessions.
Director: NA Distributor:The National Geographic Society
Keywords: Tanzania, Jane Goodall, primatology, chimpanzees
Finzan (Videocassette : 107 min. ) [1989]
V. CASS. VHS 1560
Abstract: Tells the story of two women's rebellion. Nanyuma, a young widow, refuses her brother-in-law, the village fool, when he asserts his traditional right to 'inherit' her. Fili, a young girl sent from the city by her conservative father, is brutally circumcised by the village women who are scandalized that she resists the age-old custom.
Director: Cheick Oumar Sissoku Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mali, women, marriage, ritual, feature film
Forbidden Fruit (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6838
Abstract: Zimbabwean filmmaker Sue Maluwa Bruce breaks long held taboos about sexual identity and lesbian love in African society.
Director: Sue Malawa Bruce Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Zimbabwe, lesbianism, social relations
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
Gacaca: Living Together Again in Rwanda? (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8154
Abstract: In 1994, decades of politically motivated ethnic scapegoating culminated in a wholesale slaughter of the Rwanda's Tutsi minority, along with many Hutu moderates. Today, Rwanda is rebuilding, but its most difficult task is addressing the emotional trauma and fostering reconciliation between the Hutu and Tutsi. This film follows the first steps in one of the world's boldest experiments in reconciliation: the Gacaca Tribunals. These are a form of citizen-based justice based on ancient traditions of judgment, aimed at unifying this scarred nation.
Director: Anne Aghion Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films.
Keywords: Rwanda, Hutu, Tutsi, civil war, genocide, truth commissions, law, history
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
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
Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (Videocassette : 112 min. ) [1984]
V. CASS. VHS 123 and VDISC 166
Abstract: An infant boy is raised to manhood among savage apes, living by his wits and the law of the jungle. He returns to society and tries to claim his inheritance of humanity and privilege.
Director: Hugh Hudson Distributor:Warner Home Video
Keywords: Tarzan, feature film
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
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
In Rwanda We Say: The Family that Does Not Speak Dies (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8766
Abstract: Two years after the Gacaca tribunals, close to 16,000 genocide suspects, still untried, were released across the country. Having confessed to their crimes and having served the maximum sentence the Gacaca tribunals would eventually impose, perpetrators of genocidal violence are sent home to plow fields and fetch water alongside the people they victimized. In Rwanda We Say focuses on the release of one suspect, tracking the effect of his return on a tiny hillside hamlet. While the government's message of a 'united Rwandan family' permeates the language of the community, the imposed co-existence brings forth varying emotions, from numb acceptance to repressed rage.
Director: Anne Aghion Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Rwanda, Hutu, Tutsi, civil war, genocide, law
In the Tall Grass (DVD : 57 min. ) [2006]
DVD7519
Abstract: In the Tall Grass tells the story of Rwanda's search for redemption after genocide as the country sits down to reckon with the horror in a network of informal, community courts called gacaca.
Director: J.Coll Metcalfe Distributor:NA
Keywords: Rwanda, gacaca, justice, genocide, law
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
Karmen Geei (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS. VHS 7176
Abstract: Carmen in West Africa: Karmen escapes prison through her lesbian relationship with the warden. She then wrecks the marriage and career of a police corporal by making him her lover and co-conspirator in a smuggling ring. She abandons the corporal who, in a fit of jealous rage, stabs her. Like every Carmen, Karmen Gei is about the conflict between infinite desire for freedom and the laws, conventions, languages, the human limitations which constrain that desire. Since this is an African Carmen, freedom necessarily has a political dimension. Contains much singing and dancing.
Director: Joseph Gaï Ramaka Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Senegal, lesbianism, gender, music, opera, feature film
Karmen Geei (DVD : 84 min. ) [2001]
DVD7547
Abstract: Like every Carmen, Karmen Gei is about the conflict between infinite desire for freedom and the laws, conventions, languages, the human limitations which constrain that desire. Since this is an African Carmen, freedom necessarily has a political dimension. The opening scene is set in a women's prison on Goree Island, site of the notorious slave castle. Karmen and the women in the prison use dance and music as a weapon of resistance against dehumanizing regimentation as has so often been the case throughout the African Diaspora.
Director: Joseph Gaï Ramaka Distributor:Kino Video
Keywords: Senegal, musical, opera, gender, lesbian and gay, feature film
Living with AIDS (DVD : 49 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5584
Abstract: In the third of his Living with... series, Sorious Samura works as an orderly in a hospital in Zambia , where the majority of the patients are HIV positive. Confronted on a daily basis with death, he describes his workplace as being like a frontline in a war zone. The staff works under horrendous conditions where protective gloves are a luxury and shrouds for the dead are stained with the blood of previous corpses. In this film, Samura exposes the untold story of AIDS -- how poverty and the complex nature of African culture and sexuality are hampering efforts to eradicate this horrifying disease. He meets characters like Joshua and Lawson who continue to practice unprotected sex despite their HIV positive status, and Precious and Nancy, AIDS orphans who fend for themselves in a world where sex 'flesh to flesh' pays well and offers an easy short term solution. Samura also meets heroines such as Bitonda, who at sixteen is in sole charge of her dying 14 year old brother, an AIDS orphaned cousin as well as her own child. After one month, Samura is left with the realization that for the war against HIV in Africa to be won, poverty, ignorance and African sexual attitudes have to be tackled head on. See also Living with Hunger, Living with Refugees and Living with Illegals.
Director: Sorious Samura, Claudio von Planta Distributor:Insight News Television
Keywords: Zambia, children, HIV/AIDS, journalism, orphans, health, medicine
Living with Illegals (DVD : 60 min. ) [2006]
DVD 8601
Abstract: In Living with Illegals, award-winning journalist Sorious Samura becomes an illegal immigrant. His journey is epic as he travels from Morocco into Europe through Spain and France, finally crossing the English Channel to Britain. Samura wants to understand the reality of being an illegal immigrant, so he lives in the exact same conditions and experiences the same gruelling hardships as his companions. The story begins in Northern Morocco, where hundreds of illegal immigrants live in forests waiting for their chance to break into the enclave of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Africa. All that separates them from Ceuta and Europe is a 50 km, 6 m fence, around which they camp. Huddled together in cold, flimsy tents and hounded by daily police raids, the immigrants struggle to survive with no food, money or peace of mind, but their determination to reach the promised land is unyielding. Samura meets Gus and Theo who have decided to swim around the fence and thus into Europe, an extremely dangerous method of entry which many have paid for with their lives. The next day, news arrives that only Theo made it to other side. Gus was captured. Samura leaves the Moroccan forest and meets with Theo in Ceuta. Together they try to earn some money parking cars. Samura soon discovers a derelict factory known as the 'Longhouse' where those on the run from immigration authorities live. The conditions are horrifying. For these people, the dream of Europe has already turned into a nightmare. Samura travels through several cities of mainland Spain where he begs, sleeps rough, performs odd jobs and learns inside tricks to survive as an immigrant. Through a 'connection man,' Samura crosses the Spanish/ French border, and onwards by train he reaches Calais. This is the hub for all immigrants trying to enter the UK. Samura is surprised to find living conditions and scenes of desperation as bad as those in Morocco. In the end, through astonishing circumstances, both Sorious and his companion Arick do reach their final destination. It has been an incredible journey, but was all the suffering really worth it? Living with Illegals is an extraordinary documentary. Offering unprecedented access and unique insights into the world of African illegal immigration, it raises important questions about the rights of individuals to seek a better life free of poverty and war. See also Living with Hunger, Living with Refugees and Living with AIDS.
Director: Sorious Samura Distributor:Insight News TV
Keywords: Morocco, Spain, Europe, immigration, unemployment, poverty, law, human rights
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
Man, God and Africa (DVD : 51 min. ) [1993]
DVD 8037
Abstract: While the media has focused on the violent history of South Africa, it has paid little attention to a social phenomenon of great importance. Some nine-million South African blacks live with a strong commitment to their religion, Pentecostal Christianity. Their faith has enabled them to survive appalling hardship and deprivation. Their religion is a blend of deep-rooted African traditions and the imported values of Christianity. This commitment could be a stabilizing force in the new South Africa. This film captures the joyous singing and rhythmic movement that is common to the various black churches. It shows the African influence on funerals, baptisms, and weddings. Through these ceremonies the churches foster a sense of community and pride at being black South African. Adherents cut across all social classes. One sees an educated civil rights lawyer practice centuries-old healing practices. We hear from representatives of the traditional Church hierarchy, such as Archbishop Tutu and Alan Boesack, who have a profound respect for the adaptation of Christianity to the African culture.
Director: Don Boyd Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, religion, Pentecostal churches, ceremony
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
Nigeria's Oil War (DVD : 24 min. ) [2006]
DVD 8737
Abstract: The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force is a well organized crime gang that has become a key player in the world's most strategically important industry -- oil. The vast Niger Delta holds an estimated three percent of the world's oil, and to the U.S., it's a vital alternative to the oilfields of the Middle East - worth $30 billion per year. The Force wants a share of this oil revenue for the people of the Niger Delta. As their leader, Al Haji Asari Dokubo, admitted in the film, the gang has brazenly stolen oil straight out of pipelines owned by some of the world's biggest multinationals. Called 'bunkering,' the practice is costing Western oil companies hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue each year. If gangs like the Force are threatened, they can disrupt Nigeria's oil supply with ease. This could lead to economic repercussions around the world. Not that the government of Nigeria seems overly concerned about cleaning up the industry, or using its massive oil wealth to help the people - some believe that they are the biggest gang of all. 'People have now gotten to the point where they don't believe anything that the government stands for,' Nigerian human rights lawyer Ledum Mittee says. 'Instead of the oil becoming a blessing, it now becomes a curse.'
Director: Mary Ann Jolley Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Nigeria, Niger River Delta, petroleum industry, insurgency, politics, government, economy
Nirgendwo in Afrika = Nowhere in Africa (DVD : 135 min. ) [2002]
DVD 2290
Abstract: The German Jewish Redlich family flees in 1938 to Kenya, where husband and lawyer Walter finds work as a manager on a farm. While his wife Jettel struggles with their new life and its challenges threaten their marriage, their once shy daughter Regina blossoms. The film follws their efforts to adjust to the different cultures around them and the challenges that they face during the War. After the War is over Walter is offered a position as a judge in Frankfurt. After so many years in Kenya, should he go back and will his family go with him?
Director: Caroline Link Distributor:MC One
Keywords: Germany, Kenya, Jews, settlers, WWII, Holocaust, feature film
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
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
Reasonable Man (A) (Videocassette : 103 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS VHS 8295
Abstract: This film tells the story of a city lawyer who defends a herdboy from rural Zululand. The herdboy is accused of murdering a one year old baby in the mistaken belief that he was killing an evil spirit known as the Tikoloshe. Dark secrets lie buried deep within the lawyer and on taking the case he enters aworld of witchcraft and mysticism in order to discover the truth about the killing, and himself.
Director: NA Distributor:Ster-Kinekor Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, law, religion, feature film
Red Dust (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 110 min. ) [2004]
DVD 9029
Abstract: A political thriller set in a small South African town during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. Human rights lawyer Sarah Barcant must represent Alex Mpondo, a former political activist, who was held captive and sadistically tortured by a police officer under the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Director: Tom Hooper Distributor:HBO Video
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, thriller, reconciliation, human rights, politics, feature film
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
Sisters in Law (DVD : 104 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5952
Abstract: In the little town of Kumba, Cameroon, there have been no convictions in spousal abuse cases for 17 years. But two women determined to change their community are making progress that could change the world. This fascinating, often hilarious documentary follows the work of State Prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba as they help women fight often-difficult cases of abuse, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent. Six-year-old Manka is covered in scars and has run away from an abusive aunt, Amina is seeking a divorce to put an end to brutal beatings by her husband, the pre-teen Sonita has daringly accused her neighbor of rape. With fierce compassion, the two feisty and progressive-minded women dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure, handing down stiff sentences to those convicted.
Director: Florence Ayisi, Kim Longinotto Distributor:Women Make Movies [www.wmm.com]
Keywords: Cameroon, children, domestic abuse, gender relations, justice system, law, rape, women, gender, family
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
These Girls Are Missing: The Gender Gap in Africa's Schools (DVD : 60 min. ) [1997]
DVD 8006
Abstract: Everybody knows this instinctively -- educate women and you will change society. Perhaps that's why in many African countries, fewer than 20% of girls ever enter a schoolroom, and across the continent, only one woman in three learns to read. It's not official policy. In fact, an international industry devoted to changing the status quo exists. Still the deck is stacked against African girls. How can a schoolgirl be such a threat to traditional concepts of appropriate gender roles and control of fertility? These Girls Are Missing offers small sets of stories, sharp glimpses into a few intimate relationships layered to mirror the complex reality: Nadouba and Bintu in their West African village, Taz and Patricia from elite St. Mary's Secondary School in Malawi, Ethel and her mother torn between village and the modern world, a relaxed and riotous conversation among a group of Malinke elders. Through knowing them, the audience grows to understand how deep cultural attitudes, more than economics, undermine the future of Africa's women. More provocative than prescriptive, this film aims to inspire reflection, argument and deeper understanding.
Director: Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Malawi, Malinke, women, education, gender
They Carry Their Families: A Village in Mauritania (DVD : 14 min. ) [1999]
DVD 8972
Abstract: Life in a rural village in Mauritania is hard on women. Tradition and Islamic religion are intertwined to reinforce strict gender roles. The husband is the protector and keeper; his word is law. While the men take their ease, the girls and women are off to the fields during the peanut planting and harvest season, walking five miles each way, and coming home with heavy burdens from the fields to prepare the family dinner. They carry the water, sweep the yard, wash the clothes, and care for the children. This short, beautifully filmed video captures succinctly the subservience of women, while at the same time remaining respectful of tradition and culture. There are no drugs, alcohol or loneliness in this kind of community, where family bonds are very strong. We hear from several young Peace Corps workers in the village who are hopeful that by educating and thereby widening the horizons of young women, eventually women will have more choices. From a Western perspective, the future of Africa depends on education and family planning.
Director: Ingo A. Zamperoni Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mauritania, women, gender, religion, family, work, education
Tree of Our Forefathers, The (DVD : 53 min. ) [1994]
DVD 9405
Abstract: Follows a refugee family who has spent 10 years living in a refugee camp in Malawi as they make the return journey to their homeland in the Tete Province of Mozambique where they at last can pay proper respects to their dead under the village tree. During the 15-year civil war in Mozambique, one and a half million people fled to seek refuge in neighboring countries. There was no time for ceremonial leave-taking, no time to pay the proper respects to the dead. But in 1993, with the war finally over, the refugees began to return home. Licinio Azevedo's moving documentary is the story of one family's long journey back to seek the forefathers' atonement under the village tree. The film follows Alexandre Ferrao and his extended family as they toil home across a land emptied of people and littered with the twisted scrapmetal of warfare. At night, around the camp fire, the family recounts their experiences of the years in exile and their fears for what they might find when they finally reach home.
Director: Licinio Azevedo Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Mozambique, refugees, emigration, immigration, funeral rites, ceremonies, civil war
Two Girls Go Hunting (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [1991]
V. CASS. VHS 3282
Abstract: The second program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. This film shows Duka and her friend, Gardi, as they prepare to marry men they have never met. The film follows the build-up to the marriages, from the all night vigil with girlfriends, to farewells when the brides are taken away at dawn to the village of their husband's family, the arrival in the villages and the preparation of the prospective brides for the ceremony by the mother-in-law. Part of the Hamar Trilogy. Other titles include: The Women Who Smile and Our Way of Loving.
Director: Chris Curling Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Ethiopia, Hamar, women, social conditions, marriage, gender, rites and ceremonies
Up in Smoke (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8141
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. This segment looks at the country of Malawi in Southern African where tobacco is the major export crop, responsible for 70% of all export earnings. But dependence on tobacco crops and manipulation by the tobacco industry has stunted the economy of Malawi, and despite the diminished returns from tobacco growing, the government has increased the land under cultivation.
Director: Martin Otanez, Christopher Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Malawi, economic development, tobacco, farming
Wedding Camels (The) (Videocassette : 108 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 2600/ DVD 8924
Abstract: An account of a marriage among the Turkana, a remote pastoral tribe of the dry thorn-country of northwestern Kenya. Shows the preparations for the wedding of the daughter of Lorang, one of the senior men of the region. Explores the quarrels and customs which surround the wedding. Shows the tensions that arise during bridewealth negotiations between the two families, and how these strain the old friendship between the bride's father and his future son-in-law. Part of Turkana Trilogy (see also Lorang's Way and Wife Among Wives). In Turkana with English subtitles. Also available in DVD format (DVD 8924).
Director: David and Judith MacDougall Distributor:University of California Extension Center for Media
Keywords: Kenya, Turkana, pastoralism, wedding, ritual, gender, marriage, family
Wedding Camels (The): A Turkana Marriage (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 108 min. ) [1976]
DVD 8924/ VHS 2600
Abstract: An account of a marriage among the Turkana, a remote pastoral tribe of the dry thorn-country of northwestern Kenya. Shows the preparations for the wedding of the daughter of Lorang, one of the senior men of the region. Explores the quarrels and customs which surround the wedding. Shows the tensions that arise during bridewealth negotiations between the two families, and how these strain the old friendship between the bride's father and his future son-in-law. Part of Turkana Trilogy (see also Lorang's Way and Wife Among Wives). In Turkana with English subtitles. Also available in videotape format (VHS 2600)
Director: David and Judith MacDougall. Distributor:Berkeley Media LLC
Keywords: Kenya, Turkana, marriage, gender, pastoralism, family, ritual
Page(s): 1
Abolition: Broken Promises (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [1998]
V. CASS. VHS 4420
Abstract: This program presents a grim picture of the black experience after slavery through the eyes of those who experienced it and their progeny. Topics include the Fugitive Slave Law and the Dred Scott decision; Northern political abandonment of blacks; the Ku Klux Klan; failure of the post-war land-distribution act; the role of industry; the deliberately cultivated image of black males as criminals and rapists; and the perpetuation of Jim Crow well into the 1950s.
Director: NA Distributor:Films for the Humanities
Keywords: African Americans, social conditions, segregation, race, slavery, politics, history
African American Lives (DVD : 240 min. ) [2006]
DVD 5313
Abstract: An unprecedented four-part series, African American Lives uncovers a new level of personal discovery. Using genealogy, oral history, family stories, and DNA analysis to trace lineages through American history and back to Africa, the series provides life-changing journeys for a diverse group of highly accomplished African Americans including Whoopi Goldberg, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Quincy Jones, Dr. Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, and Oprah Winfrey.
Director: Henry Louis Gates Distributor:PBS Home Video
Keywords: Africa, African-American history, DNA fingerprinting, genealogy, history, slavery
Analysis of the Economic and Ethnic Composition of South Africa (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [1991]
VC NO. 466 LAW LIBRARY
Abstract: Abstract not available.
Director: Phyllis Dannhauser Distributor:South African Communication Service. Film and Video Production Unit.
Keywords: South Africa, economy, population, ethnicity
Apostles of Civilised Vice (Videocassette : 2 videos min. ) [1999]
V. CASS. VHS 6956 pt. 1 & pt. 2
Abstract: A history of same-sex desire which investigates lesbian and gay experience and personalities from colonial times to the present. Between 1910 and 1933 thousands of men were convicted of sodomy and 'unnatural offences.' The majority of those tried, convicted and imprisoned were black. For over two centuries of South African history, lesbian and gay stories have been silenced, depriving contemporary queer life of a history.
Director: Zackie Achmat Distributor:Idol Pictures
Keywords: South Africa, homosexuality, gay men, lesbians, history, law
Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking at the Emory University School of Law 1994 Religious Human Rights Conference (Videocassette : 43 min. ) [1994]
LAW Library VC No 450
Abstract: Archbishop Desmond Tutu's address at the 1994 conference on Religious Human Rights held at the Emory School of Law.
Director: NA Distributor:Emory University School of Law
Keywords: South Africa, Desmond Tutu, human rights, religion, law
Born Slave (DVD : 52 min. ) [2004]
DVD 8215
Abstract: It is shocking to see that slavery still exists in contemporary Mauritania, even though it is outlawed on the books since 1981. It is estimated that there are 100,000 people enslaved there. This remarkable documentary, shot secretly by the production team disguised as tourists, provides the outside world's first look at this human rights abuse. The child of a slave woman belongs to her master. From the time it can walk, it is put to work and can also be given away to others. In the film we meet sixteen-year-old Bilal who was only two when his mother escaped and left him with his master. He finally ran away and found his mother in the slums of the capital. They describe their lives as mistreated and humiliated unpaid workers, explaining that the masters often use religion to frighten their slaves into submission. Boubacar Messaoud, leader of the organization SOS Slave, gives us the historical and sociological background of slavery.
Director: Helen Aastrup-Samuels and Bo Harringer Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mauritania, slavery, human rights, labor
Burden on the Land (DVD : 52 min. ) [1991]
DVD 9044
Abstract: Filmed in the face of enormous political and geographical obstacles, Burden on the Land is a comprehensive look at Africa's future as it faces the 21st century. It addresses the root causes of famine and suggests reasons why development efforts in Africa have been so disappointing. Examining the sub-Saharan countries - Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Ivory Coast, Mali, Ethiopia and Uganda - the documentary clarifies the conflicts and interrelated issues of politics, health, environment, and culture. When the colonial powers left Africa, the political vacuum was filled by authoritarian regimes whose armies continue to keep them in power. Frequent tribal wars keep countless people refugees, fleeing from one nation to another. Despite the efforts of international relief agencies, the vast number of refugees have depleted the host countries of resources. The film shows that despite the overwhelming problems there are small successes that improve the quality of life - dams, food processing, reforestation, road building, irrigation, and animal husbandry. But basically, it proposes that Africa's future depends on developing an infrastructure while maintaining the integrity of village life.
Director: Roger Pyke Productions Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: famine, development, colonization, environment, health, politics, history
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
Condoms, Fish and Circus Tricks: The AIDS Pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (Videocassette : 47 min. ) [2002]
VHS 9182
Abstract: Shot in Malawi, South Africa and Zambia, this is a compelling documentary on the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is ravaging Southern Africa. It takes an intimate look at the people who are dying, those who are caring for them, and why this disease has had such a devastating impact on African society. In a remote village in Malawi, the struggle against AIDS is led by local volunteers who care for the orphan children and those that are dying, without medicines, clean water, or even rubber gloves. In a fishing village on Zambia's Kafue Flats the local fishermen earn their livelihood by selling their catch. When women don't have the money to pay, the men often trade their fish for sex. The result has been a huge surge of AIDS patients, overwhelming the local hospital which has only three doctors and three hundred beds. The film reveals a 'quiet revolution' is underway as young people are talking about sex and challenging traditional concepts of sexuality. Through performances in a street circus young people are spreading the message of AIDS prevention. It is these young people that offer hope for Africa's future.
Director: Brenda & Robert Rooney Distributor:Filmakers Library, N.Y. [www.filmakers.com]
Keywords: Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, children, HIV/AIDS, health education, disease prevention, orphans, youth
Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Videocassette : 9 min. ) [1990]
VC NO. 467 (Law Library)
Abstract: Produced by the South African Communication Service.
Director: NA Distributor:South African Communication Service
Keywords: South Africa, law, democracy, government
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
Feeding and Food Sharing (Videocassette : 23 min. ) [1976]
V.CASS. VHS 1605
Abstract: Dr. Jane Lawick-Goodall presents the food gathering and feeding habits of wild chimpanzees living near her research center in Tanzania. Observes conditions under which they will share food and other possessions.
Director: NA Distributor:The National Geographic Society
Keywords: Tanzania, Jane Goodall, primatology, chimpanzees
Finzan (Videocassette : 107 min. ) [1989]
V. CASS. VHS 1560
Abstract: Tells the story of two women's rebellion. Nanyuma, a young widow, refuses her brother-in-law, the village fool, when he asserts his traditional right to 'inherit' her. Fili, a young girl sent from the city by her conservative father, is brutally circumcised by the village women who are scandalized that she resists the age-old custom.
Director: Cheick Oumar Sissoku Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Mali, women, marriage, ritual, feature film
Forbidden Fruit (Videocassette : 30 min. ) [2000]
V. CASS. VHS 6838
Abstract: Zimbabwean filmmaker Sue Maluwa Bruce breaks long held taboos about sexual identity and lesbian love in African society.
Director: Sue Malawa Bruce Distributor:Women Make Movies
Keywords: Zimbabwe, lesbianism, social relations
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
Gacaca: Living Together Again in Rwanda? (Videocassette : 55 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8154
Abstract: In 1994, decades of politically motivated ethnic scapegoating culminated in a wholesale slaughter of the Rwanda's Tutsi minority, along with many Hutu moderates. Today, Rwanda is rebuilding, but its most difficult task is addressing the emotional trauma and fostering reconciliation between the Hutu and Tutsi. This film follows the first steps in one of the world's boldest experiments in reconciliation: the Gacaca Tribunals. These are a form of citizen-based justice based on ancient traditions of judgment, aimed at unifying this scarred nation.
Director: Anne Aghion Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films.
Keywords: Rwanda, Hutu, Tutsi, civil war, genocide, truth commissions, law, history
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
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
Greystoke: the Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (Videocassette : 112 min. ) [1984]
V. CASS. VHS 123 and VDISC 166
Abstract: An infant boy is raised to manhood among savage apes, living by his wits and the law of the jungle. He returns to society and tries to claim his inheritance of humanity and privilege.
Director: Hugh Hudson Distributor:Warner Home Video
Keywords: Tarzan, feature film
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
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
In Rwanda We Say: The Family that Does Not Speak Dies (Videocassette : 54 min. ) [2004]
V.CASS. VHS 8766
Abstract: Two years after the Gacaca tribunals, close to 16,000 genocide suspects, still untried, were released across the country. Having confessed to their crimes and having served the maximum sentence the Gacaca tribunals would eventually impose, perpetrators of genocidal violence are sent home to plow fields and fetch water alongside the people they victimized. In Rwanda We Say focuses on the release of one suspect, tracking the effect of his return on a tiny hillside hamlet. While the government's message of a 'united Rwandan family' permeates the language of the community, the imposed co-existence brings forth varying emotions, from numb acceptance to repressed rage.
Director: Anne Aghion Distributor:First Run/Icarus Films
Keywords: Rwanda, Hutu, Tutsi, civil war, genocide, law
In the Tall Grass (DVD : 57 min. ) [2006]
DVD7519
Abstract: In the Tall Grass tells the story of Rwanda's search for redemption after genocide as the country sits down to reckon with the horror in a network of informal, community courts called gacaca.
Director: J.Coll Metcalfe Distributor:NA
Keywords: Rwanda, gacaca, justice, genocide, law
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
Karmen Geei (Videocassette : 83 min. ) [2002]
V. CASS. VHS 7176
Abstract: Carmen in West Africa: Karmen escapes prison through her lesbian relationship with the warden. She then wrecks the marriage and career of a police corporal by making him her lover and co-conspirator in a smuggling ring. She abandons the corporal who, in a fit of jealous rage, stabs her. Like every Carmen, Karmen Gei is about the conflict between infinite desire for freedom and the laws, conventions, languages, the human limitations which constrain that desire. Since this is an African Carmen, freedom necessarily has a political dimension. Contains much singing and dancing.
Director: Joseph Gaï Ramaka Distributor:California Newsreel
Keywords: Senegal, lesbianism, gender, music, opera, feature film
Karmen Geei (DVD : 84 min. ) [2001]
DVD7547
Abstract: Like every Carmen, Karmen Gei is about the conflict between infinite desire for freedom and the laws, conventions, languages, the human limitations which constrain that desire. Since this is an African Carmen, freedom necessarily has a political dimension. The opening scene is set in a women's prison on Goree Island, site of the notorious slave castle. Karmen and the women in the prison use dance and music as a weapon of resistance against dehumanizing regimentation as has so often been the case throughout the African Diaspora.
Director: Joseph Gaï Ramaka Distributor:Kino Video
Keywords: Senegal, musical, opera, gender, lesbian and gay, feature film
Living with AIDS (DVD : 49 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5584
Abstract: In the third of his Living with... series, Sorious Samura works as an orderly in a hospital in Zambia , where the majority of the patients are HIV positive. Confronted on a daily basis with death, he describes his workplace as being like a frontline in a war zone. The staff works under horrendous conditions where protective gloves are a luxury and shrouds for the dead are stained with the blood of previous corpses. In this film, Samura exposes the untold story of AIDS -- how poverty and the complex nature of African culture and sexuality are hampering efforts to eradicate this horrifying disease. He meets characters like Joshua and Lawson who continue to practice unprotected sex despite their HIV positive status, and Precious and Nancy, AIDS orphans who fend for themselves in a world where sex 'flesh to flesh' pays well and offers an easy short term solution. Samura also meets heroines such as Bitonda, who at sixteen is in sole charge of her dying 14 year old brother, an AIDS orphaned cousin as well as her own child. After one month, Samura is left with the realization that for the war against HIV in Africa to be won, poverty, ignorance and African sexual attitudes have to be tackled head on. See also Living with Hunger, Living with Refugees and Living with Illegals.
Director: Sorious Samura, Claudio von Planta Distributor:Insight News Television
Keywords: Zambia, children, HIV/AIDS, journalism, orphans, health, medicine
Living with Illegals (DVD : 60 min. ) [2006]
DVD 8601
Abstract: In Living with Illegals, award-winning journalist Sorious Samura becomes an illegal immigrant. His journey is epic as he travels from Morocco into Europe through Spain and France, finally crossing the English Channel to Britain. Samura wants to understand the reality of being an illegal immigrant, so he lives in the exact same conditions and experiences the same gruelling hardships as his companions. The story begins in Northern Morocco, where hundreds of illegal immigrants live in forests waiting for their chance to break into the enclave of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Africa. All that separates them from Ceuta and Europe is a 50 km, 6 m fence, around which they camp. Huddled together in cold, flimsy tents and hounded by daily police raids, the immigrants struggle to survive with no food, money or peace of mind, but their determination to reach the promised land is unyielding. Samura meets Gus and Theo who have decided to swim around the fence and thus into Europe, an extremely dangerous method of entry which many have paid for with their lives. The next day, news arrives that only Theo made it to other side. Gus was captured. Samura leaves the Moroccan forest and meets with Theo in Ceuta. Together they try to earn some money parking cars. Samura soon discovers a derelict factory known as the 'Longhouse' where those on the run from immigration authorities live. The conditions are horrifying. For these people, the dream of Europe has already turned into a nightmare. Samura travels through several cities of mainland Spain where he begs, sleeps rough, performs odd jobs and learns inside tricks to survive as an immigrant. Through a 'connection man,' Samura crosses the Spanish/ French border, and onwards by train he reaches Calais. This is the hub for all immigrants trying to enter the UK. Samura is surprised to find living conditions and scenes of desperation as bad as those in Morocco. In the end, through astonishing circumstances, both Sorious and his companion Arick do reach their final destination. It has been an incredible journey, but was all the suffering really worth it? Living with Illegals is an extraordinary documentary. Offering unprecedented access and unique insights into the world of African illegal immigration, it raises important questions about the rights of individuals to seek a better life free of poverty and war. See also Living with Hunger, Living with Refugees and Living with AIDS.
Director: Sorious Samura Distributor:Insight News TV
Keywords: Morocco, Spain, Europe, immigration, unemployment, poverty, law, human rights
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
Man, God and Africa (DVD : 51 min. ) [1993]
DVD 8037
Abstract: While the media has focused on the violent history of South Africa, it has paid little attention to a social phenomenon of great importance. Some nine-million South African blacks live with a strong commitment to their religion, Pentecostal Christianity. Their faith has enabled them to survive appalling hardship and deprivation. Their religion is a blend of deep-rooted African traditions and the imported values of Christianity. This commitment could be a stabilizing force in the new South Africa. This film captures the joyous singing and rhythmic movement that is common to the various black churches. It shows the African influence on funerals, baptisms, and weddings. Through these ceremonies the churches foster a sense of community and pride at being black South African. Adherents cut across all social classes. One sees an educated civil rights lawyer practice centuries-old healing practices. We hear from representatives of the traditional Church hierarchy, such as Archbishop Tutu and Alan Boesack, who have a profound respect for the adaptation of Christianity to the African culture.
Director: Don Boyd Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: South Africa, religion, Pentecostal churches, ceremony
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
Nigeria's Oil War (DVD : 24 min. ) [2006]
DVD 8737
Abstract: The Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force is a well organized crime gang that has become a key player in the world's most strategically important industry -- oil. The vast Niger Delta holds an estimated three percent of the world's oil, and to the U.S., it's a vital alternative to the oilfields of the Middle East - worth $30 billion per year. The Force wants a share of this oil revenue for the people of the Niger Delta. As their leader, Al Haji Asari Dokubo, admitted in the film, the gang has brazenly stolen oil straight out of pipelines owned by some of the world's biggest multinationals. Called 'bunkering,' the practice is costing Western oil companies hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue each year. If gangs like the Force are threatened, they can disrupt Nigeria's oil supply with ease. This could lead to economic repercussions around the world. Not that the government of Nigeria seems overly concerned about cleaning up the industry, or using its massive oil wealth to help the people - some believe that they are the biggest gang of all. 'People have now gotten to the point where they don't believe anything that the government stands for,' Nigerian human rights lawyer Ledum Mittee says. 'Instead of the oil becoming a blessing, it now becomes a curse.'
Director: Mary Ann Jolley Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Nigeria, Niger River Delta, petroleum industry, insurgency, politics, government, economy
Nirgendwo in Afrika = Nowhere in Africa (DVD : 135 min. ) [2002]
DVD 2290
Abstract: The German Jewish Redlich family flees in 1938 to Kenya, where husband and lawyer Walter finds work as a manager on a farm. While his wife Jettel struggles with their new life and its challenges threaten their marriage, their once shy daughter Regina blossoms. The film follws their efforts to adjust to the different cultures around them and the challenges that they face during the War. After the War is over Walter is offered a position as a judge in Frankfurt. After so many years in Kenya, should he go back and will his family go with him?
Director: Caroline Link Distributor:MC One
Keywords: Germany, Kenya, Jews, settlers, WWII, Holocaust, feature film
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
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
Reasonable Man (A) (Videocassette : 103 min. ) [1999]
V. CASS VHS 8295
Abstract: This film tells the story of a city lawyer who defends a herdboy from rural Zululand. The herdboy is accused of murdering a one year old baby in the mistaken belief that he was killing an evil spirit known as the Tikoloshe. Dark secrets lie buried deep within the lawyer and on taking the case he enters aworld of witchcraft and mysticism in order to discover the truth about the killing, and himself.
Director: NA Distributor:Ster-Kinekor Home Entertainment
Keywords: South Africa, law, religion, feature film
Red Dust (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 110 min. ) [2004]
DVD 9029
Abstract: A political thriller set in a small South African town during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. Human rights lawyer Sarah Barcant must represent Alex Mpondo, a former political activist, who was held captive and sadistically tortured by a police officer under the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Director: Tom Hooper Distributor:HBO Video
Keywords: South Africa, apartheid, thriller, reconciliation, human rights, politics, feature film
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
Sisters in Law (DVD : 104 min. ) [2005]
DVD 5952
Abstract: In the little town of Kumba, Cameroon, there have been no convictions in spousal abuse cases for 17 years. But two women determined to change their community are making progress that could change the world. This fascinating, often hilarious documentary follows the work of State Prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba as they help women fight often-difficult cases of abuse, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent. Six-year-old Manka is covered in scars and has run away from an abusive aunt, Amina is seeking a divorce to put an end to brutal beatings by her husband, the pre-teen Sonita has daringly accused her neighbor of rape. With fierce compassion, the two feisty and progressive-minded women dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in fair measure, handing down stiff sentences to those convicted.
Director: Florence Ayisi, Kim Longinotto Distributor:Women Make Movies [www.wmm.com]
Keywords: Cameroon, children, domestic abuse, gender relations, justice system, law, rape, women, gender, family
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
These Girls Are Missing: The Gender Gap in Africa's Schools (DVD : 60 min. ) [1997]
DVD 8006
Abstract: Everybody knows this instinctively -- educate women and you will change society. Perhaps that's why in many African countries, fewer than 20% of girls ever enter a schoolroom, and across the continent, only one woman in three learns to read. It's not official policy. In fact, an international industry devoted to changing the status quo exists. Still the deck is stacked against African girls. How can a schoolgirl be such a threat to traditional concepts of appropriate gender roles and control of fertility? These Girls Are Missing offers small sets of stories, sharp glimpses into a few intimate relationships layered to mirror the complex reality: Nadouba and Bintu in their West African village, Taz and Patricia from elite St. Mary's Secondary School in Malawi, Ethel and her mother torn between village and the modern world, a relaxed and riotous conversation among a group of Malinke elders. Through knowing them, the audience grows to understand how deep cultural attitudes, more than economics, undermine the future of Africa's women. More provocative than prescriptive, this film aims to inspire reflection, argument and deeper understanding.
Director: Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Malawi, Malinke, women, education, gender
They Carry Their Families: A Village in Mauritania (DVD : 14 min. ) [1999]
DVD 8972
Abstract: Life in a rural village in Mauritania is hard on women. Tradition and Islamic religion are intertwined to reinforce strict gender roles. The husband is the protector and keeper; his word is law. While the men take their ease, the girls and women are off to the fields during the peanut planting and harvest season, walking five miles each way, and coming home with heavy burdens from the fields to prepare the family dinner. They carry the water, sweep the yard, wash the clothes, and care for the children. This short, beautifully filmed video captures succinctly the subservience of women, while at the same time remaining respectful of tradition and culture. There are no drugs, alcohol or loneliness in this kind of community, where family bonds are very strong. We hear from several young Peace Corps workers in the village who are hopeful that by educating and thereby widening the horizons of young women, eventually women will have more choices. From a Western perspective, the future of Africa depends on education and family planning.
Director: Ingo A. Zamperoni Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Mauritania, women, gender, religion, family, work, education
Tree of Our Forefathers, The (DVD : 53 min. ) [1994]
DVD 9405
Abstract: Follows a refugee family who has spent 10 years living in a refugee camp in Malawi as they make the return journey to their homeland in the Tete Province of Mozambique where they at last can pay proper respects to their dead under the village tree. During the 15-year civil war in Mozambique, one and a half million people fled to seek refuge in neighboring countries. There was no time for ceremonial leave-taking, no time to pay the proper respects to the dead. But in 1993, with the war finally over, the refugees began to return home. Licinio Azevedo's moving documentary is the story of one family's long journey back to seek the forefathers' atonement under the village tree. The film follows Alexandre Ferrao and his extended family as they toil home across a land emptied of people and littered with the twisted scrapmetal of warfare. At night, around the camp fire, the family recounts their experiences of the years in exile and their fears for what they might find when they finally reach home.
Director: Licinio Azevedo Distributor:Bull Frog Films
Keywords: Mozambique, refugees, emigration, immigration, funeral rites, ceremonies, civil war
Two Girls Go Hunting (Videocassette : 50 min. ) [1991]
V. CASS. VHS 3282
Abstract: The second program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. This film shows Duka and her friend, Gardi, as they prepare to marry men they have never met. The film follows the build-up to the marriages, from the all night vigil with girlfriends, to farewells when the brides are taken away at dawn to the village of their husband's family, the arrival in the villages and the preparation of the prospective brides for the ceremony by the mother-in-law. Part of the Hamar Trilogy. Other titles include: The Women Who Smile and Our Way of Loving.
Director: Chris Curling Distributor:Filmakers Library
Keywords: Ethiopia, Hamar, women, social conditions, marriage, gender, rites and ceremonies
Up in Smoke (Videocassette : 27 min. ) [2002]
V.CASS. VHS 8141
Abstract: Part of a series examining the issue of globalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. This segment looks at the country of Malawi in Southern African where tobacco is the major export crop, responsible for 70% of all export earnings. But dependence on tobacco crops and manipulation by the tobacco industry has stunted the economy of Malawi, and despite the diminished returns from tobacco growing, the government has increased the land under cultivation.
Director: Martin Otanez, Christopher Walker Distributor:Bullfrog Films
Keywords: Malawi, economic development, tobacco, farming
Wedding Camels (The) (Videocassette : 108 min. ) [1980]
V. CASS. VHS 2600/ DVD 8924
Abstract: An account of a marriage among the Turkana, a remote pastoral tribe of the dry thorn-country of northwestern Kenya. Shows the preparations for the wedding of the daughter of Lorang, one of the senior men of the region. Explores the quarrels and customs which surround the wedding. Shows the tensions that arise during bridewealth negotiations between the two families, and how these strain the old friendship between the bride's father and his future son-in-law. Part of Turkana Trilogy (see also Lorang's Way and Wife Among Wives). In Turkana with English subtitles. Also available in DVD format (DVD 8924).
Director: David and Judith MacDougall Distributor:University of California Extension Center for Media
Keywords: Kenya, Turkana, pastoralism, wedding, ritual, gender, marriage, family
Wedding Camels (The): A Turkana Marriage (Video Disc/Laser Vision : 108 min. ) [1976]
DVD 8924/ VHS 2600
Abstract: An account of a marriage among the Turkana, a remote pastoral tribe of the dry thorn-country of northwestern Kenya. Shows the preparations for the wedding of the daughter of Lorang, one of the senior men of the region. Explores the quarrels and customs which surround the wedding. Shows the tensions that arise during bridewealth negotiations between the two families, and how these strain the old friendship between the bride's father and his future son-in-law. Part of Turkana Trilogy (see also Lorang's Way and Wife Among Wives). In Turkana with English subtitles. Also available in videotape format (VHS 2600)
Director: David and Judith MacDougall. Distributor:Berkeley Media LLC
Keywords: Kenya, Turkana, marriage, gender, pastoralism, family, ritual
September 16, 2008: Geoffrey Nyarota
