Inja Yomlungu (White Man’s Dog)
South Africa 2006 55min Subtitles
Dir: Sipho Singiswa
What makes a white man treat a dog better than he treats another human being? In the days of apartheid, the white man’s dogs were used to inspire fear. Before he was incarcerated on Robben Island, Sipho had a dog called Duke. He remembers being devoted to the dog, but ponders if they were ever as close as some of his white friends are to their dogs. So he sets out to explore the reasons behind the difference in attitude. He interviews white dog owners, a tribal elder on dog ownership, and attends dog psychology classes with middle class white housewives and their pooches. As this amusing exploration unfolds, it transpires that, while in the past dogs were utilised for more sinister reasons, today the relationships reflect a crack in the sociology of whites.
Product of Encounters Laboratory 2004
Screens with The Heart of Whiteness
JOHANNESBURG SAT 22 8.15pm
CAPE TOWN SUN 30 8.15pm FRI 4 8.45pm
The Heart of Whiteness
South Africa 2006 50min Subtitles
Dir: Rehad Desai
Determined to find out what white identity means to whites – and why social segregation remains important – the filmmaker strikes out on a road trip across South Africa with a light spirit and an enquiring mind. His mission: to find and talk to those white South Africans who are so terrified of being swamped by Africa that they purposely isolated themselves from all races in a town called Orania. From the very onset, until he is standing next to the sculpture of a in the heart of Orania, Desai gently challenges the ordinary whites he meets, be they teachers or janitors, English middle-class or Afrikaans farmers. They are friendly and personable, yet invariably each clings fearfully to the trappings of their identity and their entrenched views with resigned bitterness.
Product of Encounters Laboratory 2004
Screens with Imja Yomlungu
JOHANNESBURG SAT 22 8.15pm
CAPE TOWN SUN 30 8.15pm FRI 4 8.45pm
Different Pigment
South Africa 2006 48min Subtitles
Dir: Omelga Mthiyane
When we fi rst meet Alex ‘Mjy’ Botha he is, apart from the colour of his skin, a 25 year old Zulu. He speaks the language fluently, lives in Lindelani township with the Gumedes and is in the process of negotiating lobola for the 16 year old love of his life whose name, Thandeka, he has tattooed on his throat. The lobola is fi nalised and Mjy eagerly throws himself into the process, providing gifts and goats, and building a room at his mother in law’s house. The next time we see them, they are married, but the sincere Mjy is gone and the s’gebengu Alex has taken his place. Alex works in a gentleman’s club while his prize, the confused and angry Thandeka, lives in East London with his sister and his son.
Screens with Men Of Gold
JOHANNESBURG SAT 22 6.15pm
CAPE TOWN SUN 30 5.30pm SAT 5 5.15pm
Men of Gold
South Africa 2006 54min
Dir: Vincent Moloi
In this fascinating portrait of Leonard Johnson, the history of Johannesburg is turned on its head. Cluttered with hawkers, and no longer lit with the magic of Christmas lights, Jozi’s streets tell a different story. Leonard and Arthur have left behind their life of privilege to hustle on the streets, selling jewellery, fixing shop tills, begging from passers-by and making enough for their daily hit of Their friendship is all they have and they joyfully acknowledge that they are just centimetres from hitting rock bottom. But when Arthur goes missing, although he makes an attempt to find him, Leonard resolutely sticks to his routine. Johannesburg was the City of Gold, but now the fake gold in this city is a means to an end for a poor, white hustler spouting his warped wisdom on the street.
Product of Encounters Laboratory 2004
Screens with Different Pigment
JOHANNESBURG SAT 22 6.15pm
CAPE TOWN SUN 30 5.30pm SAT 5 5.45pm