I am wrapped in two blankets like a piece of chocolate inside a croissant. It is -1° outside. I can't remember the last time I saw, never mind felt, the sun. I intensely miss sunshine, not only for the warmth it brings but also for its ability to make people feel happier. Here we're all bulbs, hiding underneath layers of black cloth, waiting to bloom.
This lack of sunshine reminded me of a film a friend gave me a few years back, entitled That Evening Sun. Based on the short story I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down by William Gay, the imagery in the film reminds me of life at a slower pace, of cicadas, of sipping mojitos and not doing much because the heat is all-consuming. I'd like to be there, now, chilling with Abner Meecham on some porch and contemplating life in a strong southern accent.
According to the weather report, it is just going to get colder. Here's hoping that with the cold the wind stops, the rain becomes snow and the sun can finally peek from behind the clouds.
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Friday, 16 August 2013
Powerless
It was about 10 PM. The man walked across the street, wearing a black coat and carrying a small plastic bag in his right hand. I noticed him because no one walks here at night. Darkness threatens safety more than anything you could actually see.
Within the broad category of horror films there is a sub-genre focusing on home invasions. Think of films such as Panic Room, Funny Games, The Strangers or Inside, which share the common theme of someone inside being threatened by something/someone outside. Now, for most people this remains merely a type of horror movie, something to watch and then to forget.
Sadly, in South Africa home invasions are a very possible threat, with escalating violence attached to mere break-ins in recent years. I will not pretend to be an expert on the underlying social issues of the country, on whether race plays a role (or the size of the role) and on the occurrence and effect of home invasions in other countries. But I live in a house with two laser beams in the garden, an electric fence, an enormous black gate, slam-lock doors inside the house, burglar bars in front of all windows/doors and more keys than I have fingers.
And this is not because we bury ourselves underneath some irrational fear of everything outside of our walls. It is because I can't remember how many times people have broken into our house; it is because we have a community watch where people have radios and drive patrol through the neighbourhood because the police have proved incompetent at best; it is because 4 men where in our house and assured me they wouldn't rape me; it is because at night we treat traffic lights like yield signs; ultimately, it is because once the fear has taken hold it grows like a cancer and there is no cure in sight.
It shouldn't be strange for someone to walk home at night. I shouldn't always have think about keeping a good distance from other cars when I am stopping at a robot just in case I get smash-and-grabbed and need to escape. We shouldn't have to patrol our neighbourhood. The one should not be afraid of all that is other.
Yet I don't see anything changing soon, especially if the Rand keeps weakening, poverty keeps increasing, people cling to mistrust and the rainbow nation focuses more on sticking to its individual colours than to creating a beautiful whole. Sure, things are changing, we keep evolving as a young democracy, but it always seems to me as though the population is out in the wilderness somewhere, searching for a better life for all, whilst the politicians are like monkeys in a cage, throwing shit at one another.
I'll be moving to Germany soon, not to become some expat who keeps assuring everyone that 'leaving was the best thing I ever did' but who still clings to past illusions of this country. Rather, I am going to continue my studies, with no further plans. But it will be interesting to live in less fear. Here, I often hear myself saying: this is the way it is, so we live with it. This is not the way it should be. We are immensely privileged to live in such a diverse country, where both the nature and the people are astounding, and no one should be struggling this much for basic health services, basic education, basically feeling safe.
Within the broad category of horror films there is a sub-genre focusing on home invasions. Think of films such as Panic Room, Funny Games, The Strangers or Inside, which share the common theme of someone inside being threatened by something/someone outside. Now, for most people this remains merely a type of horror movie, something to watch and then to forget.
Sadly, in South Africa home invasions are a very possible threat, with escalating violence attached to mere break-ins in recent years. I will not pretend to be an expert on the underlying social issues of the country, on whether race plays a role (or the size of the role) and on the occurrence and effect of home invasions in other countries. But I live in a house with two laser beams in the garden, an electric fence, an enormous black gate, slam-lock doors inside the house, burglar bars in front of all windows/doors and more keys than I have fingers.
And this is not because we bury ourselves underneath some irrational fear of everything outside of our walls. It is because I can't remember how many times people have broken into our house; it is because we have a community watch where people have radios and drive patrol through the neighbourhood because the police have proved incompetent at best; it is because 4 men where in our house and assured me they wouldn't rape me; it is because at night we treat traffic lights like yield signs; ultimately, it is because once the fear has taken hold it grows like a cancer and there is no cure in sight.
It shouldn't be strange for someone to walk home at night. I shouldn't always have think about keeping a good distance from other cars when I am stopping at a robot just in case I get smash-and-grabbed and need to escape. We shouldn't have to patrol our neighbourhood. The one should not be afraid of all that is other.
Yet I don't see anything changing soon, especially if the Rand keeps weakening, poverty keeps increasing, people cling to mistrust and the rainbow nation focuses more on sticking to its individual colours than to creating a beautiful whole. Sure, things are changing, we keep evolving as a young democracy, but it always seems to me as though the population is out in the wilderness somewhere, searching for a better life for all, whilst the politicians are like monkeys in a cage, throwing shit at one another.
I'll be moving to Germany soon, not to become some expat who keeps assuring everyone that 'leaving was the best thing I ever did' but who still clings to past illusions of this country. Rather, I am going to continue my studies, with no further plans. But it will be interesting to live in less fear. Here, I often hear myself saying: this is the way it is, so we live with it. This is not the way it should be. We are immensely privileged to live in such a diverse country, where both the nature and the people are astounding, and no one should be struggling this much for basic health services, basic education, basically feeling safe.
Wednesday, 24 July 2013
In my city
I recently discovered Humans of New York. Now there's even a Humans of Pretoria. Although I think we are a bit of a conservative bunch, and not as willing to play with the way we look.
This is a trailer for Everybody Street, a (you guessed it) street photography documentary.
Everybody Street Trailer from ALLDAYEVERYDAY on Vimeo.
This is a trailer for Everybody Street, a (you guessed it) street photography documentary.
Everybody Street Trailer from ALLDAYEVERYDAY on Vimeo.
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Typewriter Tip, Tip Tip
My mom and I had to run some errands, but if my grandmother had tagged along it would have taken foooooorever. So I asked if she wanted to watch a film while we were gone. Her options were The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (turns out everyone over 40 has seen it), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (no), Friend with Kids (no) and Moonrise Kingdom (ok). I was very happy that in the end she chose Moonrise Kingdom, because I will admit to riding the hipster bandwagon that is liking everything Wes Anderson does.
One of my favourite movies will always be The Darjeeling Limited (this posts title is from this song that is featured in the film) because Anderson has the ability to immerse the viewer in a world that is strange, wonderful and magical while also relating to the instability, turmoil and love present in all human relationships. It is as though one is watching one's own family drama, told through a much more beautiful lens.
Spoke Art has curated a series of posters called "Bad Dads" A Wes Anderson tribute, and they are all equally wonderful and strange.
One of my favourite movies will always be The Darjeeling Limited (this posts title is from this song that is featured in the film) because Anderson has the ability to immerse the viewer in a world that is strange, wonderful and magical while also relating to the instability, turmoil and love present in all human relationships. It is as though one is watching one's own family drama, told through a much more beautiful lens.
Spoke Art has curated a series of posters called "Bad Dads" A Wes Anderson tribute, and they are all equally wonderful and strange.
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| Jessica Deahl, I Promise I'll Never Be Your Friend |
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| Fernando Reza, Go Mordecai |
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| Derek Gabryszak, Something Fantastic |
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| Derek Eads, I'm a Little Bit Lonely These Days |
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| DKNG, The Films of Wes Anderson |
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| Dave Perillo, Khaki Scouts |
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| Ibraheem Youssef, Suzy |
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| Stefan Fahler, Sharked |
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| Randy Ortiz, We Got the Tail, but We Missed the Fox |
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Everything but the sky (Reprise)
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| Jacob Israel and A Skyline on Fire and the screen, by Thorsten Grahl |
I'm not a fan of silent film, and I am not hipster enough to lie about it. However, when Open Window decided to show Murnau's Sunrise with a modern-day soundtrack by Jacob Israel and A Skyline on Fire, well, then my inner cool kid yearns to add some points onto my hipster chart. I might not have Instagram, shop at the Neighbourgood's Market or ride around on a bicycle from the 1970s, but I can borrow a camping chair to watch a silent film made not-so-silent.
Man, it was cool. Unexpectedly cool. Sometimes I felt as though the music didn't exactly match the action in the film, but perhaps that was the idea. The electro and often unintelligible, Bon Iver-like singing by A Skyline on Fire worked well with the film because it made one pay attention to what was happening on screen in order to see if Israel's music matched. If it had been just a silent film screening, chances are I would've snuggled deeper under my blanket and fallen asleep. But here the waiting for what sound would come next, and how would it match up with Murnau's film, made everything very exciting. Here is the statement by the artists:
In 2011, the iMPAC film festival approached us to write and perform a modernised score for the 1927 silent film, "Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans". The exciting possibilities of such an exercise, and the wine we were enjoying at the time, got the better of us, and we agreed to it. What followed was a month worth of planning, worrying, and file sharing. Everything culminated in a week of frantic writing and recording (sometimes concurrently), and a single rehearsal 2 hours before the film screened at the festival (this was also the first time that we watched the entire film while performing, instead of single snippets).
Songs For Sunrise is the edited version of the score, tidied into stand-alone songs. We tried to cast a wide net with the sounds in this album, trying to capture as much of the gamut of human emotion that film so effortlessly ran through. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them. - A Skyline On Fire & Jacob Israel
The Songs for Sunrise soundtrack is available as a free download here, and A Skyline on Fire has made their first album available for mahala as well if you click this.
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| Hipsters in attendance |
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Je me lâche
We went to a Caribbean/Spanish film festival once, but the only screening we could attend was entitled Miranda. Not really knowing what it was about, we spent three hours watching some obscure Venezuelan general recount from prison his rise and fall from greatness. It seemed like a South American version of Napoleon, mixed in with a bit of The Count of Monte Cristo. When we left it had not nearly finished and we felt like we deserved three hours of our lives back.
Another time we (haha, a different we) went to see Ping Pong Bath Station at the 2010 Japanese Film Festival, and it was a great night. The film is about a Japanese housewife who feels ignored by her husband and teenage son and returns to the hot-spring resort where they spent their honeymoon. She finds it neglected and creates a ping-pong event to attract new visitors to the area.
The next year we went to see Kamome Diner about a Japanese lady that opens a traditional diner in Finland and her encounters with two other Japanese ladies and the Finns who don't enter her diner. After the film ended, employees from the embassy handed out these enormous rice balls with salmon at the centre, which the ladies in the film make constantly. I'm not very much into fish but it was cool walking out and smelling what one had seen being made in the film.
Another time we went to a Canadian screening of Saint Ralph about a boy who believes that if he can win the Boston marathon his mother will awaken from her coma and he won't have to become an orphan. I appreciated the not-so-seriousness and lack of grand effects because the films we have to watch at university are [intense] and often uncomfortable. Those being screened at cinemas are usually blockbusters laden with all sorts of crash/boom/bang additions.
Now, the opportunity presents itself to visit another, this time in French.
French films will be screened at Brooklyn's Nouveau from the 10-12 August, but there are sessions in Cape Town, Joburg, P.E. and Durban as well.
Here is the link to the program. I've read and seen Love lasts three years, by Frédéric Beigbeder, about how after three years your wife leaves you and you start writing a book about it. It is an easy-watching rom-com type of movie.
I'm thinking The Intruder, 35 shots of rum, Declaration of War... Well, all of them, really. One shouldn't say no to free cinema.
Another time we (haha, a different we) went to see Ping Pong Bath Station at the 2010 Japanese Film Festival, and it was a great night. The film is about a Japanese housewife who feels ignored by her husband and teenage son and returns to the hot-spring resort where they spent their honeymoon. She finds it neglected and creates a ping-pong event to attract new visitors to the area.
The next year we went to see Kamome Diner about a Japanese lady that opens a traditional diner in Finland and her encounters with two other Japanese ladies and the Finns who don't enter her diner. After the film ended, employees from the embassy handed out these enormous rice balls with salmon at the centre, which the ladies in the film make constantly. I'm not very much into fish but it was cool walking out and smelling what one had seen being made in the film.
Another time we went to a Canadian screening of Saint Ralph about a boy who believes that if he can win the Boston marathon his mother will awaken from her coma and he won't have to become an orphan. I appreciated the not-so-seriousness and lack of grand effects because the films we have to watch at university are [intense] and often uncomfortable. Those being screened at cinemas are usually blockbusters laden with all sorts of crash/boom/bang additions.
Now, the opportunity presents itself to visit another, this time in French.
French films will be screened at Brooklyn's Nouveau from the 10-12 August, but there are sessions in Cape Town, Joburg, P.E. and Durban as well.
Here is the link to the program. I've read and seen Love lasts three years, by Frédéric Beigbeder, about how after three years your wife leaves you and you start writing a book about it. It is an easy-watching rom-com type of movie.
I'm thinking The Intruder, 35 shots of rum, Declaration of War... Well, all of them, really. One shouldn't say no to free cinema.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Don't say no,no,no,no. Just say yeah yeah yeah...
Now this is the way to a girl's heart: graffiti. ( this one via the Laughing Squid)
The wall was later updated with a little "she said YES!". Yay for happy marriages.
Great graffiti always makes me want to grab a spray-can and go out into the streets. After I saw Exit through the Gift Shop, a friend and I defaced some of the political party posters ( at that time the country was nearing some kind of vote, I am guessing for local government? As in the area one lives in, not national government). I accept that that was quite lame, but fun none the less.
South Africa is not really synonymous with graffiti, and my best guess is that because we no longer really live in the cities, but in suburbia, there is no real graffiti. I know in Cape Town and Joburg there are a couple of artists though ( like Faith47, who features in the film The Creators about artists in SA). But in Pretoria? I haven't seen anything. Perhaps in other parts of the city?
I'll have to look into graffiti here some more, it seems like an interesting topic for weekend excursions.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Planified
I like planning. I draw up lots of lists where I can cross to-do-things off when they are done. I like it when people do things on time. In general, I like it when things that I can control are organised, so that the things I can't control can be dealt with without having to worry about what I should have or could have done. That made more sense in my mind than when I wrote it down. In any case, today was just a slightly frustrating day from an administrative point of view and nothing worked out like I had planned it. And then, wham bam, the saving grace: Starbuck.
This week is Francophonie week, which is why the Alliance Francaise hosted different films from various French-speaking countries all week. Tomorrow is the closing ceremony, with dance and a Jazz Band, if you are in the area...
Tonight's film is Canadian (from Quebec), from 2011, and revolves around David Wozniak, who donated lots ( and I mean lots and lots and lots) of sperm when he was in his 20s, but now, a loser who works for his father as a meat-delivery guy and who somehow got sidetracked in his life, is faced with being the father of 533 children, 142 of whom want to meet him.
It sounds a bit soppy and bla bla, but it really was enjoyable. The last film I saw at the cinema was Black Swan, and in between I cannot remember what I've watched at home. Either the movies are super intricate and a complete mind-fuck, or they are some fuck-buddy-turned-real-love story.
By comparison, this was a perfect mix between a 'human' story, where there is some hope that we are all connected and love one another, and romance, and rooting for the underdog. I am making it sound worse, rather than better. See it.
This week is Francophonie week, which is why the Alliance Francaise hosted different films from various French-speaking countries all week. Tomorrow is the closing ceremony, with dance and a Jazz Band, if you are in the area...
Tonight's film is Canadian (from Quebec), from 2011, and revolves around David Wozniak, who donated lots ( and I mean lots and lots and lots) of sperm when he was in his 20s, but now, a loser who works for his father as a meat-delivery guy and who somehow got sidetracked in his life, is faced with being the father of 533 children, 142 of whom want to meet him.
It sounds a bit soppy and bla bla, but it really was enjoyable. The last film I saw at the cinema was Black Swan, and in between I cannot remember what I've watched at home. Either the movies are super intricate and a complete mind-fuck, or they are some fuck-buddy-turned-real-love story.
By comparison, this was a perfect mix between a 'human' story, where there is some hope that we are all connected and love one another, and romance, and rooting for the underdog. I am making it sound worse, rather than better. See it.
Friday, 27 January 2012
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Vir Schoemanstraatslette en ander inwoners *
My friend Berdene features in the following videos, which are part of Webfest's finalists.
Vote for her if you like it:
- Car Guarded
- Devil in a Fishtank
The first year I was studying here I was constantly comparing the city to the one's I had lived in in Europe. But one must realize that Pretoria is far removed from the socio-cultural activities that happen in big metropolitan cities and that here, there are different things to experience. You cannot hope to relive Paris in Pretoria. But you can embrace what this city is trying to offer.
As already blogged about, the Pretoria Stadstapper Fotoklap ( read more here and here), aims to experience different neighbourhoods and to explore them with their cameras.
Also, Capital Arts is another venture to bring art back into the city.
Recently, they hosted the Capital Arts in the Park, where one could get together at Magnolia Dell park and look at the exhibited pieces while enjoying a soft serve. Although I did not appreciate any of the art that much, I did enjoy going somewhere a little different and watching all the people.
There is even a blog dedicated to happenings in Pretoria: IlovePretoria.
What else is there to do here? Ah yes, Park Acoustics.
I know there is a lot more going on in the city that I am not aware of, and that if one resists the urge to constantly compare this city to other capitals in the world, one will find that there is still a lot to do here other than sitting at home watching the rugby, having a braai or washing one's car.
* for Schoemanstreetsluts and other residents
Vote for her if you like it:
- Car Guarded
- Devil in a Fishtank
The first year I was studying here I was constantly comparing the city to the one's I had lived in in Europe. But one must realize that Pretoria is far removed from the socio-cultural activities that happen in big metropolitan cities and that here, there are different things to experience. You cannot hope to relive Paris in Pretoria. But you can embrace what this city is trying to offer.
As already blogged about, the Pretoria Stadstapper Fotoklap ( read more here and here), aims to experience different neighbourhoods and to explore them with their cameras.
Also, Capital Arts is another venture to bring art back into the city.
Recently, they hosted the Capital Arts in the Park, where one could get together at Magnolia Dell park and look at the exhibited pieces while enjoying a soft serve. Although I did not appreciate any of the art that much, I did enjoy going somewhere a little different and watching all the people.
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| At Magnolia Dell , October 2011 |
There is even a blog dedicated to happenings in Pretoria: IlovePretoria.
What else is there to do here? Ah yes, Park Acoustics.
I know there is a lot more going on in the city that I am not aware of, and that if one resists the urge to constantly compare this city to other capitals in the world, one will find that there is still a lot to do here other than sitting at home watching the rugby, having a braai or washing one's car.
* for Schoemanstreetsluts and other residents
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