The Space Between

In that space between 

love and hate we find ourselves 

designing our art

- Refilwe Nkomo

Rough Musick

Multiple award winning artist and fellow Joule City resident, Gavin Krastin will be presenting Rough Musick  at the Theatre Arts Admin Collective in Observatory from 30 July to 3 August 2013. Rough Musick is a thought provoking piece which interrogates issues of whiteness and shame. Read more here

Bedazzled Boolz

Boolz
Photographs by Roger Young
Art Direction and Styling by Chloe Hugo-Hamman

Sixty Seven Minuts

While others where doing their 67 minuts in different ways by doing community service, goingto parties and.....and.....and.....UCT did it in a ''Bang'' artistic way by offering a series of a dance workshops over a week and to add on to it they have invited intellectuals from around the world the likes of Mr Vincent Mantsoe who presented his thoughts on religion and spirituality in dance excellent. His passion, energy and unapologetic approach is profound and important to our dance fraternity

 Mantsoe's work draws on traditional African dance forms with a contemporary approach from modern, ballet and Asian forms such as Tai Chi, Martial Art and other traditional dances he learned during his travels. In 2005 Mantsoe created his first company (Association Noa Cie-Vincent Mantsoe) based in France, and works with dancers from different cultural background.

This to me was a very fruitful initiative as I always worry and complian about the level of development of the arts in South Africa I wish that programs like this should take place every day and everywhere around the country.

In my view I think South Africa is heading to the right/great direction when it comes to African Contemporary Dance works. What we witnessed today starting from works of Chantal Cherry and her dancer (Lorin Sookool), Lisa Wilson (Thandile Mbatsha, Ellie Jacobs) and none other than Vincent Mantsoe. It was the greatest week ever where by you can witness the fact that it is worth becoming a Dance scholar and be read about etc....said Maxwell just before prsenting his paper is titled Beyond the "Museum" approach to the teaching of African Dance.

The UCT Confluence 7 Practical Workshops conducted by Mr. Maxwell Xolani Rani, Mr Vincent Mantsoe and Millicent Jonnie.

Censored

Last night at the opening of the Durban International Film Festival, Kahlil XT Qubeka's film Of Good Report was due to open the festival but didn't due to the Film and Publication Board's decision (under the Film and Publication Act of 1996) to not legalise it based on its content, which they deemed to have or portray child pornography. The act prohibits any representations of child pornography including simulations of child pornography even if the actors are over 18 years of age. The character of the 16 year old female learner is played by 23 year old Petronella Tshuma  and the film also stars Mothusi Magona as the obsessed and troubled teacher. DIFF subsequently took the decision to not screen another film in its place on the night out of respect for all the participants involved in the making of the film.

Of Good Report filmmakers on stage at DIFF: image courtesy of IndieWire

Of Good Report, which is the Eastern Cape born director's third full length feature film tells the story of a teacher's fatally obsessive affair with one of his pupils. He describes it as a story of "Little Red Riding Hood told from the wolf's perspective".  DIFF explains the story of the film:

A hypnotically engaging journey into the soul of a mentally troubled man. The trouble for Parker Sithole begins when he meets the undeniably gorgeous Nolitha Ngubane at a local tavern. Captivated by her beauty, an illicit affair ensues. However, there’s just one problem: Nolitha is one of Parker’s pupils and is just sixteen years old. Parker quickly spirals into a deep obsession that ultimately becomes violent and unquenchable

Of Good Report image courtesy of DIFF

In an interview with Variety magazine, Qubeka says:

"I intend to bring anarchy, mayhem and dissent to an industry I feel is a sleeping giant. I want to tear the whole rule book to shreds and say to younger filmmakers, “Let your soul pilot your endeavors. It’s okay to fail if you gave it your best shot.” I am an eternal optimist with a strong streak of narcissism."

Jahmil XT Qubeka image by Madelene Cronje courtesy of mg.co.za

In a dramatic evening, the filmmakers took to the stage with Qubeka himself having tape over his mouth shredded his ID in an act of defiance in front of the audience. His wife, Dr. Lwazi Manzi spoke to the crowd saying the following:

“Just because they (the FPB) don’t want to see it, does not mean it does not happen,” she said. “We shall not not talk about it. I am very proud of my husband, and the cast and crew. This is a pivotal day in the history of film in our country, one which will resonate in history.”

The decision by the FPB is troubling in its inability to recognsie the importance of telling stories that have social relevance and are imperative to the discourse around this very topical issue. It brings into question, the role of the artist and how we deal with very real societal problems.

The festival continues until 28 July 2013. 

After a while

One of my many loves... poetry. This is a simple one after a long week, reminding us always to plant our own gardens, can't wait for someone else to do what you need to do for yourself  #HAPPYFRIDAY

After a while – Veronica A. Shoffstall

After a while you learn

the subtle difference between

holding a hand and chaining a soul

and you learn

that love doesn’t mean leaning

and company doesn’t always mean security.

And you begin to learn

that kisses aren’t contracts

and presents aren’t promises

and you begin to accept your defeats

with your head up and your eyes ahead

with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child

and you learn

to build all your roads on today

because tomorrow’s ground is

too uncertain for plans

and futures have a way of falling down

in mid-flight.

After a while you learn

that even sunshine burns

if you get too much

so you plant your own garden

and decorate your own soul

instead of waiting for someone

to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure

you really are strong

you really do have worth

and you learn

and you learn

with every goodbye, you learn…

Spot the difference

 Take a look at this pictures and spot the difference 

The difference is that I I'm not in this picture........ LoL

It was real fun on choma s birth day wishing her all the best for her future and she may see many more to come hip hip hura hura boooooom