The School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University, will host the 14th annual RUTV Documentary Film Festival, the evening of Friday 6 September, celebrating #RUMzansiFlava with uniquely South African stories and perspectives. The event, taking place at the Rhodes Theatre premieres five 24-minute documentaries titled Clone made cars, Dear friend, eCwecweni, I am Thandiwe and Inkciyo, all produced by the 2019 fourth-year television students as the culmination of their course. The documentaries are year-long projects which the fourth-year television students, film and edit themselves.
Under the title “Mzansi Flava” the documentaries showcase what it means to be a young South African, shaped by our past but with their own contemporary issues. Join the fourth-year television students as they take you on a journey – literally – from the sights and sounds of Johannesburg to Lusikisiki; to the exploration of identity, being in search of the truth and reflection.
Is your car really yours? In Clone made cars, Samantha Carolus and Lindelwe Ndamase immerse you into the motor vehicle industry where one thing is never in short supply: the stealing, cloning, making and corruption of selling ‘fake’ cars. This documentary explores the cloned and made car syndicate and the corruption within law enforcement which fuels it.
Writing a letter is a unique kind of intimacy. It takes care, time and thought, and captured visually in this poetic documentary by Tumelo Thamaga and Sinalo Tuku. Dear friend, is a film that greets the viewer with an abrupt and fierce jerk into the memories of two survivors of intimate partner violence. You are brought into the intimate psychology of two women and the fragmented and shadowed reality of intimate partner violence in same-sex relationships.
Some children are more equal than others. Despite it being 25 years since apartheid was abolished, not all have access to the basic education necessities they are entitled to. eCwecweni by Bongeka Gumede and Sipho Monakali aims to bring light to the struggles rural schools and their learners face and the lack of support from the government.
Beugené Green and Yolanda Mdzeke have created an honest and personal documentary delving into the life of 22-year old young woman who was adopted by a white South African-Australian family at the age of three months. Challenging our ideas of family and identity, Thandi Wiltshire proclaims to all that I am Thandiwe.
Inkciyo is the story of Zimkhita Kweza, who 11 years ago left her village in the Eastern Cape and the initiation school she so dearly loved. With her partner Nelisa Kom, she takes us back to revisit her past and starts questioning a cultural practice that has shaped her identity and leaves her wondering if she still agrees with all the teachings promoted there.
The evening promises to raise provoking questions and showcase the filming and editing techniques of these fourth-year television students.
Date: 6 September 2019, 7 for 7.30PM
Venue: Rhodes Theatre, Prince Alfred Street
Tickets: R30; available at the African Media Matrix (AMM) Prince Alfred Street. Also available at the Rhodes Theatre or from Fourth-Year Television students and at the doors.
For more information contact Paddy Donnelly at p.donnelly@ru.ac.za or 076 916 1166. Snacks and drinks will also be served.
