Democracy. Your Voice, Your Video.
CALL FOR ENTRY!! It’s Simple: You need to be over 18 and have an opinion on democracy… Your video needs to complete the phrase ‘Democracy is…’, it needs to be no longer than 3 minutes and it must be submitted before the 31 January 2009 onto the Youtube documentary challenge site. It can be in animation, documentary, live action, fiction or narrative style, it must be in English or with English subtitles and you can only submit ONE entry. HOW SIMPLE IS THAT??? Excited? And you don’t even know who it’s for yet or what the (amazing) prize is? (read all the smallprint/rules here and some more info below and… get going…) The Prize: * An all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., New York and Hollywood. * Gala screenings of the winning videos in Hollywood, New York and Washington * Exposure to filmmakers and the U.S. film and television industry. * Meetings with democracy advocates from government, media and civil society. The Winners: # Seven winners – one each from the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Middle East/North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South & Central Asia, East Asia/Pacific and one anonymous winner – will be announced in mid-June 2009. # In October 2009, the six publicly identified winners, one from each of the six geographic regions, will travel to the United States to claim their prize. How will my video be judged? Your video will be judged on overall impact, creativity and production values. If your video is selected as a finalist, it will compete against other videos from your region in a global online vote to determine the winner. A full explanation of the judging process can be found in the contest rules. Who is running the competition? It’s run by the United States Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, supported by numerous partners including the United Nations… SO get thinking… AND GET FILMING… More info: The Democracy Video Challenge, a global call to action celebrating democracy, launched today during International Democracy Day at the United Nations. The Challenge invites citizens from around the world to create short videos that complete the phrase: “Democracy is…” in an effort to enhance the global dialogue on democracy. The Democracy Video Challenge is a new effort supported by a unique partnership comprised of democracy and youth organizations, the film and entertainment industry, academia, and the U.S. government. Richard Engel, NBC’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, served as Master of Ceremonies for the contest’s global launch. (Partners represented at the launch are listed below.) “Film is a window into our common humanity – the challenges and joys that make up the universal human experience – no matter...
Africa is a Country in New York
We came across a fabulara blog while cruising through our usual info superhighways and byways…called Africa is a Country – it’s an “irreverent take on the US and the way it covers Africa in the media”. It’s put together by Sean Jacobs, a South African living in Brooklyn, New York – he says it’s mainly about: Western media references to events and happenings in South Africa. But it is more than that. The topics I care about are my personal obsessions: films, music, art, books, politics, sports. Because of the way the Southern African region is integrated (with South Africa acting like the regional hegemon), the blog will also weigh in how Botswana (it hardly gets any Western coverage), Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia are covered in Western media.’ But even more interesting than that: “At the same the site will also go on occasionally about my experiences as an African immigrant living in New York City (and Ann Arbor) with my wife and daughter.” And bringing it to you fresh from the big apple, Sean has published a great video Blog aka vlog entitled ‘African in Brooklyn’ where he chats to Botswanan ‘DJ Stone’ aka Ketshidile Tiro Matale at the infamous ‘Madiba‘s’ restaurant. They talk about being an African in New York and Tshidi plays some homegrown tracks that have influenced him and that he spins at Madiba’s to rock the house. WATCH IT NOW here… and get...
Film fra Sør – Films from the South
Sharpile to Mzansi Madame for the heads up on the ‘Films from the South’ movie festival happening this week in Oslo, Norway, that features four movies from Southern Africa including the much-talked about Jerusalema that’s being entered for an Oscar for Foreign Film. Looks like an outstanding platform to show your films so keep working and let’s get ’em in next year! If you know of any other overseas festivals that call for African entries, please shout! See the four films below: Darling – The Pieter Uys Story,’Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story provides an insight into Uy’s life as a comedian and provocateur.’ Sleepwalking Land – Mozambique- ‘Sleepwalking Land is a sweet and heart-warming story of friendship and painful memories too hard to bear.’ Disgrace starring John Malkovich – ‘ adaptation of Nobel Prize winner J. M. Coetzee’s novel’ Without the King – Swaziland – Without the King tells the story of Swaziland – where the last absolute monarch in Africa rules over what is one of the world’s poorest...
Kwani Experience back in Europe
Seems like just the other day we let you know that one of our SA’s finest jazzy/hiphop grooving bands, Kwani Experience, was on their way to Holland, France and Belgium (via Zim!) to make friends; looks like the overseas connections are paying off as they pack their bags for a much more Northerly destination, Norway…BonVoyage … Represent! Acclaimed Jozi-band, Kwani Experience is off to Norway and is set to turn heads, hearts and minds upside down during a 10-day exchange program in Oslo, 15 to 24 October 2008. Bridge The Gap The popular band has been chosen by Off The Hook Production to front the project BRIDGE THE GAP, which will see the band collaborating with musicians, dancers and singers in Norway. Activities in Norway Kwani Experience will do workshops and performances in Oslo and also do rehearsals with dancers in a stage production called “Afro-Euro” which will later go on a tour in South Africa. Ambassadors with attitude – Kwani Experience is a great ambassador for the contemporary young pulse of South Africa, says Project Director, Brother Buntu. – They push boundaries and represent both traditions, fusion and experimentation. Kwani brings together the past, present and future through their eclectic style and appeal to young people with their “I-define-myself” attitude. Fearless musicians The 6-piece live-band brings together jazz, soul, hip-hop and African traditional sounds fused with a message of inspiration and rootedness. In South Africa they have been hailed as an innovative group of fearless musicians, providing the soundtrack for a soul-searching generation in “the new South Africa”. Their two releases, “The Mudaland Funk” (2005) and “Live After Birth” (2007) have become landmarks in contemporary South African music, and through their tours to many countries they have grown a large following around the world. Partnerships Kwani Experience will be hosted by Nordic Black Theatre in Norway and work and meet with many artists based in and around Oslo. The program is a partnership initiated and coordinated by Off The Hook Productions in South Africa, and the exchange is funded by MMINO. About the project and the stake holders: BRIDGE THE GAP Bridge The Gap is an exchange program between artists from South Africa and Norway. The program seeks to merge different expressions, genres and styles through workshops, collaborative performances and rehearsals. From 15 to 24 October, South African band Kwani Experience will be in Norway to do performances, workshops and collaborations with artists based in Oslo. Part of the program is dedicated to rehearsals for a co-production called “Afro-Euro” which will later tour in South Africa. The exchange is coordinated by Off The Hook Production in South Africa...
MAMAs nominees – MTV BASE
The website is gorgeous, the range of Pan-African musicians nominated cuts across genres and (stale) stereotypes (no longer relevant in today’s futureforward music industry) and the best part of all, you, the fan, get to vote for your favourite African artists online… SO GET CLICKING ASAP… We’re impressed with the first taste of the MTV Mama’s that will take place on the 22nd November 08 in Abuja, Nigeria… Our only confusing question is how the hell did Coldplay, Alicia Keys and Rihanna make this list??? Maybe it cuts across continents too… Here’s the official PR: MTV Networks Africa have announced the contenders for the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain (MAMA). The nominations for the inaugural pan-African music awards ceremony were revealed at a VIP soirée at Planet One, Lagos, Nigeria by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa and Norman Moyo, Chief Marketing Officer, Zain Nigeria, in the presence of nominees D’Banj, Wahu, DJ Cleo and Naeto C. Selected by an independent voting ‘academy’ of 150 music professionals and opinion formers from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the nominations for the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain showcase the wealth of musical talent that Africa has to offer, and provide the ultimate vehicle for young Africans to salute the African and international artists that rock their worlds. Heading the nominee list with 5 ‘nods’ from the MAMA nominations academy are Nigerian R&B duo P-Square (Best Group, Best Live Performer, Best R&B, Best Video and Artist of the Year), closely followed by triple nominees D’Banj (Nigeria) and HHP (South Africa), who go head-to-head in the Best Male and Artist of the Year categories. Wahu (Kenya) and Asa (Nigeria) share the honours as the most nominated female artists with two nominations each for Wahu (Best New Act, Best Female) and Asa (Best Female, Artist of the Year). Topping the country roll of honour with 18 individual nominations is South Africa, closely followed by Nigeria (16 nominations). Kenyan artists scored three nominations: Jua Cali for Best Male and Wahu for Best New Act & Best Female. Ghanaian artists were recognised in two categories: Best Live Performance (Samini) and Best New Act (Kwaw Kese), while Mozambique, Gabon, Tanzania and Uganda all scored one nominee with recognition for Professor Jay (Tanzania), East Africa Bashment Crew (Uganda), Movaizhaleine (Gabon) and Dama do Bling (Mozambique). US, and European artists are represented in three categories with nods to Akon, Rihanna and Alicia Keys for Best R&B, while rappers The Game and Lil Wayne both feature in Best Hip Hop. Prominent in the Best Alternative category are British rockers Coldplay, competing...
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