Film Screening @ Xarra & Capello’s opens in Newtown
The other day we went to Newtown to the coffee shop Kaldi’s next to Xarra Books to have some cake – they have the hugest cakes on offer in town! We were so chuffed to see another new restaurant/bar that’s opened in Newtown – the very sexy red and white CAPELLO’s where you can sip on a cocktail on a city pavement and just chillax. It’s been opened by…
two suave men with vision… Bob Mabena and Brian Baloyi. Make sure to get down there and enjoy the vibe.
In fact why not go TONIGHT? And while you’re there make sure to pop into Xarra and enjoy two short films by young director Akin Omotoso. It’s free and he’ll be there to talk about them afterwards with the audience…
It’s part of the 16/365 Campaign – Artists Say NO! to Violence Against Women and Children and it starts at 18h30.
Here’s the synopsis of the films:
The Kiss of Milk (1997)
17mins – follows Kumi, a young girl dealing with trauma. The film examines the ways she deals with the trauma of being raped. In her dealings one day she bumps into one of the men that raped her…
Rifle Road (2005)
11mins – follows the testosterone life of Shadow and his friends; their love for guns, boxing and violent movies. Then disaster strikes&.
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March 2006
If you haven’t yet been down to Xarra books on Mary Fitzgerald square – well here is your chance… it’s not just a bookshop, Xarra is about art, music, debate, life, thoughts and opinion and lots more…Every month XARRA has a range of activities open to the public. Right next door is a great coffee shop where you can grab a bite or drink and chill out on the pavement.
This month:
Wed 29th March (6.30PM): Book Launch of exiled Nigerian writer Chris Abani
Chris Abani was born in Nigeria. At the age of sixteen he published his first novel, for which he suffered severe political persecution. He went into exile in 1991, and has since lived in England and the United States. In addition to his works of fiction, he has written award-winning poetry and has captivated audiences all over the world with his saxophone. Together with Walter Mosely, he is strongly affiliated with PEN, an international organisation that campaigns for freedom of expression, extends literacy and promotes universal literature. He is currently an Associate Professor at the University of California, Riverside and also teaches in the MFA Program at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Chris has been in South Africa as guest author at The Time of The Writer’s Festival 2006.
Set in the swampy, but crazy and colourful city of Lagos, this dazzling novel tells the story of Elvis Oke, an Elvis impersonator who vigorously pursues his dream of escaping from the ghetto in which he lives.
The novel describes a multifaceted society that, while saturated with American film and pop culture, is entirely different from America. It is a society that is soaked through with the violence imposed by gender stereotyping and social protocol, neither of which has a clear origin or future. The book offers an unsettling, but unpatronising, view of a people without bearings, and of the ongoing struggle of the cultural intermediate.
Sat 1st April (3.30 PM): ‘Words Gone Two Soon’
Then there’s a tribute to Phaswane Mpe and Sello Duiker, two talented author’s who both died in their early 30’s. Tragic.
Book Launch accompanied by music and poetry performances in honour and in memory of two brilliant South African writers who tragically exited in their early 30’s. The impulse for the book arose from the sudden and shocking death of Phaswane Mpe and Kabelo Sello Duiker, two of South Africa’s most promising writers to emerge in the post-Apartheid era. While celebrating Mpe and Duiker, this anthology simultaneously provides a sample the work of their peers.
Speaking at Kabelo’ Sello Duiker’s funeral – but same holds true of Phaswane – Lewis Nkosi observed: “Writers who take their vocation seriously know how much blood and tears are spilled in the process of mastering the craft of writing. A lifetime is usually required to master the craft of writing; the miracle is that Sello (like Phaswane) should have achieved so much in such a short time; the tragedy is that his life (like Phaswane’s) was cut so brutally short when his best work (like Phaswane’s) probably, almost certainly, still lay ahead of him.”
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