Father Geek here with the LAST of the catch up columns from last week. Once again I'm sorry they were delayed, it just couldn't be helped... but before we move on to Dr. SOTHA's column for last Friday here's a report that may interest you that found its way to Father Geek's PC recently...

Samantha Mumba is set to become one of the biggest stars
in Hollywood after receiving three new movie offers.

Sexy Sam, 18, has been offered the lead role in each three upcoming
films in the States. The singer could net anything up to $10million
from the films and would make her one of the biggest names in
Hollywood.

The star told Paul Martin: "I'm looking at three film offers and
haven't decided what to do yet. It's still early days to a certain
extent but I'm thrilled with the interest that I'm getting. A year
ago who would have guessed that I would be talking about being in the
movies? It's quite scary."

Samantha has already made a big impression in the movie business
after starring as the female lead in Steven Spielberg's The Time
Machine.

She spent nine months in Los Angeles filming and is now set to return
to the States for most of next year to start work on her new
projects.

Sam added: "The problem is mixing the singing and acting
responsibilities. But I can't complain because this time a year ago
nobody knew me in America and I had never even acted in one scene of
a movie."

A Fellow Redhead

That bit was sent in by a reader in Dublin, Ireland who found it over at ShowBizIreland's site. Now on to SOTHA, Rigobert Song, and that pert little head nurse, Ms. Hollis

DR.SOTHA here, and the African film industry is catching a tan at the beach during Spring Break. As you will see below, not a hell of a lot going on. I’ve even resorted to watching Nurse Hollis do bland femme fatale impressions (she just doesn’t understand the concept of sex as a weapon) for entertainment. Nevertheless, the show must go on, some interesting news items to catch up on.

If you have a Nurse who can do real femme-fatale impressions during boring spring breaks, email me her portfolio at africaaicn@hotmail.com

Nurse Hollis, at least pout dangerously…

SOUTH AFRICA

* The official launch of the 40 films comprising the Steps of the Future AIDS project will be held in Cape Town's Baxter Theatre on 10 November, just prior to the upcoming Sithengi film and television market. Almost all of the films will be completed by then and ready for viewing (a total of 12 hours worth). A special "Steps" train will run from Johannesburg to Cape Town carrying filmmakers, protagonists, TV crews, journalists and musicians on 8 November.

* Together We Can: South Africa's Youth Against Aids, produced by award-winning South African company Synergy Films, has received the RAI-FAO Special Award at this year's Prix Italia Festival. Synergy Films producer / director Jacqueline Fox received the RAI-FAO Special Award and was the first South African producer ever to receive an award at such a distinguished event. Paolo Fabbri, President of the Jury said: "Together We Can brought a different and commendable voice to the fight against AIDS. It drew attention to the scale of the disaster but did not concentrate on images of death, or statistics. It was clearly produced on a more limited budget than many of the programmes entered but nonetheless embraced all elements of the problem, in hospitals, orphanages and schools. Together We Can was an illustration that programme intent, and its human touch, can bring home a message of hope. It is the message, rather than the production values, th! at is important here."

* The ASDF (African Script Development Fund) in co-operation with Screen Africa will conduct a conference at the upcoming Sithengi market (Cape Town, 12 to 15 November) dealing with "African Films by Africans for Africans." The seminar is for writers, directors, producers, critics, distributors, broadcasters and other persons interested in the African content in film and television. Interested parties will be required to pre-register by email or register on the day subject to space being available. Further details regarding registration and speakers will be announced shortly. The ASDF was founded in 1997 with a goal to increase the capacity of African countries to develop, produce and market film and television productions. To date, ASDF has worked with writers from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Mauritius, Kenya, Senegal and Tanzania. In 2001, ASDF will add Nigeria and Ghana. The Sithengi conference is designed to promote better understanding of the threats an! d opportunities of the growth and development of African films by Africans for Africans. The panellists will include regional and international persons with direct knowledge and experience of African cinema.

* More woe with the South African Box Office: Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the cinema, Jurassic Park III has hit the local screens. The dinosaur saga shot straight to the top of the box office in its first week, having made R2 183 681 (about the price of 6 roles of toilet paper in North America – DR.SOTHA). Next up is A Knight's Tale, starring the latest hearthrob from Oz, Heath Ledger. Rush Hour II, Heartbreakers and Bridget Jones Diary are the other three films in the top five.

NORTH AFRICA

* Rigobert Song delivers yet again:

Slavery is always a difficult subject to probe, especially when you consider that it still exists in parts of the world, be it disguised. ‘A Son of Africa’ shows how one person can make a difference and bring about equality and freedom to an oppressed nation. Before I get on with the review, remember to e-mail me at rigobertsong@hotmail.com with your African film musings.

A SON OF AFRICA: The Slave Narrative of Olaudah Equiano
Produced by Aimimage Productions for the BBC – Directed by Alrick Riley

The Interesting Narration of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa the African was the first influential slave autobiography. It caused a sensation when published in 1789, fuelling a growing anti-slavery movement in the U.S. and England. This BBC production employs dramatic reconstruction, archival material and interviews with scholars such as Stuart Hall and Ian Duffield to provide the social and economic context of the 18th century slave trade.

Equiano's narrative begins in the West African village where he was kidnapped into slavery in 1756. He vividly recalls the pestilence and horror of the Middle Passage: "I now wished for the last friend, Death, to relieve me." Eventually the young Equiano was shipped to a Virginia plantation where he witnessed slaves tortured with thumbscrews and the iron muzzle. Slavery, he would write, brutalises everyone - the slaves, their overseers, plantation wives, the whole of society. Sold again to a British naval officer, he learned to read and write, became a skilled trader, and eventually managed to buy his freedom.

Equiano's adventures eventually brought him to London where he married into English society and became a leading abolitionist. His exposé of the infamous slaver Zong - 133 slaves thrown overboard in mid-ocean for the insurance money - shook the nation. But it was Equiano's book that would prove his most lasting contribution to the abolitionist movement, a book which vividly demonstrated the humanity of Africans as much as the inhumanity of slavery. Ultimately this is a superb biography and treatment of slavery and the early abolition movement.

* The Guardian newspaper of Lagos, Nigeria reports that with the successful launching of its Mobile Cinema Unit last week at the MUSON Centre in Lagos, Mainframe Productions "has shot ahead of its contemporaries in terms of conceptual approach to the art of filmmaking". The Guardian believes that the launch will help revive the near-extinct cinema-going culture in Nigeria. Mainframe has locked into an old tradition introduced in the 50s, when 40 cinema vans and six cinema barges were introduced into the country. As the highlight of the launch, the Mainframe Mobile Cinema Unit screened Yellow Card, produced by Zimbabwe-based American filmmaker, John Riber. The film was part of the exchange deal between Mainframe and Riber's Zimbabwe Media for Development Trust.

AFRICAN AMERICAN

* "Training Day" was worth the wait. The Warner Bros. release, delayed two weeks in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, will whip the boxoffice into shape when it breaks in broad issue today. Audience sentiment is so supportive, in fact, that "Training" should win the Columbus Day weekend crown in a walk on its way to becoming the first bona fide blockbuster of the post-summer period. Star Denzel Washington appears to be the catalyst for the giddy marketplace excitement over what otherwise would probably be considered a relatively predictable police yarn. The actor has grown his relationship with mainstream moviegoers through a combination of hard work (he has appeared in 27 films in 20 years) and well-honed commercial instincts (last year's football saga "Remember the Titans" earned $115.6 million in North America). What is different in "Training" is that Washington's character! is darker and more sinister than the typical heart-of-gold good guy his fans have grown to expect (Why doesn’t Harrison Ford start taking pointers – DR.SOTHA)

* Dennis Quaid and Dennis Haysbert are in final negotiations to star opposite Julianne Moore in USA Films' "Far From Heaven" for writer-director Todd Haynes and Killer Films. Production begins next week in New Jersey. In addition, France's TF1 International has come aboard as a financier on "Heaven," joining USA and Clear Blue Sky. "Heaven," set in a suburban American community in 1957, centers on a privileged suburban family whose lives are filled with daily family etiquette, social events at the club and an overall desire to keep up with the Joneses. The family and community are turned upside down when the wife (Moore) catches her husband (Quaid) sleeping with another man. As he sees a psychologist, she sublimates her loneliness by hanging out with her black gardener (Haysbert), to whom she becomes attracted.

* Chris Rock has joined the line-up of comedians taking part in Jerry Seinfeld’s comedy fundraiser for the victims of the terrorist attacks on New York. The show has already attracted stars such as Bill Cosby, and is due to take place at Carnegie Hall on 8 October. It will be organizer and resident New Yorker Jerry Seinfeld’s first headline show in three years. Speaking about the aims of the benefit, Seinfeld says, "We're not laughing at what happened. We're just laughing, which is how people survive."

* Ben Affleck is in negotiations to topline the live-action adaptation of the Marvel comic book "Daredevil" for 20th Century Fox/Regency Enterprises and writer-director Mark Steven Johnson, sources said. Affleck will star as attorney Matt Murdock, who was blinded in a freak accident involving a radioactive transport truck. At the same time, his other senses were enhanced, giving him a secret edge and allowing the blind superhero to battle crime using his heightened awareness and special powers. Producing the project are Gary Foster ("The Score"), Marvel's Avi Arad and executive producer Stan Lee. Regency is fully financing "Daredevil," with Fox handling distribution. Johnson penned the screenplay. Affleck next stars in a pair of Paramount Pictures releases: "The Sum of All Fears" opposite MORGAN FREEMAN and "Changing Lanes" opposite SAMUEL L. JACKSON.

DR.SOTHA REVO & OUT