Father Geek reporting in with our new issue of Africa-AICN. As usual we have African film news from Dr. SOTHA and another seminal review from the ever thoughtful Rigobert Song.

SOTHA's headed north to the land of Tulips, Wooden Shoes, and Dikes for The Rotterdam International Film Festival so expect his reports from there soon. This fest hosted our very own Headgeek Harry as a featured guest of honor a couple of years back and it remains one of his fave film related trips, right up there with New Zealand, Prague, and last year's Cannes where he bunked with Dr. SOTHA prior to the good doctor's infamous run-in with the French authorities (aka Thought Police), and his subsequent un-called-for prison stint.

We here at the Editorial Offices of Aint It Cool News in Austin would be forever greatful for any and all assistance the wonderful Festival staff can offer up to our offical representative (he filled this position for us last year also) in Rotterdam during the event.

Now, on to the lovely Head Nurse Hollis, Rigobert and of course our column's editor, SOTHA...

DR.SOTHA here with the regular end of the week Africa-AICN column.

I will be attending the Rotterdam Film Festival from Jan 26th – Feb 3rd,so if you want to hook up and show me a good time (massage oils and what not) then email me at My Experimental Mental Health Labs outside of Capetown...

Please do bare in mind that I am not the type of person who will take advantage of you, that is, unless you want me to.

Head Nurse Hollis will be holding the fort in South Africa, so please continue to send her your jackass photos.

SOUTH AFRICA

* An American man has paid an amazing $42,000 for just one dinner date with stunning South African actress Charlize Theron. The lucky person, Josh Judd, topped the bids in a internet charity auction on website Ebay.Com for the meal with the beautiful star. Judd gushes, "I am delighted to have been able to participate in the charity auction. My winning bids, on this and other items, will benefit many worthy causes in South Africa." The whole auction reportedly raised the equivalent of just under $700,000 for international charities including Oxfam, the Red Cross Society and the National Geographic Society. (Think with the right head Mr. Judd – DR.SOTHA)

* The National Film and Video Foundation has approved grants just over of R6-million as part of the 2001/2 funding cycle. The grants are part of the annual funding of projects that form the largest pool of development money available for this purpose in South Africa. Film and video projects require time and money to develop before they can become viable. Changes in South Africa, as well as globally, have necessitated government funding the industry so that it can play a greater part in the cultural experience of the country as well as the economy.

The fund was taken over from the department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology by the NFVF when it was formed in 2000. The latest grants are in line with changes that the NFVF has identified in the industry. "We are aware that we were spreading limited resources over too many projects," says NFVF CEO Eddie Mbalo. "Whereas last year we approved 96 grants at an average of R72 654, we have reduced it this year to 69 grants, averaging R81 015. We are also increasing the focus on training, writing and script development." These grants, although core to the mandate of the NFVF, are also part of a broader innovative strategy towards development.

"The vision is now that of a commercially viable and self-sustaining industry," comments Mbalo. He outlined the funding strategy at a recent industry meeting at which he invited all commercial financiers (such as the Industrial development Corporation and the merchant banks) to become involved with the NFVF funding at an early stage so that they too can track the progress of development. Over and above the grants, the NFVF also funds events such as Sithengi, and creates a presence at important international events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the annual television market MIPCOM.

NORTH AFRICA

* Over to Rigobert Song:

Hello readers, I have another wonderful and piercing documentary for you today called ‘One Drop Rule’. It demystifies various beliefs and common misconceptions about what constitutes being black (whether a state of mind or the actual color of your skin.) Remember to send me your African film comments to rigobertsong@hotmail.com

One Drop Rule

Produced & Directed by James Banks

One Drop Rule explores a recurring and divisive issue in African American communities - skin color. The film inter-cuts intimate interviews with darker skinned African Americans, lighter skinned African Americans and inter-racial children of Black and white parents. In the process it investigates color consciousness, a sensitive topic within the Black community, with great tact and a clear commitment to healing divisions.

The infamous "one drop rule" dictated that anyone would be considered Black if they had any African ancestry and was given legal saction in many states. One Drop Rule argues that, in practice, Blacks with more European features, lighter complexion and straighter hair, have been favored over those with a more African appearance. Interviewees testify that even today whites seem to feel more comfortable with and give preference to Blacks who more closely resemble themselves.

Darker skinned African Americans recall being given baths in Tide in a vain attempt to lighten their skins. They were told to straighten their hair and stay out of the sun lest they become darker. They came to envy the lighter skinned blacks favored by the mass media, their community and themselves. At the same time, lighter skinned African Americans recount the hostility of some of their Black brothers and sisters who assumed they felt superior to them because of their complexion. They remember having to prove their blackness by speaking "Ebonics" and denying their middle class origins.

Participants discuss the stresses of inter-racial dating in the face of pressure from family and friends. Many Black women resent black men who date white women as a reflection on all Black women. Conversely, black women who date white men face rejection from their boyfriend's family. The children of inter-racial marriages discuss being forced by others to chose between two cultural identities. They explain the added burden of not being readily accepted by either racial group.

One Drop Rule asks what makes someone Black? Is it "one drop of blood?" A way of speaking and dressing? One woman says that being Black is really a matter of attitude, a world view, In the end One Drop Rule becomes an eloquent plea that, in the words of Martin Luther King, we judge each other "not by the color of our skin but the content of our character."

* UK indie distributor Gala has acquired UK rights to Sundance title L'Afrance, an African film which will next be seen in Rotterdam and is handled worldwide by Mercure Distribution’s Jacques Le Glou. L'Afrance, directed by Alain Gomis and previously selected for Locarno, is the coming-of-age tale of a young Senegalese student in Paris who is forced to question his own identity when a problem arises with his immigration papers. Other hot titles on Mercure’s 2002 slate include Berlin Panorama title Troisieme Oeil, a film about a small-time crook who escapes from the police on his way back to prison after his mother's funeral and meets a girl who has a gift of second sight, Manuel Poirier’s next project, Les Femmes Et Les Enfants d’Abord, Patrice Pooyard's futuristic tale Qui Veut Devenir Une Star and the just-completed Spanish Harlem-set Lost And Found.

AFRICAN AMERICAN

* Comedian Chris Rock will make his directorial debut on the comedy "Head of State," which he will star in from a script he co-wrote that DreamWorks Pictures picked up. The project will go into production in April. Rock wrote the script with Ali Leroi, his collaborator on "The Chris Rock Show," which yielded an Emmy win for writing. The duo also collaborated on the feature films "Down to Earth" and "Pootie Tang." "State" is the story of an unlikely alderman (Rock) chosen to be the presidential nominee for one of the major political parties. Rock and Leroi's management firm 3 Arts Entertainment is producing. Leroi also is producing. Rock, also repped by ICM and attorney Stephen Barnes, next stars opposite Anthony Hopkins in the Walt Disney Co.'s "Bad Company" for producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joel Schumacher.

* The two-hour finale of CBS's Survivor: Africa scored big ratings (an average 13.7 rating and 18 share) Thursday night, but not big enough to outdo NBC's Friends (16.0/24) in the first half hour. However, the next 90 minutes of the reality show, in which Ethan Zahn a professional soccer player, was revealed to be the winner of the top $1-million prize, drew well ahead of the competition. A rerun of Will & Grace on NBC at 8:30 scored only a 12.0/18 and a new episode at the top of the 9:00 hour, an 11.9/17. Just Shoot Me was shot down with a 10.8/16. By contrast, Survivor: Africa pulled a 14.8/22 average during the 9:00 hour, peaking at 9:30 with a 16.5/24. At 10:00, NBC dominated the field again with a 16.3/26 for E.R. while Survivor: Africa Reunion fell to a 10.6/17.

* Halle Berry is prepared for her new role as a Bond villain - because she's all for women using their sex appeal as a weapon. The stunning actress bared her breasts for cyberthriller Swordfish, and now she's crossed that hurdle Halle admits she has no problem with abusing her power over men. She says, "Not only do I think it's OK to do that, I think the smartest women know how to use sex appeal. They know how to use it and when to stop, how far to go. It's most empowering to a woman to know she's sexy and be able to use that to get what she wants. And to win - that's our secret weapon. When a character is sexy, smart, beautiful and also very strong, to me that's a very positive image of a woman." (Halle Berry you will have my children – DR.SOTHA)

* Will Smith is in a sticky situation - his actress wife wants to appear opposite him in a new film, but movie bosses want Alicia Keys instead. Jada Pinkett Smith has her heart set on starring opposite her hunky husband in a third remake of A Star Is Born, about a failing singer helping a promising youngster secure a record deal. But studio executives are keen on multi-Grammy winning singer Keys, who is good friends with Smith after meeting him while recording a song for his new movie Ali.

* Actor Michael J Fox was moved to tears the first time he spoke to Muhammad Ali - because his hero wanted to be his partner in his fight against Parkinson's Disease. Ali phoned Fox to offer support after hearing the actor was suffering from Parkinson's Disease - like himself. Fox recalls, "For some reason I returned the call from my phone in the bathroom. So, I'm standing there, talking to Muhammad Ali for the first time, and I couldn't look anywhere without looking into a mirror. Here's this guy, my hero, saying, `I hear you've got Parkinson's. I'm sorry to hear that, ' which floored me immediately. It was such a human thing to say. I was crying and trying not to let him hear me on the phone. Then he said, `We're both in this fight now, and we're going to win.' He made me a partner, in a sense."

* Actor Cuba Gooding Jnr. is still recovering from a dog attack on the set of his new movie Snow Dogs. Gooding went on location to icy Alaska for the Disney movie - about a New Yorker who inherits a team of racing husky dogs - but it wasn't the cold temperatures that the actor found most unpleasant. The Oscar-winner says, "They put these meat packets in the pockets of this red jacket and teased the dogs for a week with this jacket. "Then they put the jacket on me with all this padding and then I had to run and the dogs rip at the jacket and, of course, they found the one spot on my butt that didn't have padding on."

* Oprah Winfrey’s Chicago headquarters is a state-of-the-art facility, complete with the latest in cameras, lighting - and ghosts. The talk show queen's Harpo Studio complex, where she tapes her syndicated series, is haunted by the sounds of footsteps, a child crying, doors that open and close by themselves and the eerie spectre of a woman in a grey dress and old-fashioned hat. According to author Leslie Rule, who documents the supernatural sightings at Harpo in her new book Coast To Coast Ghosts, Oprah had never uttered a word about them and likely never will. Leslie jokes, "She's probably afraid her guests would run out of the studio and keep going." Leslie reveals that the old armory Oprah bought in 1988 and transformed into her home base was once at the center of a great maritime disaster. It became the body identification center for thousands of men, women and children killed on a capsized ship in 1915. The writer adds of Oprah, "I think she should book all th! e ghosts as guests. Maybe if they tell their story, they'll be released from this world and can move on. Plus, ratings would go through the roof!" (Why doesn’t Oprah just get one of her psychiatrist guests to exorcise them? – DR.SOTHA)

* Actor John Travolta has demanded eight new Armani T-shirts a day to appear in his new movie - because he refuses to wear the same one twice. Travolta objects to washing clothes for religious reasons, so he had it written into his contract for new film Basic that he be supplied with the $350 black tops. Travolta is a devoted member of The Church Of Scientology, which frowns on the chemicals used in dry cleaning. But movie bosses, desperate to sign Travolta up as leading man for the film about army basic training, had little choice but agree to the $2,800-a-day demand. According to Britain's The Sun newspaper, a source close to the production says, "John wasn't happy wearing just any old shirts - he wanted to look right. He likes the designer Armani shirts and said he wanted to wear those. But the producers were amazed when he said he wanted eight a day." The source adds, "They don't come cheap and it adds up to quite a large sum per week. But John told them he wan! ted it included in his contract before he accepted the part in the movie." Travolta stars alongside fellow Pulp Fiction actor SAMUEL L JACKSON in the movie, shooting of which starts later this year. (I like Travolta because he always likes to play it low key – DR.SOTHA)

DR.SOTHA REVO & OUT