Well folks, Father Geek returns with yet another edition of Dr. SOTHA's Africa-AICN for this Friday the 13th. This week's column contains in addition to another delightful insightful review from Rigobert Song the notice of a wonderful film festival to be held in South Africa... an AUSTRALIAN FILM FESTIVAL no less. Plus there is that cool little homegrown QUICKIES Festival to boot... check it all out below...

Welcome everybody, on what has so far been an eerie day at the wards at Africa-AICN headquarters. I'm not a superstitious person; I believe in what is real; I believe in what is scientifically viable; I am a Doctor of no ill repute, but when you cross the path of a black cat walking under a ladder, whilst the mirror overhead unhinges at its edges and falls down shattering all over Nurse Hollis' head, while at the same time listening to the horrifying screams of one of my nymphomaniac patients, well you know this ain't no ordinary day (well apart from the nymphomaniac's screams.)

Now don't go believing all that Friday the 13th bullshit. Like this one urban myth from one of my patients, who alleges that if you e-mail me at My Capetown Labs twice today then you will be visited within one week by an ancient African Witchdoctor who will gouge out your eyes and feed them to his pig. Where do they come up with this shit?

Nurse Hollis, it's only 7 years bad luck for the cat..

SOUTH AFRICA

* It is no secret that the South African film industry is in dire condition.

It is in the light of this situation that a group of innovative, Johannesburg based filmmakers have decided to take a small, yet bold step, towards telling their stories. Enabling young aspirants to tell their story, make their movie and see it being flighted on the big screen. Based on a concept by Mexican producers Valentina Leduc and Jean Carlos Rulfo, the Quickies Festival will create the opportunity for 30 film directors to produce a one-minute movie. This might not seem like much of a challenge. However, by inventing a set of rules for all participants to adhere to, the stakes are upped considerably. Each movie must tell a narrative story, which include at least one human character (have we still got any of those? - DR.SOTHA), and will consist of no more than a single continues shot. Directors will be given one 60-minute DV tape, a digital camera and access to an on-line suite. However, directors will have only 24 hours in which to film and post produce their movies - this process will be rigorously monitored.

Quickies will bring together 30 directors with backgrounds as diverse as their individual stories. Experienced television directors, experimental filmmakers, film students, first time directors and documentarians will all face the same challenge - to portray an idea on film, in one minute, in one shot. It is this diversity, which is pivotal to the challenge, and ultimately the success, of the Quickies project. For those directors who are just beginning their career, Quickies will offer the opportunity to delve into filmmaking in all its stages - from the conception of the idea, to pre-production, production and post production. On the other hand, however, more experienced directors face the challenge of returning to the bare minimum by telling a story in 60 seconds.

In a country where film funding is scarce, experiments into filmmaking can be a costly gamble. A one-minute movie might be a tiny step into this vast industry, but a tiny step is better than no step at all. Quickies will offer a safe, yet creative environment for aspirant directors to play in, tell their stories, and showcase their work. As all directors will be encouraged to tell a story true to their own culture and experience and to film their movie in their mother tongue, Quickies promise to be a wonderful reflection of the cultural wealth of South Africa today. Quickies will make its debut at the Another One Night Stand theatre festival taking place at the WITS Theatre Complex from the 31st July to 25th August. The movies will be screened in a peepshow booth erected in the theatre's foyer.

Quickies has brought together talented filmmakers from diverse backgrounds that include experienced filmmakers, soap opera directors, music video directors, editors, documentarians, first time filmmakers and all round entertainers all will try their hand at making a one minute movie. The filmmakers for Quickies 2001 are: Marguerite Albrecht, Johnny Barbuzano, Thomas Barry, Damon Berry, Andrew Clealand, Liam Cundill, Sean Du Preez, Gideon Emery, Gustav Geldenhuys, Graeme Germond Robert Hobbs, Mynard Kraak, Kai Lachainer, Amanda Lane, Brett Lotriet, Hein Lottering, Lynne Maree, Josias Molele, Rolisizwe Nikiwe, Akin Omotoso, Lloyd Ross, Armin Ruede, Neil Sandilanes, Eran Tahor, Robbie Thorpe, Jane Van Renen, Brian Webber and Roger Young

* The Australian High Commission in South Africa and Cinema Nouveau have joined forces to host an Australian Film Festival at Rosebank Nouveau from Friday 6 July to Thursday 12 July 2001. On show will be a selection of some of the finer Australian feature and short films produced in recent years. Soon to be released MY MOTHER FRANK, by Mark Lamprell, will premiere during the week-long festival. Other films included in the programme are PRAISE by John Curran, KISS OR KILL by Bill Bennett and HEAD ON by Ana Kokkinos, all of which have graced the South African big screen previously. Also included are AMY (Nadia Tass), FLOATING LIFE (Clara Law) and LOOKING FOR ALIBRANDI (Kate Woods) starring Greta Scacchi.

In the short film category, audiences can look forward to ABOVE THE DUST LEVEL, HOPPIN' MAD, MOZZIE, OOPS, THE PILBARA PEARL, RESTORATION and TULIP. All these short films are innovatively crafted entertainment and one short film will precede each feature film. Dominated by public opinion and passing fancy, the film industry is one of the most competitive in the world, and Australia's success in the industry has been out of all proportion to its size. The country ranks 16th in the world's top feature-film producing countries, turning out around 90 feature films per year. Australian films have enjoyed a growing influence at major international film festivals, while most recently, Academy Awards have been won by THE PIANO (1993), PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (1994), BABE (1995) and SHINE (1996). We also remember fondly other Australian cultural ambassadors such as CROCODILE DUNDEE (1986), STRICTLY BALLROOM (1993) and MURIEL'S WEDDING (1995). Film-makers such as Peter Weir and Bruce Beresford, actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson, Judy Davis and Cate Blanchett, and cinematographers such as Dean Semmler, among many others, are now major figures in the global film community.

From the cramped, modest studios used in the 1970s and '80s, Australia now boasts a number of fine studio complexes, such as Warner Brothers Studios in Queensland and Fox Studios in Sydney. American studio films, such as THE MATRIX (1998), MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II (2000), STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE (2000), and larger Australian productions such as OSCAR AND LUCINDA (2000) and MOULIN ROUGE (2000) were able to use state-of-the-art Australian facilities. This local festival of Australian films in Rosebank gives the Johannesburg public the opportunity to view some much-talked-about productions from the Australian stable. It can be expected that more and more Australian films will be released commercially on the local Cinema Nouveau circuit.

* Oh go ahead, pretend like you don't care: The South African Box Office. Lara Croft - Tomb Raider has knocked the delightful animated feature, Shrek, from the top of the South African box office. The film made R4 718 089 (about the price of a Shrek action figure in North America - DR.SOTHA) in its first week. Shrek is followed by The Mummy Returns, Pearl Harbor and Sweet November.

* South African actress Charlize Theron has struck back at the perception of Hollywood as shallow - insisting its just like any other community of people trying to do their jobs. Theron, who started out as a model, is sick of what she believes to be misconceptions about Tinseltown and the acting world in general. Responding to the claim that her life must be one long party, Theron says, "That makes it sound so fake. It's just a career. I've met wonderful people in this industry. Just because it's Hollywood...It's like saying, 'You're South African so you must be racist.' It's very silly."

NORTH AFRICA

* On 19 July, the Film Resource Unit (FRU) will launch legendary Senegalese filmmaker, Djibril Diop Mambety's last film, The Little Girl Who Sold The Sun (La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil). The launch will take place at the Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau in Rosebank, Johannesburg, at 18H30. Shot in the streets of Dakar, The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun (reviewed before by Rigobert - DR.SOTHA) is a story about a courageous crippled young girl who reinvents herself as a vendor of the local newspaper, the Soleil.

FRU in collaboration with Ster-Kinekor and other independent cinemas will showcase the film in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban. Other Mambety films to be screened include Le Franc, Touki Bouki, and Hyenas. FRU will also exploit its traditional out-reach exhibition network. Public screenings commence on Friday, 20 of July Johannesburg - Cinema Nouveau Rosebank: 20 July to 26 July, 2001 Pretoria - Cinema Nouveau Brooklyn: 27 July to 2 August, 2001 The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun & Le Franc every day @ 8:00 PM Touki Bouki & Hyenas every day @ 6:00 PM (alternating) Cape Town - Labia Theatre: 17 August to 26 August, 2001 Durban - (TBC)

* Rigobert Song tells it like it is:

Hi Readers, I continue with my exploration on African-American films that have profoundly commented on the 'black' experience. 'Black Is.Black Ain't' is no exception culminating in the poignant death of the director himself. Remember to e-mail me at The Olde Soccer Fieldhouse and let's talk African film.

'Black Is...Black Ain't' -- Produced & Directed by Marlon Riggs -- Co-Produced by Nicole Atkinson & Co-Directed & Edited by Christiane

The final film by filmmaker Marlon Riggs, Black Is...Black Ain't, jumps into the middle of explosive debates over black identity. Black Is...Black Ain't is a film every African American should see, ponder and discuss. White Americans have always stereotyped African Americans. But the rigid definitions of "blackness" which African Americans impose on each other, Riggs claims, have also been devastating. Is there an essential black identity? Is there a litmus test defining the real black man and true black women?

Riggs' uses his grandmother's gumbo as a metaphor for the rich diversity of black identities. His camera criss-crosses the country bringing us face-to-face with black folks young and old, rich and poor, rural and urban, gay and straight, grappling with the paradox of numerous, often contested definitions of blackness. Riggs mixes performances by choreographer Bill T. Jones and poet Essex Hemphill and commentary by noted cultural critics Angela Davis, Bell Hooks, Cornel West, Michele Wallace, Barbara Smith, and Maulana Karenga into this flavorful stew of personal testimony, music, and history.

While Black Is...Black Ain't rejoices in black diversity, many speakers bare the pain of having been silenced or excluded because they were perceived as "not black enough," or conversely, "too black." Black Is...Black Ain't marshals a powerful critique of sexism, patriarchy, homophobia, colorism and cultural nationalism in the black family, church and other black institutions. Cornel West concludes, "We've got to conceive of new forms of community. We each have multiple identities and we're moving in and out of various communities at the same time. There is no one grand black community."

Riggs' own urgent quest for self-definition and community as a black, gay man dying from AIDS ties the multiple perspectives together. Hooked up to an IV in his hospital bed, Riggs takes strength for his struggle against AIDS from the continual resilience of the African Americans in the face of overwhelming oppression. As his death nears, he conjures up the image of a black community nurturing and celebrating the difference and creativity in each one of us.

Here are some quotes to wet your appetite:

"A dense, sizzling, stimulating gumbo of thought and emotion...A fascinating, challenging film." --San Francisco Chronicle --

"Riggs couldn't have left a more effective or challenging legacy to the black community...Not just an insightful discussion of black consciousness, but a major contribution to the exploration of how we develop our identities." --

"A complex and personal exploration of the multiplicity of black identity. Riggs himself vibrantly addresses the camera from his hospital bed as he is dying of AIDS." -- Newsweek

AFRICAN AMERICAN

* Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers And Cameron Diaz are set for a huge paychecks - for voicing the sequel to Shrek. The stars - three of Hollywood's hottest names - could make $35,000 an hour each, for providing the voices for Shrek 2. According to Variety, negotiations to secure the three actors for the sequel are expected to begin by the end of the week. They could end up with $5 million each for appearing as Donkey, Shrek and Princess Fiona second time around. Its not surprising studio bosses are planning a sequel - the film's take in America currently stands at around $240 million.

* Hollywood star Jon Favreau was shocked when he worked with Sean 'Puffy' Combs on the new movie Made - because the rapper is so much nicer than he's portrayed. Favreau says that Combs' villainous reputation is totally undeserved - and even compares him to legendary performer Frank Sinatra. Favreau says, "He's very unlike the way the media has portrayed him. The fact is, he runs a multi-million-dollar business, and I see him as a guy who likes to party in his downtime. It's like a Sinatra syndrome. If you're friendly with a lot of people and you're a magnet for public attention, people are going to take shots at you." And Favreau found Combs to be nothing but professional when he directed him in Made. He continues, "He was very well prepared. I didn't know what to expect, because when you work with people who are already celebrities you don't know if they are going to be spoiled. He was probably disappointed that I didn't give him more direction, but I was really happy with what he was coming up with." (That is so money baby - DR.SOTHA)

DR.SOTHA REVO & OUT