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Renting African Films is a Way to Stay Connected
By Venise Grossmann
I get my fix twice a week and it’s good. You could use other
companies, but my supplier of choice is Netflix. Since I can only
make it to Africa for one extended holiday a year, I stay connected
by renting films. I want to relive the experience of being there,
gain insight about the places I’ve been, or learn about the
destinations that I have yet to discover. I used to have to get most
of them at more artsy movie rental stores like the TLA in
Philadelphia, but since I have become a member of Netflix, I have
enjoyed renting a diversity of films online.
Although it is disturbing to watch, I like to keep abreast of
current problems that face Africa such as genocide. Hotel Rwanda
(2005) and Beyond the Gates (2005) reveal the indifference of the
world as 800,000 Tutsis were slaughter by the Tutsi in 1994. A
similar theme prevails in Darfur Diaries (2006), a documentary that
addresses the ongoing genocide in Sudan.
While action films are usually not my favorite, I recently rented
Tears of the Sun (2003). Faced by civil unrest in Nigeria, a Navy
S.E.A.L. (Bruce Willis) faces an ethical dilemma as he evacuates a
beautiful American. Another movie about civil war is Daresalem
(2001). Set in a fictional country, it actually depicts that civil
war that took place in Chad during the 1960s and 1970s.
Some historical films that address issues other than war are Amistad
(1997) about the 1839 revolt aboard Spanish slave ship La Amistad,
Nowhere in Africa (2001) about a Jewish family that emigrated to
Kenya to escape the Holocaust, and the Four Feathers (2002) about
Britain’s colonization efforts in Sudan in 1898. Finally, The Last
King of Scotland (2006) set in the 1970s is about Uganda’s dictator,
Idi Amin, and the brutal violence he imposed during his regime.
I also enjoy comparing the perspectives of the indigenous people in
old favorites like Zulu (1964) and their battle against the British
in South Africa and in the documentary Great Adventurers: David
Livingstone: Journey to the Heart of Africa (1999) where the
Scottish missionary tries to convert the natives to Christianity.
Since I usually fly into Johannesburg, one of the most dangerous
cities in the world, I am inspired to watch films about the modern
city life. Tsotsi (2006) is about a man who shoots a woman during a
car-jacking and ends up raising the baby he found in the back seat.
Another film set in the townships is Dangerous Ground (1997),
starring Ice Cube and Elizabeth Hurley about a South African exile
who returns for his father’s funeral and in his quest to find his
missing brother faces a brutal drug lord.
And finally, for the Barack Obama fans, Senator Obama Goes to Africa
(2007) takes the viewer on a journey to his ancestral homeland in
Kenya where his father lived. Throughout the film, many of the
continent’s issues are addressed including the refugee camps in
Darfur.
When I grow tired of watching man’s inhumanity to man, I rent some
films about African wildlife to remind me of the beauty that can be
found there. Born Free (1966) was the first African animal movies I
ever saw, and I enjoy it so much that I purchased it. As much as I
love the film because of its happy ending, I also own a copy of
Gorillas in the Mist (1988), which depicts the tragic ending of Dian
Fossey. Another true story is The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
about man-eating lions in Uganda.
There are also many documentaries such as Wild Animals of Africa
(2002), Air Jaws 1 and 2: Sharks of Africa (2002), and Explore the
Wildlife Kingdom: The Hidden World of Africa (2005) about the
smallest creatures.
The most dramatic way to watch films about animals is in the IMAX
format. Ironically, I saw my first IMAX film in Cape Town ten years
ago called Africa’s Elephant Kingdom (1998). Since then, I watch
every IMAX produced about Africa. Other great choices include
Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa (2002), Africa: The Serengeti
(1994), and Mysteries of the Nile (2005).
While taking overland trips through Africa, I grew to appreciate the
music that is produced by white and black musicians. Renting music
videos is a way to rekindle the feelings I felt when I heard the
music for the first time on the continent. I have rented Portrait of
Africa (1988), which not only showcases African music such as
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but it is also sets to footage of the
untouched areas of the African wilderness. One can also rent
concerts performed by celebrities to raise money for many worthy
African causes such as Africa Unite (2008), a tribute to Bob Marley
in Ethiopia, and Africa Live: The Roll Back Malaria Concert (2005),
which features African musicians.
A well-known musician, Bob Geldof, narrates rather than performs in
Geldof in Africa (2005) in order to showcase the history and culture
of West Africa. One British musician, Ginger Baker, even built a
studio in Nigeria in 1971 where he continues to create music.
Filmmaker Tony Palmer tells Baker’s story in a documentary that
takes the viewer on a journey across the Sahara in Ginger Baker in
Africa (2006).
Ironically, one of my favorite African musicians I came to know when
I heard of his death just recently in Johannesburg, Lucky Dube.
After hearing his song “Remember Me” played as a tribute on All
Africa Radio, I rented Lucky Dube: Live in Concert (1993) and
watched his reggae concert in South Africa.
Three musicals about Africa that are outstanding productions are
Sarafina (1992), starring Whoopi Goldberg, about a young girl
battling apartheid in Soweto, African Footprints (2007), a
celebration of African song, dance, and drumming, is another that I
just recently saw produced live in Philadelphia. When I learned that
Nelson Mandela enjoyed it, I knew that it was a must see. And of
course, you can use the kids as an excuse to rent the Lion King, the
highest-grossing animated film of the 20th century (1994).
There are also romantic films about Africa that would be perfect to
rent on Valentine’s Day such as Out of Africa (1985), the true story
of the Danish author, Isak Dinesen, and her life in Kenya. Another
romance set in Africa is I Dreamed of Africa (2000) based on Kuki
Gallmann’s memoir about building a nature conservancy.
Another way to view the continent in a positive light is to view
films about traveling to tourist destinations. Globe Trekker
produces travel videos such as Destination South Africa (2005),
Africa: Botswana, Namibia, & Zimbabwe ( ), or West Africa: Ghana &
The Ivory Coast (2003). Videos such as these can be commonly rented
at your local library or you can purchase or watch them on demand at
http://www.pilotguides.com/experience/globetrekkertv/index.php.
Travel video store:
http://www.travelvideostore.com/product_info.php?products_id=5559
Believe it or not, there are also humorous films about Africa. Two
of the more popular are actually older ones. The Gods Must Be Crazy
(1980) is a cult classic about a villager who finds a Coke bottle
that fell out of the heavens and decides to drop it off the end of
the earth. Another classic is Abbott & Costello Africa Screams
(1949), the tale of a safari hunter who assists an attractive woman
search for diamonds.
While not humorous, other classic films include two Humphrey Bogart
favorites--Casablanca (1942) and The African Queen (1951), The Snows
of Kilimanjaro (1952) with Gregory Peck, and the oldest I found,
Bulldog Drummond in Africa, (1938), starring John Howard.
Whether the films relate to African culture or fitness, there are
also how to videos available to rent. You can learn how to speak
Afrikaans, a white-South African language, by renting Talk More:
Afrikaans (2007) or learn African drumming as well as the spiritual
benefits by renting Babatunde Olatunji: African Drumming (2004). One
can also discover the physical and emotional benefits of African
dances from Ghana and South Africa in African Healing Dance (1998).
Other videos that promote fitness include African Grace: A West
African Dance for Cardio Fitness (2005) and the African Dance
Workout with Debra Bono (2007).
Parents can also expose their children to some African fables in
Children’s Stories from Africa: Vol. 1 & 2 (1998) or have the
youngsters exercise by watching Animal Yoga for Kids: African
Adventure! (2004).
African-Americans who are looking to connect to their roots can find
inspiration from Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in African American Lives
(2006). In this documentary the Harvard professor assists famous
personalities like Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey explore their
roots. Fans of Gates will also enjoy his earlier work Wonders of the
African World (2004) as he discusses the historical events that
contributed to modern Africa.
Some areas of modern Africa are also home to some that choose to
express their homosexuality openly. Those interested in learning
about how homosexuality was dealt with in the past can view Proteus
(2003). Set in colonial Africa, two young men, one of white and the
other of black decent, suffer the consequences of having their
relationship discovered.
While I did sit through ever frame of Proteus, there are some movies
about Africa that I just can’t bring myself to watch—the comedy
Ernest Goes to Africa (1997), for instance. At least I can say I
haven’t so far. I may just become that desperate though on a sixteen
and a half hour international flight, but only if it’s bound for
Africa.
Other Places to View Films
Foreign Film Festival—Philadelphia
New York : African Film Festival/NY (AFF, Inc. New York)
African Film Festival/NY (AFF, Inc. New York)
Web Sites About African Films:
Library of African Cinema
http://www.newsreel.org/nav/topics.asp?cat=4
Films preserved in Africa
http://www.fespaco.bf/cinematheque_ang.htm
To learn more about African Cinema:
http://www.utoronto.ca/innis/library/africanfilm.html
Web sites about African film:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/africa/film.html
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Africanfilm.html
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/video.html
Overseas: http://www.zimmedia.com/onoffer.html
Japan: http://www.ke.emb-japan.go.jp/afl.pdf
Book about Black African Cinema:
http://books.google.com/books?id=INotDiiMhL0C&dq=library+of+african+cinema&pg=PP1&ots=-EGjTXH7dC&source=citation&sig=CWNIQuqnlGI4ZJxLmfxA0hU1M7g&hl=en&prev=
http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3DLibrary%2Bof%2BAfrican%2BCinema%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-Address%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sourceid%3Die7%26rlz%3D1I7DKUS&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=1&cad=bottom-3results
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_cinema
Travel video site:
http://www.maps2anywhere.com/Travel_Videos/travel_videos.htm
Travel video store:
http://www.travelvideostore.com/product_info.php?products_id=5559
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