Events

Judy Mayotte: Changing the borders of our minds AND a repeat of Hundertwasser talk

SAFER TOGETHER’S fundraising activities in February and March

Judy Mayotte: Changing the Borders of our Minds

The issues of living together in the new South Africa, in all our diversity and common humanity, and in welcoming the stranger among us.

Venue: Empire Cafe, York Road, Muizenberg

Date: Thursday 4 March 2010

Time: 19h00

Tickets: R75 includes Pesta e Fagiole (Bean & vegetable stew) with Ciabatta.

A cash bar will be available

Easing the pain of xenophobia through song - Market Theatre till 21/02/2010 [IOL]

19th July 2008 - Eviction Action [Tracy Saunders]

If you think that forcibly removing people from the temporary shelter they

have escaped to after being chased from their homes and threatened with

violence is despicable , please take a few minutes to read the following.

Following the forced removal of people affected by xenophobic violence from

facilities in Kwa Zulu Natal and the recent forced removals from halls in

Khayelitsha, a need has been identified for the rapid mobilisation of a

civil campaign which will seek to prevent such evictions occurring again .

If you are interested ,live in or near cape town and the environs and are

available to take part in a peaceful protest at very short notice please

email me your cell phone number . When we are informed of a forced eviction

you will be sent the details of where the forced removal is taking place .

You are requested to proceed to the venue and 'JUST SIT' . This is a non

violent action . We will be showing solidarity with those who are being

threatened with eviction . Our presence will be meant to provide both

physical and moral support.

Your assistance with this campaign is greatly appreciated. If you have any queries ,please feel free to contact Tracy Saunders at
084 561 9131
or
email: evictionaction@gmail.com

This seminar is a partnership between Gender Links; SALGA Gauteng; the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, the Institute for Security Studies and the Ekrhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. The seminar links organisations and local government who have been dealing with the crisis resulting from the xenophobic attacks. Gender must be a central pillar in addressing the crisis and future plans in a real and holistic way. This seminar will begin to identify key strategies to address women?s needs specifically and to mainstream gender in all current and future plans.

The programme will include first hands accounts from women who have experienced the xenophobic violence, presentations from local government, and inputs from NGOs who have been part of the response to the crisis and a report on the media?s coverage of the events.

Venue: New Council Chambers, First Floor, Germiston Civic Centre, 15 Queen

An online chat or cyber dialogue will follow from 12h00-13h00 linking people from across the Southern African region to discuss how these attacks have impacted in other countries. To join the chat go to www.genderlinks.org.za and click on eTalk and follow the steps to register as a cyber dialogue participant. Detailed instructions to register for the cyber dialogues are attached.

Cinema in all its diversity will once again be celebrated at the 29th Durban International Film Festival which runs from 23 July to 3 August.

Featuring more than 200 films from more than 95 countries, spread over more than 300 screenings at 26 venues across the city, the festival will bring together established masters of cinema and innovative new talents from around the world.

Filmmakers Against Racism (FAR), an initiative launched on 23 May 2008 in response to the shocking wave of xenophobic violence hitting South Africa will present a selection of documentaries that all engage head-on with the violence. Each of these nine films strikes a clear note that such intolerance has no place in South Africa, and reaffirms a Pan-African and indeed global vision of filmmaking and art in general.

FAR outlines its goals thus: ?Our collective vision is to promote racial unity not division as we tackle the growing social and economic concerns we face as a nation. Targeting the most vulnerable people in society displaces the blame for growing social and economic problems on to the very people who have sought refuge from violence and poverty in their countries of origin. There is no excuse for the violent attacks on people and long-term, sustainable solutions to inequality, founded on the principles of unity and tolerance, need to be emphasized. The documentaries underpin our view that we are all African and will be a call for compassion and solidarity with all Africans seeking refuge and a better life in SA. The films will seek to remind us that we fought a long hard battle to overcome the brutal forces of racism in South Africa - we cannot let racism defeat us again.?

The FAR initiative underscores what has also been a central idea of the Durban International Film Festival: to create understanding and acceptance of different cultures through the medium of film. A special programme of films around the issue of xenophobia, and some of its attendant roots such as racism, migration and, of course, poverty will be also presented. These include Darrell James Roodt?s Zimbabwe, which looks at the arduous journey a young woman makes from Zimbabwe to South Africa, Penny Woolcock?s Exodus which imagines a near-future England in which foreigners are incarcerated in a ghetto, the moving Canadian film Family Motel about Somalian refugees, and Victims of Our Richness, which dissects the exploitation and brutality experienced by desperate Malian migrants.

The FAR screenings form the core of the all-day Imagine Africa programme which takes place at the BAT Centre on Saturday 26th July. The FAR films include:

2 Camps, 3 Refugees
The story of the increasing hardships facing refugees in the city of Johannesburg told through the experience of three African men; Leo, Chibombe and Patrick. Their stories testify to the struggle for survival facing the most vulnerable and alienated in a city at the helm of the so-called African Renaissance.

Affectionately Known As Alex
The film examines the township of Alexandra and those who live and work in it. It unpacks the tenuous relationships between ?bona fide residents? and those who have recently moved in. The situation is complicated by the escalation of immigrants into the township coupled with scarce resources.

Asikhulume ? Lets Talk
As a group of once exiled jazz musicians in their seventies prepare for a concert they discuss the current wave of xenophobia. They recall their days in exile and how they were housed, fed, clothed and protected by African nationals.

Between The Mountains And The Sea
South Africans have expressed the desire to reconcile and reintegrate with the displaced foreigners. What is the motive behind this reconciliation? We visit Soetwater refugee camp and the township of Masiphumelele where a reconciliation process has started.

Burning Man: Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave
Ernesto Alfabeto Nhamuave: a man who tragically the world knows as the ?burning man? ? an image that represents what on the surface is explained as xenophobia. This film reclaims Ernesto?s identity and explores who he really was.

Children
A portrait of children who have fallen victim to the xenophobic attacks.

Tino La Musica
Tino La Musica, a Congolese band based in Cape Town, play a weekly gig in Long Street and live and rehearse in a rundown block of flats. The mood is hopeful until suddenly they are evicted, a week before the xenophobic violence. The band falls apart. The film traces their struggle to get back together.

Two Brothers
Sulemangy Mussa, a Mozambican working in Durban, has planned to run away with his friend Abdul, a fellow Mozambican. They agreed to escape after collecting some of their things from their houses. But Abdul doesn?t return. He has been burned alive in his house.

Xoliswa?s Story ? Women And Their Vulnerability Xoliswa?s Story explores the journey of two women, both victims of xenophobia and the story of an 8-year-old-boy who witnessed his mother being beaten up in Alex. It examines the vulnerability of these women and the kindness of a South African ? Winnie Mandela ? who took in a destitute family.

Principal screening venues of DIFF 2008 are Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre; Nu-Metro Cinecentre-Suncoast; Ster Kinekor Musgrave, Cinema Nouveau - Gateway; Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu; KwaSuka Theatre, and the BAT Centre, with further screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent, and a special programme of screenings at Luthuli Museum on the North Coast.

Programme booklets with the full screening schedule and synopses of all the films are available free at cinemas, Computicket, and other outlets.

Full festival details can also be found on www.cca.ukzn.ac.za or by calling 031 260 2506 or 031 260 1650.

Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) the Durban International Film Festival is funded by National Film & Video Foundation, SABC, HIVOS, Royal Netherlands Embassy, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Stichting Doen, the German Embassy in South Africa, Goethe Institute of South Africa, Industrial Development Corporation, and the City of Durban, with valued support from a range of other partners.

For media queries contact:
Sharlene Versfeld
Tel: 031 201 1650
Fax: 031 201 1654
E-mail: sharlene@versfeld.co.za