The German writer Norman Ohler described Johannesburg's Ponte City, Africa's tallest residential building, thus: "Ponte sums up all the hope, all the wrong ideas of modernism, all the decay, all the craziness of the city. It is a symbolic building, a sort of white whale, it is concrete fear, the tower of Babel, and yet it is strangely beautiful." A new documentary by Ingrid Martens, Africa Shafted, adds to the wide variety of cultural and artistic interest in Ponte, home to around 4000 people in Hillbrow, on the edge of downtown Johannesburg. The film purports to look at xenophobia through situating itself in the intense and somewhat claustrophobic surrounding of the tower lifts, which link the 52 stories, housing nationalities from all across Africa. In these lifts, the film encounters residents and their feelings toward one another. The trailer does indeed look interesting. http://youtu.be/FPrT5Z987cs This isn’t the first time artists have examined Ponte tower; this photographic series by Mikhael Subotzky depicts the residents in the lifts again; the cold steel behind them illuminating the differences in clothing and stance to quite powerful effect. The lifts, both in Africa Shafted and these photographs, become an awkward pod of public space, enclosed, forcing prejudices into close proximity. As fellow AIAC blogger Tom Devriendt rightly pointed out, decaying buildings are beloved by artists and filmmakers working in or about Africa. A recent article in The (UK) Guardian by writer Brian Dillon examined a European tradition of ‘ruin lust’ -- our fondness for decay in culture; whether post-war city ruins speaking of great war and trauma in Europe, the rubble of decaying buildings signifying a rich history, or, in the case of African states, the decay of buildings that symbolized a promise of a better, independent future, that now sit squatted and corroded, a testament to the difficulties of post-colonial reality. Akosua Adoma Owusu’s film 'Drexciya,' included in our Top Ten Films list of 2011, is an interesting experimental approach to decay and ruin in Ghana’s once glitzy ‘riviera’ in Accra. Around the brink of a once-grand swimming pool, Owusu re-animates the pool through the use of sound; laughter and splashing water hauntingly remind of a cultural history now replaced by another, quieter one; women hang their washing on the bushes that surround the pool, a man stores his belongings somewhere on the periphery. It's not 'ruin lust', but perhaps ‘ruin intrigue’, taking the symbols of decay and reanimating them within a current cultural context, rather than pining for a promise never fulfilled, or lost. Other films, which focus on decaying buildings, include Night Lodgers by Licinio Azevedo, a documentary about the decaying Grande Hotel in Beira, Mozambique. Lotte Stoof’s Grande Hotel, also about the landmark hotel in Beira, Mozambique. Finally, different, but related, is François Verster’s film Sea Point Days, a documentary about the changing clientele of a swimming pool, once reserved for whites under Apartheid, now a melting pot of different races, classes and ages.

It has recently been announced that Roland Joffe, (Londoner and) director of films The Mission and The Killing Fields has cast Forest Whitaker to play Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his upcoming film. In an adaptation of Michael Ashton’s play inspired by the events at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, the film — titled The Archbishop and the Antichrist — imagines a meeting between Tutu and ‘boorish white mass murderer’ Piet Blomfeld. Shadow and Act blog did some digging and found this synopsis of the play, which points toward somewhat banal complications of the TRC already addressed in a variety of other films, such as the questioning of rehabilitative justice instead of punitive justice, the subjective notion of ‘truth’, and redemption and reconciliation for whom exactly? The casting of Whitaker is interesting, especially since his performance as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. He’s not intimidated by well known historical figures; but the impish, slight figure of Tutu seems to be a far cry from Whitaker’s usually powerful and pumped characters; the enigmatic Ghost Dog in the eponymous film (1999), Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006), or Jake in Repo Men (2010). Films dealing with the TRC often get caught up in self-aware complications of the central notions that plagued the commission. From the synopsis on Shadow and Act, it seems that Joffe will follow in the not-so-subtle footsteps of films such as In My Country, a film by John Boorman based (very vaguely) on Antjie Krog’s book Country of My Skull; a beautiful, poetic and complicated account of her time working for SABC radio, which is unfortunately Hollywood-ised beyond recognition by the film. Binoche as Krog is a stilted, confused performance; her French accent is off-putting, and the unbelievable exchanges on morality and redemption with co-star Samuel L Jackson as a picky American reporter are misplaced and crude. Similarly, Red Dust (2004), by Tom Hooper starring Hilary Swank, Jamie Bartlett and Chiwetel Ejiofor is a predictable, bland portrayal of the TRC. It is the more oblique, sideways glances at the TRC that seem to better understand its endless nature; the multiple truths and effects that it produced in ‘the new’ South Africa. Ramadan Suleman’s film Zulu Love Letter (2004) is a brilliant examination of truth, speechlessness, and a haunting political past. Using surreal sequences to depict the protagonist, Thandi’s (Pamela Nomvete Marimbe) sense of isolation from the present, and, from the past, Suleman portrays her as suspended within post-Apartheid society, unable to reconcile the past, and unable to move forward into the ‘new’ South Africa. The TRC forms the suggestive moral backdrop of the film, and benefits from this approach. This is similarly approached in Ubuntu’s Wounds (2002), a short film by Sechaba Morojele that complicates ideas of revenge, redemption and reality. What is brilliant about this film is that it mirrors the way most South Africans would have encountered the TRC, on television; the protagonist, Lebo, is traumatized by his wife’s murder, and while watching her killers disclosure at the TRC on a television in LA, the film dissolves the multiple fronts of the TRC; television, testimony and witness are boiled down into one raging human being, unable to escape apartheid’s ghosts. I fear the worst for Joffe’s new film, but I’ll readily be surprised by Whitaker as a convincing Tutu. As past films testify, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission — although it possesses all the intrigue, power and excitement of a courtroom-style drama like 12 Angry Men — has invariably been sensationalised into a showcase of trauma-as-entertainment. We’ll have to wait and see how this one turns out…

Rumours are circulating on various Hollywood gossip and film blogs that Stringer Bell also known as Idris Elba -- the East London boy made good in Hollywood -- is next in line to play Nelson Mandela. Surfing on the mammoth success of his character in The Wire, his relatively popular series Luther on the BBC (but so shocked were we that he actually has an English accent it was difficult to concentrate on the rest), a brief role in Thor and the excited buzz (and fear) of Ridley Scott's upcoming Alien prequel Prometheus, Elba is rumored to be the chosen one for an 'official biopic' of Mandela's life. If the rumors are true, our beloved Stringer, the towering be-tracksuited crime underboss turned businessman will join a line of famous black actors who have attempted to incarnate the great Mandela. But do they incarnate, or impersonate? Lets have a look at their efforts. First, Danny Glover in a made-for-TV film titled Mandela. This film was made in 1987, in the 25th year of Mandela's imprisonment. It covers the years 1948-1987, charting Mandela's rise from young lawyer to national icon. I can't find a trailer, but here's a faded production still of Glover and Alfre Woodard who played Winnie. Any American readers old enough to have seen the TV film? Next up, Oscar-winner Sydney Poitier in a 1997 TV film titled 'Mandela and de Klerk'. Michael Cain, playing the last Apartheid president FW de Klerk puts in a good effort, but ultimately retains much of his "you're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"-patter. He's a sort of cockney-cum-Afrikaner de Klerk. Poitier portrays Mandela's serene confidence and quiet power, and to be fair, looks a bit like him too. Also, his accent is passable, a rarity in films made about South Africa. (Some mainstream US critics, take the The New York Times for example, liked Poitier's performance especially.) Here's a link to the trailer. And below is the poster: Next, TV actor Dennis Haysbert (more remembered for his roles in films like Waiting to Exhale or cop shows) does 'action-hero Mandela'-pumped muscles and lots of explosions in the forgettable Goodbye Bafana (2007), which was more about Mandela's white prison guard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFqlLnAYwC0 And then to Morgan Freeman, perhaps the most celebrated Mandela actor, who played him in Invictus (2009), the huge Hollywood feature with Matt Damon as captain of the Springboks, described by Sean as a "film in which Matt Damon saves South Africa and gets whites absolved for Apartheid by winning a rugby match." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZY8c_a_dlQ If you can get past Freeman's American accent, he does do quite a good job at incarnating Mandela. Bill Keller in The Guardian argued that Freeman successfully channels Mandela's 'manipulative charm', his 'force of purpose', his 'mischief' and his 'lonely regret'. In fact, at a press conference in 1994, promoting his memoir A Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela was asked by the press who should play him on film, and he said Morgan Freeman. This royal stamp of approval gave Freeman access to Mandela whenever they were in the same city, a rare privilege as Mandela grows older. From Hustle and Flow to Winnie (2011), where Terrence Howard plays a distinctly American Mandela, with Jennifer Hudson as Winnie, both with awkward, confused accents. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pWQiDJDcSs There's also BBC4's not-strictly-Hollywood one-off drama, "Mrs Mandela" starring Sophie Okonedo. The smaller role of Nelson Mandela was played by fellow Brit actor David Harewood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFbV61QEnmA It seems, with the addition of Elba to this line-up, the recent Mandela's of Hollywood have become bigger, more muscular -- in short, somewhat blunt instruments with which Hollywood seeks to address the history of South Africa. Let's wait and see how Stringer Bell does.

2011 was a good year for African cinema. In various cinema seats and at home, I’ve been intrigued and moved, horrified and sickened, surprised and hugely entertained by a group of industries that together we call ‘African cinema' -- a sign that what can be expected is anything but stereotypical. In the list below, I've chosen films that have expanded what we might think of as 'African cinema'. Some short films, some documentary, some fiction, some a strange mix of them all. However, the films I can't list are perhaps the most powerful ones of the year; those captured on mobile phones and camcorders during critical moments in uprisings, revolutions and elections that have continued to broaden our grasp on the lives and experiences of those whose lives are not yet captured by cinema. This is a new kind of viewing, and one which I think will continue to transform the aesthetic, narratives and distribution of African film in 2012. (A note for readers: some of these films were released in 2010, but gained theatrical release or wider audiences this year so I’ve included them too. In each case a description of the film is accompanied by its trailer.) A Screaming Man. Director Mahamat Saleh Haroun. Starring Youssouf Djaoro, Diouc Koma. Chad, 2010, 92 mins A subtle and masterful story of a father and sons relationship, set against the backdrop of the ongoing civil war in Chad. Filmed around the glittering edges of a hotel swimming pool threatened by the outside world, Haroun’s characteristic wit and tender approach to filming continues his themes of war, fatherhood and family life. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_rvfk5psbU&w=600&h=349] Dirty Laundry. Dir. Stephen Abbott. Starring Bryan van Niekerk, James Ngcobo, Carl Beukes. South Africa, 2011, 16 mins Roger has a tough time when he shows up to the Wishy Washy at 1am, and begins to separate ‘his whites from his coloreds’. A fantastic short film, a microcosm of the acerbic wit and humor evident in much post-Apartheid cinema. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4iSuSW7Aug The Athlete. Dir. Rasselas Lakew and Davey Frankel. Starring Rasselas Lakew. Ethiopia/USA, 2009, 93 mins Melding breathtaking archival footage with live action, this is the extraordinary story of the triumphs and tragedies of a man considered by many to be the greatest long-distance runner in history: Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila. You can read my post on The Athlete on AIAC here. http://youtu.be/u5ejavZjLsc Blood in the Mobile. Dir. Frank Piasecki Poulsen. Denmark/DRC, 2010, 82 mins Are you reading this on your phone? Poulsen’s documentary is engrossing and hard-hitting as it implicates all of us – through our addiction to our mobile phones – in the civil war in eastern Congo. Poulsen sets out to reveal the source of ‘conflict minerals’, which he suspects are used in the world’s largest mobile phone company, Nokia. Corporate inhumanity turns out to be just as terrifying as the heart of civil war, a different devil, which Poulsen shows in this fantastic and brave documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQhlLuBwOtE Drexciya. Dir. Akosua Adoma Owusu. US/Ghana, 2011, 12 mins Drexciya refers to an underwater subcontinent where the unborn children of pregnant African women thrown off slave ships have adapted to breathe underwater. Poetic, eerie and stunning, an experimental short, a portrait of an abandoned Olympic sized swimming pool in Accra, Ghana, set on “The Riviera” – Ghana’s first pleasure beach. http://vimeo.com/18628047 Microphone. Dir. Ahmad Abdalla. Starring Khaled Abol Naga. Egypt, 2010, 120 mins Released in cinemas in January 2011, nobody in Egypt saw this film, something that Khaled Abol Naga -- the lead actor and co-producer of the film -- is thrilled about. Instead, Egypt was in revolution. This fantastic film is part fiction, part documentary, a love letter to the underground arts scene in Alexandria. From hip hop rappers to mournful accordion players, graffiti artists and skateboarders, it is a vibrant, funny and brave snapshot of the world of art that happens beneath the radar of an ambivalent police state. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vPaAn1b_II Witches of Gambaga. Dir. Yaba Badoe. Ghana/UK, 2011, 55 mins A courageous, intimate exposé follows, over the course of five years, the experiences of some women branded as ‘witches’ by their communities, ostracised and condemned to leave their families, to live in ‘Gambaga’. Death determined by way a chicken dies, Badoe’s film tenderly and courageously exposes the moment where belief and ritual cover horror and prejudice. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFhHX7CJSes&w=600&h=349] No More Fear. Dir. Mourad Ben Cheikh. Tunisia, 2011, 72 mins The first feature-length documentary about the Tunisian revolution, "No More Fear" was selected for a special screening at Cannes this year. The film brings together news footage of the demonstrations with a variety of players in the revolution, providing a diverse picture of the groundswell that rose up to topple the dictatorial regime. It is passionate, raw, and immediate. It shows a revolution pushed forward by the young, who overcame the population's long-ingrained fear. (Good to watch with Microphone, for an ‘Arab Spring’ night.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iHZDVMt0ps Viva Riva! Dir. Djo Munga. Starring Patsha Bay, Manie Malone, Diplome Amekindra. 2010, 98 min. I’m including this, not because I thought it was particularly fantastic, but because it was a triumph in the harsh world of theatrical release for an African film. It gained pretty widespread distribution in the UK with Metrodome, and for a Congolese genre piece -- a dark noir full of guns, sex and money -- it did quite well. It is good, entertaining viewing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8GGI1lwgkk Pumzi. Dir. Wanuri Kahiu. Starring Kudzani Moswela, Nicole Bailey, Chantelle Burger. Kenya 2009, 20 mins African sci-fi? Yeah. You have to see it. Clever, witty, powerful ideas. A must see if you can get your hands on it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3elKofS43xM