Durban — Two South African filmmakers have been chosen to showcase their documentaries on Al Jazeera English (AJE) Documentaries from December 6, 2022.
The documentaries will be in a slate of 14 films from nine African countries in season two of Africa Direct Series.
Season two follows the success of the first season in 2021. It will present another 14 episodes of short documentaries made by Africans about Africans from different countries, namely South Africa, Mali, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique.
The film-makers are expected to be agents in their own stories by providing a vivid and fascinating look into the diversity of ordinary people on the continent. Whether they are unsung heroes, change champions or simply getting on with their lives.
Among the chosen is Durban-based Omelga Mthiyane and Nadine Angel Cloete. AJE has also partnered with South African production house Big World Cinema for the Africa Direct project.
According to the AJE, Mthiyane directed the film Guerrilla Garden which shows how a guerrilla gardening collective does not only provide food but also an important sense of belonging for the residents of Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
She highlights that this community is built on the spirit of agency, self-help and action in the face of huge social and environmental problems. Residents plant, harvest, sell or exchange produce.
It further stated that Cloete, who is a language researcher, tries to save the N/UU language from extinction through her documentary, where she also speaks about a disappearing tongue as Claudia Snyman.
Cloete works to create a dictionary with her grandmother, Katrina Esau, who is the last living fluent speaker of this ancient San or Bushman language, believed to be 25 000 years old.
Ingrid Falck, head of documentaries at AJE, said all films focus on individual characters who stand out within their communities, each doing something compelling and in some way shaping the world around them.
“They provide a window into everyday lives across the continent, a diversity which is too often overlooked from outside. These films are engaging, insightful, unusual, extraordinary and sometimes utterly breathtaking. They draw us in and make us think, feel and even connect with people, reaching across the rich textures of the world and its people,” said Falck.
The films or documentaries are expected to start showing from December 6 to January 10.
Daily News