Creative Week Cape Town

The Black

This documentary film is part of the Music City: A Documentary Festival on Cape Music (10 – 15 September 2011)

The Black is a whacky take on the geography of Apartheid in Cape Town. Using the Black River as both metaphor and embodiment of separation and displacement, Edwards constructs poetic tableaux of water and sound to convey how the city’s musical traditions, often markers of ethnic identity, reinforce the ghettoisation of culture or serve to bring people together. Includes interviews, backstage banter and live concert footage of musicians ranging from kwaito stars and Brenda Fassie to right-wing Christian punk rockers. A beautifully shot, intelligent and compelling visual essay exploring the crosscurrents of history, culture and religion that gave rise to this fabulous city. Dir: Eddie Edwards / South Africa / 2002 / 45min

Creative Week Cape Town has partnered with The Encounters Documentary Festival, The Cape Film Commission and Cape MIC to bring you a documentary festival focussed on music. The concept of the festival is centred on the extensive catalogue of documentaries produced in the Cape about the region’s music. Included in the programme are some sell-out productions from previous film festivals. These include Afrikaaps, Fokofpolisiekar’s “Forgive them for they know not what they do”, Mr Devious: My Life and The Black. Each screening is preceded by student works from the Film and Media Department of the University of Cape Town.

Contact: The Labia, Ph: www.labia.co.za

Who: Encounters Documentary Festival is Africa’s premier documentary festival now in its 13th year. Cape Film Commission is the official film industry development and support body. Cape MIC is the official music industry body.