Adam Welz
Celebrate South Africa is a high-profile festival of music, dance, film, theatre, technology, carnival and craft taking place in London. Most of the main events are still to come and the highlights include: l A film festival at the National Film Theatre, from May 4 to 31, featuring a broad range of South African films from Ken Kaplan’s schlock horror movie about rightwing vampires, Pure Blood, to Ntshavheni wa Luruli’s comedy Chikin Bizniz. Teboho Mahlatsi (Portrait of a Young Man Drowning) and Oliver Schmitz (Mapantsula, Johannesburg Stories) will lead a panel discussion on the future of South African film. l A weekend of dance (May 26 to 27) called In Full Flight, made up of works by Boyzie Cekwana, Timothy le Roux, Gregory Maqoma and Portia Mashigo. l The Hidden Edge, an exhibition of South African technology at the BFI London Imax Cinema from the May 15 to 24. A seminar programme will run alongside the exhibition. The Lodox high-precision X-ray machine developed by De Beers to catch diamond smugglers, now adapted for medical use, will be prominently featured. l Various art and craft exhibitions, including Bowled Over, an exhibition of inventive bowls made from a variety of materials, at the Oxo Gallery, and an exhibition of contemporary San art at the October Gallery. l Sibongile Khumalo, Gloria Bosman and the Women of Mambazo (led by Nellie Tshabalala, wife of Joseph) at the Royal Festival Hall on May 28. l A series of free events on the South Bank of the Thames during the long weekend of May 26 to 28, including a carnival procession, afternoon kwaito parties, a market and free creative workshops.