An uplifting short film based on the classic <i>Heidi</i> is doing the rounds — but this time the little girl is African. The Alps are the hills of KwaZulu-Natal and the grandfather is replaced by a mother dying of Aids, writes Matthew Krouse.
<b>CD of the week:</b>
King Britt: <i>Adventures in Lo-Fi</i>
King Britt’s <i>Adventures in Lo-Fi</i> is a combination of B-grade blaxploitation from an age gone by and, as the plot suggests, an odyssey through the lives of young New Yorkers, writes Matthew Krouse.
The Bassline, Johannesburg’s well-loved jazz club, will close its doors at the end of September. Nine years and one month after opening, the venue will bid goodbye to the students, aficionados and big boozers who made its reputation as a late-night haunt for the ultra-discerning.
The name of one of South Africa’s most famous actors, the recently deceased N!Xau, as he was known in his filmstar days, is transliterated in so many ways that it is almost impossible to fathom how the Namibian became so well known.
A few years ago I received bad news from the doctor. I was overweight, my heart was in trouble, I had high blood pressure and – worst of all – I had gout. Gleefully, the general practitioner closed my file and uttered: "You have the diseases of the aristocracy."
<strong>CD of the week</strong>: Oskido’s Church Grooves: The Third Commandment.
<strong>CD of the week</strong>: Tosca: Dehli9
<b>Review:</b> Group Portrait South Africa: Nine Family Histories: Compiled by
Paul Faber
(Kwela Books)
Bheki Mseleku: Home at Last; Darius Brubeck and Afro Cool Concept: Still on My Mind; Voice: Quintet Legacy Volume 2: Songs for Our Grandchildren
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/ 13 December 2002
Matthew Krouse talks to William Kentridge, whose work shows at three venues in Cape Town
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/ 18 October 2002
<i>Peace Angel</i> can be found in five locales in the United States, in Russia, Bosnia, Mexico, Israel, Vietnam, India, China and Iraq, writes Matthew Krouse.
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/ 10 October 2002
With the Arts & Culture Trust Lifetime Achievement Award celebrating the career of NoFinish Dywili, South Africa’s traditional music is finally getting the accolades it deserves. Matthew Krouse lists the winners.
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/ 10 October 2002
A major retrospective of the work of Gladys Mgudlandlu unearths the mystery of this enigmatic artist, writes Matthew Krouse.
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/ 27 September 2002
White neurosis manifests itself in a mysterious form in the paintings of Penny Siopis currently on show at the Goodman Gallery, writes Matthew Krouse.
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/ 27 September 2002
Gay and lesbian people of Gauteng take to the streets for the 13th time this weekend in the country’s original Pride parade. What began as a political act of defiance in a time when they were denied basic rights has turned into a cultural event sold to city dwellers as a moment to let go and have a good time.
Outside the headquarters of the Johannesburg World Summit Company (Jowsco), in Sandton, there is a brutal-looking sculpture of an eagle catching a fish. The fish is writhing in gushing water, its skin pierced by the gigantic talons of the bird.
The Trinity Session, has let out that it is involved in colouring the new <i>Big Brother</i>environment with work donated for free by some of the country’s biggest artists, writes Matthew Krouse.
The country’s newest arts festival presents an opportunity for Africans to bridge cultural divides, writes Matthew Krouse.
Johannesburg’s new autumn festival has at its heart a district in the throes of change, writes Matthew Krouse.
Gordon Haskell <i>Harry’s Bar</i>
Erik Truffaz: <i>Mantis</i> — Imagine Miles Davis playing with Jimi Hendrix, writes Matthew Krouse.
<b>Q&A</b>: JAZZWORX with Matthew Krouse
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/ 15 November 2001
For the intrepid traveller, Maputo may be a safer destination this Christmas than
New York, writes Matthew Krouse.
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/ 14 November 2001
Despite media stirring, this year’s awards at Sun City ran without fault or controversy, writes Matthew Krouse.
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/ 19 October 2001
Actual judgement day, the documentary <i>Judgement Day</i> suggests, comes when people have to decide whether to opt for war or peace, writes Matthew Krouse.
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/ 27 September 2001
The patterns displayed by history – and the resonances of its symbols – are those we give to it, writes Matthew Krouse.
There was a hint of mayhem in the air at Sun City last weekend when Bollywood staged its second International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, an outreach campaign tailor-made for film-goers of the Indian diaspora. These are an attempt by the Indian film industry to broaden its appeal, not only to Indian communities far afield but also to "Western" film-goers looking for a different cinema going experience.
By April 9, officials of the National Council of SPCAs in South Africa had not viewed the Mexican film <i>Love’s a Bitch</i> (Amores Perros) with its controversial dogfight that almost led to its banning and subsequent age restriction in the United Kingdom last year.
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/ 26 January 2001
Latvian-born Rosa von Praunheim’s cinema is a wonderful mélange of cross-dressers, sex-changes and serious gay politics. Matthew Krouseinterviews him.