If you love Once & Begin Again and treasure record stores & sweet summer romances, and have never quite appreciated how empathetic Nick Offerman’s eyes can be, and if you have ever been to Red Hook or have never been to Red Hook, and you need a tonic of hope & love to help you be brave in whatever way you need to be, you must watch Hearts Beat Loud. Set in a part of Brooklyn that’s super hard to get to (unless you, like me, run there), Red Hook, the film tells the story of a single father named Frank, played by Nick Offerman, and his daughter, Sam, played…
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Nommer 37 – A South African Ode to Hitchcock
Much has been said about the fact that Nosipho Dumisa has made an ode to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window with her debut feature film, Nommer 37 (Number 37), and, for good reason. The film features the legendary British director’s infamous touch-points of suspense in its story-telling. But beyond an homage to a legend of filmmaking, Nosipho’s given us a calling card, of her skills as a filmmaker in her own right. She’s got a keen eye – and ear – for what creates tension, anticipation, and frustration, but also for taking the sound of a good idea and turning it into a good film. The premise is centred on Randal (played…
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Wanuri Kahiu brings Rafiki to Cannes
When the credits rolled and the lights came up at the end of her film’s premiere in the Palais des Festival, director Wanuri Kahiu stood next to her lead actresses Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiva, all dressed in off-white outfits, taking in the acclaim of a standing ovation. Someone in the audience shouted, ‘Thank you!’ and Kahiu put her hand over her heart. Festival director Thierry Fremaux motioned for them to look up and see just how many people were clapping in the theatre’s balcony seats too, lauding the first Kenyan film to ever debut at the Cannes Film Festival. “What’s incredible about the response is that people are so…
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The Fall in Brooklyn
As a South African living in NYC, it’s often hard to keep track of what’s happening back home. The time difference and going about the daily business of staying afloat in this city is a lot to deal with. Not to mention that local news reports just often don’t include news from further beyond the US of A in their bulletins. Plus, you know, it’s a big world out there so by the time they get to South Africa, it’s when the president is resigning or being charged with a crime. I remember when I was in LA on an entertainment news assignment in 2008, and was asked by the…
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Songs for Sabotage.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Haroon Gunn-Salie’s piece at the New Museum since seeing it at Monday’s preview. It’s part of the museum’s Triennial. Titled Songs for Sabotage, the group exhibition looks at how young artists around the world use their art respond to issues of social and political importance – how for them, art is not just something to be looked at, but something urging engagement of some kind. Haroon is from South Africa, and so naturally I was drawn most to his work. But I would’ve been anyway, I think, even if I wasn’t from the same country. When you enter the 3rd floor of…
