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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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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A Restaurant Named Madiba
There aren’t many places to go in New York when you’re homesick for a lekker South African meal. For ‘n bietjie bobotie, some pap & vleis, a bowl of mngqusho, or a slice of malva pudding. Up until Sunday night, there was only one place to go that fed your soul just as much as it did your stomach. To residents who live in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Madiba became a staple on the block of Dekalb and Carlton streets, opposite the Edmonds Playground, close to the park. To South Africans – and Africans – it became a home-away-from-home. A place to go when you wanted to support your team during…
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The Rundown: Running in a Man’s World.
It took me 5 miles to run to all the statues of women of historical importance in NYC. There are only 5. I have no idea how long it would’ve taken me to run to the ones of men because there are 150 of them. I’m fascinated by the question of what that does to the imagination, the psyche of one half of the population when all around places of importance – street names, buildings, statues – are named after men. It’s the same issue of representation that is sorely lacking on TV and in film. And, of course, goes beyond gender and into race and ethnicity too. Rebecca Solnit’s…
