Johannesburg: "STAY UP - a street art film experience of Maboneng"!

Curiocity, a network of African design hostels in South Africa, has released a worth seeing documentary about street art in the Maboneng Precinct of Johannesburg. Filmed during the coronavirus lockdown, the murals, that are typically a silent backdrop, came alive, telling their own stories in this uniquely empty space created by the pandemic. "STAY UP - a street art film experience of Maboneng" is a tribute to the artists that are the fabric of this neighborhood, and their work that creates the energy that Maboneng is known for. Kudos to Kim Lieberman, VHILS, the postman_art, FALKO, Remed, Snowchino, dbongz_one, Karabo Poppy, ROA, Reggiethenomad, Link1, PASTELHEART, Kazy_Usclef, Nix_indamix,Ownurcrown, SENZAART911, FreddySam, Nelson Makamo, CYRCLE, ICY SIGNS as well as to Bheki Dube of Curiocity and everyone else involved in the production of the film.

Curiocity's first hostel - Curiocity Johannesburg - was opened up by Bheki Dube in the Maboneng Precinct of Johannesburg in 2013. It is one of the pioneering developments in the district that has fast become a centre of creative energy for Johannesburg's urban artists. Currently, Curiocity also has hostels located Durban (since 2016) and Cape Town (since 2019).

"Jozi Days" - An independent skateboarding film!

"Jozi Days" is an independent skateboarding film by Jono Kyriakou, a Cape Town-based photographer and cinematographer. The film, which features debut parts from T-Kay Modise, Taylor Sturgess and Trae Rice, seeks to paint a picture of the fluorescing skate scene in Johannesburg and gives us travellers the great opportunity to experience the city from a different "skateboarding" perspective! Rad! Kudos Jono, T-Kay, Taylor and Trae!

Video: The stunning beauty of "Namibia"!

Matt Porteous, a professional photographer based in the UK, visited Namibia in 2014 and shot a stunning film simply named "Namibia" while travelling the country. Switch the settings of "Namibia" to fullscreen, put your headphones on, sit back and enjoy the beauty of Namibia. Kudos Matt, kudos!

Namibia from Matt Porteous on Vimeo.

Matt visited Namutoni Rest Camp, Khowarib Lodge & Safari, the Khowarib Himba tribe, Sossus Oasis Campsite, Namibrand Nature Reserve and rented his car from Asco Car Hire.
The locations he visited include Etosha National Park, Damaraland, Khowarib, Sossusvlei, Skelton Coast, Fish River Canyon and the Kalahari.

CITES has released a new short version of "Rhinos under Thread" (16min)

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has released a new and shorter version of short version (16 minutes) of the film "Rhinos under Threat" that was first screened during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) on 18 June 2012. The full version (28 minutes) of the film is available here.

Please spread the word about the film, share it via facebook, pinterest and email, RT it and g+ it - the useless killings of rhinos has to stop!

Durban International Film Festival, 19 - 29 July 2012

July is movie time in Durban! From 19 - 29 July 2012 Durban will be hosting the annual Durban International Film Festival, the longest-running film festival in South Africa. The 33rd film festival presents about 290 screenings of current films from around the world, with strong focus on South African and African cinema. Screenings take place throughout Durban including township areas where cinemas are non-existent.

Video: Zimbabwe Today 2012 (10min)

Zimbabwean tourism group Africa Albida Tourism, which is running eg the famous Victoria Falls Safari Lodge and the Lokuthula Lodge in Victoria Falls, released a new video about Zimbabwe putting a focus on the country as a tourism destination in 2012. You get info on the current situation in Zimbabwe regarding all kinds of standard aspects travellers are usually interested in - from money matters, medical care and the availabilty of groceries and goods to the current situation of the hospitality sector, petrol availability, transport options and much more. The video is obviously a promotional video, so please don't expect to get to learn about the situation in Zimbabwe outside the (tourism) box. If you are planning to visit Zimbabwe or if you are simply interested in how the country's landmarks look nowadays, the video will be great for you. If you are looking an update about political and the socioeconomic situation in the country, the video won't give any updates. Anyway, it is good to see that at least the tourism sector is recovering and in some cases already back on track. Thanks Africa Albida Tourism for the video!

Video: "Rhinos under threat" (29min)

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in collaboration with UNTV, produced the movie below titled "Rhino under Threat," which aims to raise public awareness of the current crisis faced by rhinoceros due to illegal killing and the international trade in rhino horn. The movie was first viewed on 18 June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20).

Please spread the word about the film, share it via facebook, pinterest and email, RT it and g+ it - the useless killings of rhinos has to stop!

Trailer: The Ambassador (2011)

Mads Brügger, a danish filmmaker/satirist/journalist, bought himself a diplomatic passport then went to live in the Central African Republic and to see what that passport could gain him. And he captured the entire thing on film. The Ambassador is a genre-breaking, tragic comedy about the bizarre, hidden world of African diplomacy, where gin-tonics flow on a daily basis and diamond hustlers and corrupt politicians run free.



The film was released this month (Oct 2011) and will open the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam on 16 Nov 2011.

Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema

Inspired by a true story, Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema is an unflinching look into the crime, corruption and the transgressions of those looking to survive in the most crimeinfested district of Johannesburg.
Starting off with simple smash and grabs, and petty crime, Lucky Kunene quickly graduates to more aggressive heists such as armed robbery and carjacking. Soon, Lucky realizes he needs a bigger score to fulfill his goals of making it big, and escaping from the slums, to a dream house by the sea. Kunene hatches an elaborate and violent plan to make his fortune - hijacking buildings from landlords of Johannesburg tenements by winning the favor of the tenants and then holding their rent hostage from the landowners. His highprofile real estate acquisitions attract the attention of the local police force who have no qualms about using unprovoked brutality to bring him down. His trouble with the law, coupled with an escalating war between a local drug lord, creates a tense standoff: both sides are closing in, and Kunene must stay one step ahead - or his empire, and his life, will come crashing down.      



Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema is written and directed by Ralph Ziman, and stars Rapaulana Seiphemo (Tsotsi), Robert Hobbs (District 9), Kenneth Nkosi (District 9), Eugene Khumbanyiwa (District 9), and Louise Saint-Claire (District 9).
The film will be out on DVD on the 30 Aug 2010 (UK; GER) and on the 28 Sept 2010 in the US. I couldn't find out the release date for South Africa.


Jump to 10min on the timeline (2nd part of Al Jazeera's Fabulous Picture Show) for an interview with Ralph Ziman after a screening in a Johannesburg cinema.

great travel film: Last Stop For Paul (2006)

Last Stop for Paul is a 2006/07 independent movie by American Neil Mandt. It chronicles the low-budget road trip of two men who wanna travel to Thailand for the monthly Full Moon Party and eventually travel around the world in just two weeks. The film was shot completely on the fly, nothing was set up in advance. There was also no crew and no casting.

get "Last Stop for Paul" in the TravelComments.com eShop >>

Movies not to be missed: Skin (2008)

Skin is one of the most moving stories to emerge from apartheid South Africa: Sandra Laing is a black child born in the 1950s to white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. Her parents are rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, who lovingly bring her up as their ‘white’ little girl. But at the age of ten, Sandra is driven out of white society. The film follows Sandra’s thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world - and triumphs against all odds. [src.]

The film got released 2008 in Canada & the US, in 2009 all over Europe and premiered in South Africa at the 22. Jan 2010. The DVD of the movie is already out in the UK and can be bought on amazon.co.uk. Judith Stein's book "When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race" about Sandra Laing's life can be bought from the TravelComments.com eShop.

New documentary about Zimbabwe: "Mugabe and the White African"

This is a trailer for the forthcoming feature-length documentary "Mugabe and the White African" due for release 2010. Following the astonishing bravery of white Zimbabwean farmer Mike Campbell and his family as they risk everything they have and everything they are in defence of their property, and the livelihoods of all who live and work on their farm. It's 2008 and Mike Campbell is taking President Mugabe to an international court on charges of racial discrimination and of violations of human rights. The outcome perhaps determining not just their own future and that of their workers and their families but the future of Zimbabwe itself.



Mugabe and the White African
Directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson
Produced by David Pearson and Elizabeth Morgan Hemlcok

SEE THE FILM IN LONDON FROM 8th JANUARY 2010 at the ICA Cinema, Pall Mall London (more screenings, DVD to be realeased in the UK in early 2010)