"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" movie promo (07:48min)

update (18 Sept 2013): I have added an interview with Lindiwe Matshikiza (Winnie Mandela) and Anant Singh (Producer) to the playlist, as well as a new trailer (two parts) for the film published by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory.

update (14 Sept 2013): For some unknown reasons, the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory has set the "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom movie promo" video to private, but I found the official trailer and footage of the "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" press conference, which was held on 08 Sept 2013 at the Toronto International Film Festival.



The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory has just uploaded the movie promo for the upcoming film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom". The biographical film, directed by Justin Chadwick, is based on the 1994 book Long Walk to Freedom by former South African President Nelson Mandela. "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" will premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on 07 September 2013 and is scheduled to be released on 29 November 2013 in South Africa (Ster Kinekor) and in the US, on 19 December 2013 in the Netherlands, 03 January 2014 in the UK and on 06 February 2014 in Germany.

Cast:

• Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela
• Naomie Harris as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
• Tony Kgoroge as Walter Sisulu
• Riaad Moosa as Ahmed Kathrada 
• ...

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.

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.

"The Last Lions" film clip: Silver Eye vs Cubs

In "The Last Lions" filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert (also see TEDtalk: Beverly & Dereck Joubert - Life lessons from big cats) follow the epic journey of the lioness named Ma di Tau (“Mother of Lions”) in the wetlands of Botswana’s Okavango Delta as she battles to protect her cubs against the daunting onslaught of enemies to ensure their survival.



When Ma di Tau goes to hunt, she must leave behind her young cubs. This exposes them to many dangers - including other lionesses.

"The Last Lions" (2011)

Filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert (also see TEDtalk: Beverly & Dereck Joubert - Life lessons from big cats)  follow the epic journey of the lioness named Ma di Tau (“Mother of Lions”) in the wetlands of Botswana’s Okavango Delta as she battles to protect her cubs against the daunting onslaught of enemies to ensure their survival.
This gripping real-life saga "The Last Lions" unfolds inside a stark reality: lions are vanishing from the wild. In the last 50 years, lion populations have plummeted from 450,00 to as few as 20,000. Dereck and Beverly Joubert weave their dramatic storytelling and breathtaking, up-close footage around a resonating question: are Ma di Tau and her young to be among the last lions? Or will we as humans, having seen how tough, courageous and poignant their lives in the wild are, be moved to make a difference?



Watch The Last Lions trailer - and make a difference for lions!
For every trailer viewing on YouTube (watching the one above also counts in!), starting February 1, 2011, National Geographic will contribute $.10* to lion conservation in Botswana. Watch as many times as you want, and share with your friends and family. Let's get to 1 million views together!
*Contribution maximum is $100,000. For more details on this program, visit www.thelastlions.com

To learn more about there the movie was filmed and see exclusive footage and photos from The Last Lions, visit http://www.facebook.com/BotswanaTourism.

new movie: "Africa United" (2010)

Africa United is a road movie about five children who travel 4800km (3000 miles) to reach the FIFA Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Their backgrounds are as diverse as the continent - Fabrice, a middle-class football protégé; Dudu, a Rwandan Aids orphan with a true sense of determination; Beatrice, his God-loving and gentle little sister; Celeste, a proud teenage sex worker; and Foreman George, a traumatised former child soldier from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



On the way to the vital selection trial, disaster strikes when Fabrice, Dudu and Beatrice board the wrong bus and cross into the Congo. Without papers, money or a believable story, they are escorted to a children's refugee camp. But with considerable ingenuity and sass (and a World Cup wall chart for a map), our pint-sized heroes escape the camp and set off in pursuit of their dream, picking up along the way a “dream team” of displaced kids, who help them negotiate a series of thrilling and hilarious adventures.

The movie gonna hit the cinemas in the UK from 22 Oct 2010. I couldn't find any other release dates... not even on imdb.com.

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 >>

District 9 gets 4 Oscar nominations

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences just announced the 2010 Oscar nominees. Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" got nomineed in the categories:

• "Film editing" - Julian Clarke
• "Best Picture" - Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
• "Visual Effects" - Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
• "Writing (Adapted Screenplay)" - Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

For those how missed the movie in cinemas or wanna watch it again- it is out on DVD and Blu-Ray!

Btw - do you know the original short film Neill Blomkamp made in 1995? It is called "Alive in Joburg"... check it out!

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.

Great books to read - "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation" by John Carlin

Clint Eastwood's new film "Invictus" (in cinemas in South Africa & the US already) about Nelson Mandela's life during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa is actually based on a book written by John Carlin. Carlin is a scotish/spanish journo and author dealing with both sports and politics. He was The Independent's South Africa bureau chief from 1989-1995 and published the book "Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation" in 2008.



Book description:
In June 1995, Nelson Mandela conquered the hearts of white South Africa and united his country, black and white, behind their rugby team. This book tells the extraordinary story of the journey to that moment. As the day of the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup dawned, and the Springboks faced New Zealand's all-conquering All Blacks, more was at stake than a sporting trophy. When Nelson Mandela appeared wearing a Springboks jersey and led the all-white Afrikaner-dominated team in singing South Africa's new national anthem, he conquered the hearts of white South Africa. "Playing the Enemy" tells the extraordinary human story of how that moment became possible. It shows how a sport, once the preserve of South Africa's Afrikaans-speaking minority, came to unify the new rainbow nation, and tells of how - just occasionally - something as simple as a game really can help people to rise above themselves and see beyond their differences. [src.: amazon.co.uk]

get the book in the TravelComments.com eShop >>

Endgame (2009)

Endgame - Trailer - The best video clips are here
A deadly behind-the-scenes game of cat and mouse ensues in this gripping and sophisticated political thriller. Drawing on actual events, a British businessman initiates secret talks between the outlawed, terrorist-labeled African National Congress and white intellectuals to try and find a peaceful resolution to the cruel and brutal apartheid conflict in South Africa.
The story is based upon the book The Fall of Apartheid: The Inside Story from Smuts to Mbeki by Robert Harvey. The film had its world premiere on 18 January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK on 4 May 2009. It will have an international theatrical release some time later this year or in 2010.

"The Fall of Apartheid: The Inside Story from Smuts to Mbeki" in the TravelComments.com eShop >>

first trailer of "Invictus"

Invictus tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) joined forces with the captain of South Africas rugby team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africas underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Anthony Peckham
Studio: Warner Bros Pictures
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Scott Eastwood
Release date (US): 11 Dec 2009

South Africa country guide >>
accommodation & tours in South Africa >>
Robben Island >>

New South African movie: Disgrace (2008)

Disgrace is a 2008 film based on the 2003 Nobel Prize winning novel by South African author J.M . Coetzee. The film got released in South Africa at the 14 Aug 09 (Cinema Nouveau), in the US at the 11 Sept 09 and will get released in Germany at the 17 Sept 09 and in the UK at the 4 Dec 09.



David Lurie (John Malkovich) is an edgy 52 year old divorced white professor in post-apartheid South Africa who gets involved with a student and is fired. After moving to the Eastern Cape to stay with his daughter, he becomes wrapped up in racial politics.

get J.M . Coetzee's novel "Disgrace" on amazon.com >>
get J.M . Coetzee's novel "Disgrace" on amazon.co.uk >>
get J.M . Coetzee's novel "Schande" on amazon.de >>

"HOME" Trailer

Youtube.com desc.: "In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it's too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth's riches and change its patterns of consumption.
More than a movie, HOME will be a major event all over the globe : for the first time ever, a film will be released on the same day in over 50 countries and on every format : movie theatres, TV, DVD and Internet.
On June 5th we all have a date with the planet!"

get "HOME" on amazon.de >>
get "HOME" on amazon.co.uk >>
get "HOME" on amazon.com >>

new travel movie: "Creation" - a biography about Charles Darwin

1836 May 31 (coming from Mauritius)
The Beagle sailed around the southern tip of Africa and anchored at Simon's Bay near Cape Town.
1836 June 3
A packet ship arrived with mail for H.M.S. Beagle. Darwin went onshore to pay a visit to Sir John Herschel who had been living there since 1833. He was in charge of the new Royal Observatory built at Cape Town. Darwin was pleased to discover that Herschel had a keen interest in natural history. They had many conversations about volcanoes, earthquakes, the movement of continents, the origin of mankind, and how new species come into being.
1836 July 8
H.M.S. Beagle arrived at St. Helena Island where they remained for five days. Darwin found the island to be a desolate place, essentially a giant mountain of rocky lava rock, except inland where the scenery was more akin to the landscape of Wales. He spent most of his time here exploring the geology of the island [...]

more about Charles Darwin on Wikipedia >>