When the Mountain meets Its Shadow/Im Schatten des

It was very exciting to come back to Cape Town after two years and to meet all the people we had spent so much special time with again! Quite a mind-blowing experience! The first screening was at the NU METRO cinema organized by the Architects Film festival South Africa. This cinema is part of a huge shopping mall called Waterfront and it’s right in the business part of the city! After a short introduction from the festival-organizer, the film started. Unfortunately the technical assistant of the festival excluded the Xhosa subtitles, but Mncedisi helped out with a live translation.

After the screening we had an interesting discussion with the audience. Most of them and also all the protagonists where very happy with the results. Especially the ladies from District 6 were very moved by the film. After the screening they told us about the current situation in District 6: the incredible fact that they have to move out of their houses at the end of October shocked everybody in the cinema. Nobody would have thought that an eviction would be possible in the old part of District 6 – after all the forced removals during Apartheid! At the end of her speech, Mrs George asked for the help from all the people “out there”. She made clear that they really depend on solidarity to win the struggle for their houses. She announced that they will have another street party to create more publicity about their court case. Ashraf and Mne motivated the audience to take part in the struggle for housing. Like during the film tour through Europe, they explained how the Anti Eviction Campaign operates. Mne invited everybody to visit the meetings.  After an hour we had to leave the cinema and we continued the discussions outside.

The second screening took place at the community centre in Salt River, Cape Town. This screening was organized by ourselves and COSATU, so there was no entrance fee. Together with Ashraf and Mne we provided the transport, so that everyone was able to join the screening. This time also Arnold, the security guard in the film, was able to join the screening. Besides the second screening of WHEN THE MOUNTAIN MEETS ITS SHADOW, this was also the premiere of the two short documentaries IN BETWEEN WORLDS and KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON. We were very delighted about the presence of the two protagonists of these films, Lizo Nzabela and Hester Stephens. Thanks Lizo and Hester for your cooperation – we will never forget the time we spent together! The two short documentaries are included in the Bonus DVD of WHEN THE MOUNTAIN MEETS ITS SHADOW.

The ladies from District Six, many people from Symphony Way, activists from the Anti Eviction Campaign, members of COSATU and of course Ashraf and Mne were at second screening and made it an exciting event that we will remember forever. After a big applause all the protagonists came to the front. The end of the event was a very touching moment after such a long period of cooperation. It was time to say good bye without knowing when we would see each other again- after all these years we became very used to each other! But we know that we will never loose contact and hope also that all the people that have watched the film and have made connections to Ashraf, Mne and us will continue to stay connected.

The film was also screened in Port Elisabeth, Bloemfontein, Durban and Johannesburg. Despite the fact that there will still be a lot of screenings, we would now like to say thank you to all the people who supported the film, the screenings and of course the movement of the Anti Eviction Campaign. We’re grateful that we met so many amazing people in South Africa and all over the world. Let’s stay in touch and let´s keep up the good spirit!

Cape Town and New York film premieres //Filmpremieren in Kapstadt und New York

Dear friends and colleagues,

we are very happy to announce the Cape Town and the New York premieres of our documentary WHEN THE MOUNTAIN MEETS ITS SHADOW. The film has been shown in many countries so far, the South African premiere was at the Durban International Filmfestival in July. Now the film will be screened for the first time in Cape Town at the Architects Collective Filmfestival.

We would be very happy to see you either on Friday the 10th of September at 5.30pm at the NU METRO Cinema Waterfront (please note that there is an entrance fee for this screening) or on Sunday the 12th of September at 1 pm at COSATU Community Center (COMMUNITY HOUSE  41 SALTRIVER  RD – no entrance fee). The two short documentaries “KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON“ with Lizo Ndzabela and “IN BETWEEN WORLDS” with Hester Stephens will have their premieres on Sunday aswell!

We will be writing about the premieres here.

The film will be touring South Africa, if you are interested about times+places please stay updated on our website. In November the film will have its premiere in New York at the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival.

We’re looking forward to meeting you!

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Liebe FreundInnen, KollegInnen und InteressentInnen,

wir freuen uns, Euch die Kapstadt und New York Premieren unseres Filmes IM SCHATTEN DES TAFELBERGES bekannt geben zu dürfen. Der Film wurde bereits in vielen Ländern gezeigt und hatte seine Südafrikapremiere auf dem Durban International Filmfestival im Juli 2010.

Nun ist er mit dem Architects Collective Filmfestival unterwegs und wird u.a. am Freitag, den 10 September um 17:30 im NU METRO Cinema Waterfront gezeigt. Wir würden uns natürlich freuen, Euch dort zu sehen.

Das zweite Screening ist am Sonntag, den 12ten September um 13 Uhr im COSATU Community Center (COMMUNITY HOUSE  41 SALTRIVER  RD). Es ist ausserdem auch die Premiere der beiden kurzen Dokumentarfilme “KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON” mit Lizo Ndzabela und “IN BETWEEN WORLDS” mit Hester Stephens. Dieses Screening ist kostenlos.

Wir werden von den Premieren hier berichten.

Der Film wird nun durch Südafrika touren, die Termine werden regelmässig auf unserer Webseite aktualisiert. Im November ist die New York Premiere beim Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival.

Wir würden uns freuen, Euch zu sehen!

Um unseren Newsletter zu erhalten bitte hier anmelden.

Before I had the chance to see this documentary I received several long-distance calls from old friends from the former German  anti-Apartheid Movement, saying, that  by all means I should try to see this extraordinary film. Indeed, when I attended the screening of this documentary I was very impressed and deeply touched. It was so different campared to other films and reports with regards to South Africa or other African countries. Usually when showing people`s problems and poor living conditions,commentaries are made talking about those concerned but this documentary is giving a voice to the voiceless.We meet them and listen to what Ashraf, Mne, Zoliswa and Arnold  have to say when talking about their traumatic experiences during Apartheid times, deep wounds that would never heal, engraved into  mind  and soul. People in the townships are explaining  how their hopes and visions got disppointed, because their poverty conditions have not changed much in the new democratic South Africa. When talking about eviction methods of CapeTown authorities that reminds them of similar evictions during Apartheid times, they are not only expressing their sufferings, frustrations and anger.We get to know from first hand how actively  they are engaged in their anti-eviction campaign, and of course power women are in the frontline. It shows how the spirit of those is still alive who once sacrificed their lives for the liberation of their country. Listening to what people in the townships let us know, one can identify oneself with their anti-eviction campaign .

As a sociologist I would like to propose that this documentary:” When a mountain meets its shadow”, deserves still more awards besides the nomination for the Max Orpheuls prize. This documentary makes aware: together people are strong to fight for their basic rights in life. It delivers the very important message: it is quite easy to break a single stick, but it is impossible to break a bundle of sticks tied together.

Dr. Ruth Kadalie-Kronenberg, Germany 8^th May 2010

After a 4 day wait in Stuttgart we all arrived safe back home.

We would like to thank you all for the amazing time we had with you! Please stay in touch with us and no good-byes but see you the next time!

ALUTA CONTINUA!

Since Oslo was cancelled due ti the volcanic ashes in European airspace we were invited by Ivo to Mosbach were an extra screening was held in ver.dis seminar space for members. The topic was social justice so our documentary fitted in nicely. We managed to connect Mosbach with Oslo through the internet in a videoconference – so the group in Mosbach and the audience in Oslo took part in the discussion which was a very exciting experience. Thank you David, Magnus, Ketil and the others in Oslo who made this possible.

Sanele from South Africa was attending the screening in Olso asked about the psychological help situation for the population at large. she conformed what we also explained- rich people can afford this kind of treatment, but it will be impossible the access by the poor.

Thank you for the greetings from a special friend to AEC coordinators.Please also join us by becoming a fan on facebook. Thanks Tanja for the interview.

After the video conference we had very fruitful discussions with the ver.di members and they came up with a letter to the president, the major and the national heritage foundation and others in support of the ladies in the remaining part of district six, who are facing another eviction hearing for the fifth year.

Mrs George, the organiser of the older ladies in District Six send their love and warmth and an embrace for everybody and is thankful to know that there are people over the oceans thinking and supporting them to try and stop this eviction instead of getting support of their own government.
You can call Mrs George on this number: 0027 (0)21 4616303.

And there is a promise of more solidarity actions in support of the poor in South Africa.
Thank you Kurt, Simon, Ruth, Lars, Tanja, Roland, Sandra, Nils, Martin, Jens, Dirk, Thomas! And of course Ivo! Aluta continua!