This month, AfriDocs on BET will present a powerful broadcast event, the World Premiere of the just completed biopic: Oliver Tambo: Have You Heard from Johannesburg on the man who freed Nelson Mandela and engineered the fall of Apartheid.
This unique film comes at a critical time in South Africa’s history as the current ANC heads into its elective conference. Through this powerful film viewers are given the rare opportunity for insights into the life, ethos, and politics of Oliver Tambo, the leader of the ANC who was instrumental in bringing an end to apartheid.
The broadcast of the film, just recently been completed in this the 100th year of Oliver Tambo’s birth, could not come at a more opportune moment with the entire southern-African region focused on political upheaval and the toppling of established leaders and norms.
Albie Sachs, the Executive Producer of the film, has this to say of its upcoming screening, “The Oliver and Adelaide Tambo Foundation would like to express its support for the upcoming screening of Oliver Tambo: Have You Heard from Johannesburg on AfriDocs on BET on December 10th. This is a spirited, lively and eminently watchable film that brings Oliver Tambo to life on-screen, with moving and poignant interviews from Chris Hani, Kenneth Kaunda and members of the Tambo family. The film shows not just the politics of the man, but also shines a light on a life lived on principles of ethics, compassion, inclusion, social justice and equality. We hope this film is seen by as many people as possible and we are actively supporting efforts to make it as accessible as possible.”
The film will be broadcast at a special time on December 10th, at 9:30pm CAT and re-broadcast on December 15th at 1:25pm, The film will also be available on #AFRIDOCSANYTIME, www.afridocs.net for a LIMITED run Dec 11th -20th.
Additionally, December will also see the re-broadcast of the classic, Finding Fela, and Omar Sosa: Out of Africa, an intimate musical trip through East Africa with the multiple Grammy nominated Cuban composer, pianist, and bandleader.
3 December
When Paul Came Over the Sea | Jakob Preuss | Germany | 2017 | 97 min
Paul has made his way from his home in Cameroon across the Sahara to the Moroccan coast where he now lives in a forest waiting for the right moment to cross the Mediterranean. This is where he meets Jakob, a filmmaker from Berlin, who is filming along Europe’s borders. Soon afterwards, Paul manages to cross over to Spain on a rubber boat. He survives – but half of his companions die on this tragic 50-hour odyssey. When Paul decides to continue on to Germany, Jakob has to make a choice: will he become an active part of Paul’s pursuit of a better life or remain a detached documentary filmmaker?
Golden Goblet for Best Documentary, Shanghai International Film Festival, 2017
10 December
SPECIAL TIME 9:30pm CAT
Oliver Tambo: Have You Heard from Johannesburg | Connie Field | South Africa | 2017 | 90 min
Political comrades and law partners, Mandela and Tambo shared a political destiny. Nelson Mandela is a household name. Oliver Tambo is virtually unknown. Banned in South Africa, Tambo led the liberation struggle in exile from 1960-1990 while Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island. During those 30 years he not only kept the African National Congress (ANC) unified, led his movement both inside and outside South Africa in a successful battle against apartheid, his calls to the international community to isolate and sanction the South African regime created the most globalised human rights struggle of the 20th century. In the end, his actions released Nelson Mandela and laid the foundation for a new South Africa. Suffering a stroke on the eve of success, OR would not live to see his livelong friend become the first black president of a democratic South Africa.
AVAILABLE FREE TO STREAM ON CATCH-UP www.afridocs.net from Dec 11th – 20th
17 December
Omar Sosa: Out of Africa | Olivier Taieb | Cuba/ Africa | 2010 | 52 min
An intimate musical trip with the multiple Grammy nominated Cuban composer, pianist and bandleader through East Africa. Omar Sosa, influenced by traditional Afro-Cuban music, records a song with a local musician in each country in this epic road movie.
24 December
Finding Fela | Alex Gibney | Nigeria | 2014 | 120 min
Finding Fela tells the story of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s life, his music, his social and political importance. He created a new musical movement, Afrobeat, using that forum to express his revolutionary political opinions against the dictatorial Nigerian government of the 1970s and 1980s. His influence helped bring a change towards democracy in Nigeria and promoted Pan Africanist politics to the world. The power and potency of Fela’s message is completely current today and is expressed in the political movements of oppressed people, embracing Fela’s music and message in their struggle for freedom.
Sundance Film Festival, 2014
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