EAT MY DUST project was born in January 2011 in Kliptown, Soweto’s historic district.
Whilst working within the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP) and Rue du Soleil, the project’s mission is to change the youths world view by introducing them to the tools of cinema and documentary film. The project is based on several activities: BROADCAST: public open air screenings in the township SHARING: talking about movies and exposing the youth to the cinematographic art TRAINING: learning the use of audiovisual tools CREATION: helping to create films
Photos Š Amandine BÊranger, I Was Shot in Joburg, Thulani Mokoena, Delphine de Blic, Flora Aubin
The project is initiated and lead by Delphine de Blic, movie director. The workshops take place in KYP, in close collaboration with Thulani Madondo, its director. They are made with the support of Caroline Bustos, director and founder of Rue du Soleil.
The 2011 participants are nine young people of Kliptown, belonging to the K.Y.P Association: Simphiwe Mthembu, Mpho Mafate, Hope Bvuma, Sisonke Nakami, Senzeni Mtshali, Siphamandla Bongwana, Xolile Blessing Bam, Lebogang Sithole, Pertunia Maschau. They are aged between 15 and 20 years. In 2012, a new group of participants from KYP will be involved.
PRESENTATION of Kliptown Kliptown is a township of Soweto, located about 17 km southwest of Johannesburg.
Established in 1903, the area is of great historical and cultural significance. Here, on 26th June 1955, a crowd of over 3,000 people-including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Helen Joseph and Father Trevor Huddleson - have forced the police to get together with the people and sign a document outlining a visionary
alternative to the oppressive policy of apartheid. This document is called the Freedom Charter.
Today Kliptown remains one of those places neglected by the South African government. 85% of homes within Kliptown are tin shacks. Many roads are not tarred. The concrete buildings are falling apart and most homes remain without electricity. Basic needs such as schools, clinics, and sanitation are nonexistent. 70% of the community is unemployed. Teenage pregnancy is 60% and the rate of AIDS is 25%. One major problem is access to education. There are no schools in Kliptown, and children must walk to local schools. The cost of education (tuition, uniforms, shoes, lunches, trips)
is extremely high. It is not surprising in this context of apparent despair that community members are turning to drugs and crime at an early age. In 2005, the Johannesburg City Council announced plans to renovate the neighbourhood, including a large scale housing project but to date, residents are still waiting.
1 - Cinema and documentary workshop 2 - Open air screenings in the township 3 - Development of a video library in K.Y.P 4 - Creation of a shooting and editing equipment Center in KYP 5 - Creation of a video campaign against AIDS, in collaboration with the Association Designing Hope 6 - Creation of a Kliptown archives fund with the collaboration of Sethu, Film & Television
THE VARIOUS PROJECTS OF EAT MY DUST in 2011/2012
1 - CINEMA AND DOCUMENTARY WORKSHOP The workshop is both theoretical and practical. It takes place every Wednesday afternoon and is run by Delphine de Blic. Half days of filming are added during the month.
Its objective is to foster the emergence of another view of the world that surrounds the youth of KYP and to discover the world as a whole. It is serves to meet the huge need for self expression of these youth. During the theoretical sessions, much time is given to screenings of films. Each film is followed by sharing sessions and analysis.
Program of the first half of 2011 THE CINEMA, A WINDOW INTO THE WORLD How to tell stories? What characterises and differentiates fiction and documentary films? What is a framework? How to hear the different sounds? What are the different tasks on a film shoot?
THEORY 1 ANALYSE FILM: image, color, context, depth of field 2 WORK ON THE NOTION OF GENRE CINEMA: the first half of 2011 being burlesque, musical, comedy and westerns
3 DISCOVERING THE FILM INDUSTRY by discussions and meetings with professionals and personalities from the movie industry (producers, cameramen, sound engineers, actors) >In February 2011, two producers visited: Bridget Pickering (Fireworx Media, South Africa) and Stephanie Scanvic (CinĂŠ Tamaris, France). >In March 2011, a sound engineer, Lawrence Sithembu, visited. >In April 2011, Caroline Bustos (director) and Justine Bourgade (DoP) visited.
4 THE HISTORY OF CINEMA The beginnings of cinema and the films of the pioneers of cinema: Working on the two great films, the recording of reality (documentary) with the Lumiere Brothers film and pure invention of the imagination (fiction), with Georges Melies. PRACTICE During the month, we shoot film in Kliptown and also edit a mini feature film, both of which are presented at a monthly open air screening. Each participant takes turns at completing a specific role: direction, framing, lighting, costumes, catering, make up, directing actors . Besides technical training, these workshops teach participants teamwork and listening skills. Diverse personalities from within the community are invited to play in these mini-movies. Particular emphasis is placed on the social ties that are created and developed as a result of filming within the township.
WORSHOP AGENDA JANUARY 2011
APRIL 2011
the Eat My Dust team were invited by the French Film Festival IFAS and this provided Senzeni and Sisonke the opportunity to go to a movie theatre for the first time.
Cinema Burlesque genre and shoot a remake of L’arroseur arrosé (Lumière Brothers).
Writing workshop during school ho- DECEMBER 2011 lidays. The keynote speaker is Caro- Each member of the Eat My Dust line Bustos, director. team, will create their own movie of JUNE - JULY 2011 ten minutes duration. Each member Fiction, TV Series, Documentary will be responsible for writing and genre. Fireworx Media, a production directing the film crew and the actor company based in Johannesburg, if the genre is fiction. The editing will proposes to employ trainees from the then be done with the assistance of Eat My Dust team during their profes- Delphine de Blic. sional shoot.
MARCH 2011
AUGUST 2011
FEBRUARY 2011
Musical genre and reconstitution of Film Festival event. The Douardennez scenes from Come Back Africa, Sin- French film festival, will project Eat My ging in the Rain, Modern Times. Dust movies. Research for funding to take the team to France is underway.
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Photos : 1. Eat My Dust team at the French Film Festival, 2. Musical Comedy Workshop, 3. Remake of «L’Arroseur Arrosé», 4. Shooting of «Modern Times» remake.
2 - THE OPEN-AIR SCREENING Every last Saturday of the month, a large screen is installed in KYP accompanied by a powerful sound system (Capital AV). The community of Kliptown and visitors from outside the community are invited to view films made by the team of Eat My Dust as well as a famous « classic » movie. The second screening was held in March 26, 2011, with the screening of ‘Singing in Kliptown’, a musical shot by Eat My Dust team and performed by the inhabitants of the township. The film pays tribute to the great American musicals from the sixties and hails the That evening, between 300 and interpretation of Miriam Makeba 400 people gathered for the in ‘Come back Africa’. It is also a The first «Eat My Dust” out door screening, a good percentage nod to Charlie Chaplin in ‘Mofilm projection was held in Fe- being very young children and dern Times’. bruary 26, 2011,beginning with a their parents. Historically, these open air screenings make sense in the neighbourhood. It was in Kliptown in the 1950s, that the first cinema ever in Soweto - the Sans Souci Bioscope - was erected. The cinema was an integral part of life in the neighbourhood until the building was destroyed by fire in 1994.
screening of ‘The Sprinkler Sprinkled’, a film by Mpho Mafate, who wanted to commemorate the invention of cinema in 1895 and pay tribute to the Lumiere brothers. The film ‘Modern Times’, directed by Charlie Chaplin followed.
The primary objective of these community screenings is to open the imagination of the public, accustomed to television productions. Offering quality films, also helps to attract people from outside of Kliptown to enter, visit and stay a few hours in the township of Soweto and serves to facilitate cultural exchange.
3 - DEVELOPMENT OF A VIDEO LIBRARY IN KYP In early 2011, the French Alliance in Johannesburg gave KYP a stock of 500 VHS fiction and documentary tapes, subtitled in English.
Eat My Dust then launched an appeal on the net to source television sets and VHS players. KYP has already a small library. The plan is to incorporate a video library into this using the 500 tapes which will be classified by type and topic. Eat My Dust will continue it’s appeals for donations of VHS tapes by adding to the donations of DVDs. The team is interested in all types of films, preferably being English language or subtitled.
4 - CREATION OF A SHOOTING AND EDITING EQUIPMENT CENTER The project is in urgent need of equipment for shooting and editing it’s films: films for public screenings, the movies of the nine participants and film for the campaign against AIDS (see below) with Designing Hope.
An appeal for donations for quality equipment, in good working condition, will be launched alongside a search for sponsors. Eat My Dust would like to obtain: - two semi-pro cameras - a pro camera - foot cameras - sound equipment: microphones and boom - reflectors - a computer for an edit suit The material would be placed in a secure room, rented or loaned by an institution.
5 - VIDEO CAMPAIGN AGAINST AIDS Having been inspired to work with youth in broadening their world view and documenting relevant social issues in their daily lives e.g. relationships between men and women, urban living environments ect, Eat My Dust undertook to collaborate with the Designing Hope association for its campaign against AIDS and awareness of the HIV virus.
In 2011, writing workshops and development of short video clips for the campaign ‘I Love You Positive or Negative’ are being organised. Catherine Riou (immunologist), Caroline Bustos (theatre director) and Justine Bourgade (DoP) would facilitate the workshop.
The objectives of the writing workshops and improvisational theatre are to broaden the participants understanding of AIDS and the HIV virus and to address AIDS in a family or community. Improvisation will be the base to create short plays that will open to discussions.
Short films resulting from these workshops will be broadcast in the open-air screening in Kliptown and shown on the Designing Hope website.
For over 10 years, Thulani Mokoena, a South African producer and director, shoots film of Kliptown on an almost weekly basis. He now possesses more than 700 hours of film footage. These video documents are unique in that never before have the inhabitants of an area of historic importance such as Kliptown have been filmed so closely over a lengthy period of time. Eat My Dust proposes to create an memorial archive centre by working on all of this film footage. Through this work, the local youth may reclaim their identity and roots through the expression of their identity as a community and as a nation.
6 - CREATION OF A KLIPTOWN ARCHIVES FUND Collaboration with Sethu Movies
This work will be done in several stages. FIRST STEP: watch and rank the 700 hours of footage SECOND STEP: make a documentary film THIRD STEP: make this footage available to the public and initiate conferences, exhibitions, debates, workshops STEP FOUR: continuation of this collection of archives by young people themselves, using different medium: video, sound, photography, drawing
PARTNERS ASSOCIATIONS K.Y.P The Kliptown Youth Program association, founded in 2007 by local youths, serves to support education and community development. The association welcomes young people from 5 to 20. They provide food, tutoring, cultural and sports activities in a safe environment.
RUE DU SOLEIL International Association non-profit’s mission: The promotion and implementation of cultural diversity. Creating spaces of expression through different media: writing, visual arts, music, dance, cinema, circus ... The development of the artistic potential of people engaged in cultural exchange.
WHAT WE NEED: Video material: ref page - Tapes VHS PAL and DVD - English subtitled Founding for: catering - transportation - rental of a safe place - materials for openers screening Training for the workshop participants with professionals
coupon to cut and return to the beneficiary association
I WANT TO BE INVOLVED Name Surname: Address: Country: Email / Phone: Donation to Amount : Cash
RUE DU SOLEIL (France) Cheque
KYP (South Africa)
Transfer
All the facilitators are volunteers
Association Rue du Soleil
Kliptown Youth Program
assoruedusoleil@yahoo.fr Quartier Le Perou 26740 Marsanne FRANCE
thu _ im@hotmail.com PO Box 800, Eldorado Park 813 SOUTH AFRICA
Bank: Crédit Coopératif Lyon Saxe 103 avenue Maréchal de Saxe 69 423 Lyon Cedex 03 Account Holder: Association Rue du Soleil Account: FR76-4255-9000-1121-0292-7130-902 Swift Code: CCOPFRPPXXX www.ruedusoleil.org
Account Holder: Kliptown Youth Program Account Number: 4074380400 Type of Account: Cheque Account Branch: Jabulani Swift Code: ABSAZAJJ Non-profit Organization Number: 059-907
www.kliptownyouthprogram.org
CONTACT Delphine
de Blic
ddeblic@gmail.com PostNet Suite # 17 Private Bag X9 MELVILLE 2109 SOUTH AFRICA tel (+27) 73 310 6623 www.ddeblic.com http://eatmydustproject.blogspot.com