Category: Television

“CALL ME MILES – BRUTALLY HONEST”, A MUST SEE ON NETFLIX BRINGS CLARITY TO GENDER ISSUES

~ debeernecessities

In a time when the other is viewed as much more of a threat than at any other time and the antagonism and visibility heightened because of social media, finding yourself in a body that is alienating and seemingly viewing the world differently than people around you, can make life seem intolerable. DIANE DE BEER spoke to them:

Pictures reflect the many faces of Miles:

That’s what happened to Miles Kean Cilliers Robinson when they hit puberty. What they know now is that they have been battling to identify with the gender assigned to them at birth.

In a documentary titled Call Me Miles – Brutally Honest, available on Netflix and a must-see, they tell their story with an openness and vulnerability that’s sometimes painful yet highlights the issues of growing up in a world that doesn’t make sense to them.

Finding myself battling with many of the concepts simply because the words including the way to use pronouns is unfamiliar to me, and I am someone who embraces differences as well as acceptance, I can understand how frustrating it must be to navigate a life that seems so foreign to many.

I found their guidance and explanations extremely educational. We are living in a world that is more fluid than it has been my whole life and having no children, I don’t often have to face any of these issues. But I could see that Miles didn’t appreciate any of my blunders. And I agree. It is up to all of us to inform ourselves and I suspect, that is why Miles always knew that they wanted to share their story. They knew from the age of 16 that they are non-binary and needed to find a way to align their body with their personal identity, their sense of self.

With two parents in the newspaper world, they have always been aware of the importance of facts and getting the right stuff out there. And in this era of fake news and easy targets with social media available and anonymous, even more so than before.

The only time Miles was unaware of their predicament was in that time when little boys and girls are seen as just kids. And they are blessed with parents that always treated them simply as another human being. Their problems started when the outside world started intruding.

Still in primary school, a young classmate told them that it is time for them to start wearing a bra. “I was incensed,” they say, “how dare she?” Nevertheless it had to be addressed and their mom took them shopping with the advice that a sports bra would be the most comfortable option.

                   Miles with Dad Deon .

Their life however changed overnight when their mom decided to send them to one of Tshwane’s prestige schools, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria. They are an exceptional achiever regarded as highly intelligent, and Mom wanted the best possible education for her child. In retrospect they (and I suspect their parents) believe that this was the worst possible environment for them.

Overnight they walked into a world where the scholars were referred to as “ladies” (dames) and of course, had to wear dresses. Another public shaming exacerbated their emotional dilemma. During a swimming exercise, the girls spotted that they didn’t shave under their arms and they were ridiculed. “I couldn’t believe that they (his fellow scholars) didn’t want more than simply being the perfect little girl.”

And on that day, their obsession with their body, in particular “being fat” became part of their daily obsession. Telling their story they couldn’t emphasize enough how distressing this became. It completely dictated their life.

I met Miles more or less at the age of 14, and I can clearly remember that the person I saw was completely normal in size and looks, nothing strange or out of the ordinary. I would have described them as cute and wouldn’t have referred to their body at all.

“My discomfort in my own body only started when someone else said something,” they explain. And aren’t we all familiar with that one, only in their circumstances it played into already troubled emotions.

For Miles specifically it meant withdrawal and isolation, which made everything worse. “We grew up in a time where our parents were focussed on protecting us. There wasn’t time for holding me close, we had to be tough,” they say.

Kids were not deemed to be streetwise and they had to be taught the rules of the jungle hovering out there. Their generation, they argue, has greater exposure to others (not so much part of the Apartheid era where the focus was on separation) and thus have more empathy. “I see that as a pre-requisite to see the other,” they emphasise.

At this point their world started to change dramatically. And they capture it thus: What became clear to me was that my gender is not determined by the way I paint my nails or knot a tie.”

But only after many years of torture for this struggling teenager in an all-girls school, they asked to be booked into Denmar Mental Health Services. In the interim they had been self-harming with cutting and suicide attempts simply to stop the emotional chaos that became their world. Nothing came easy and even with a group of friends whom they describe as “a ragtag band of misfits” who offered some protection, they were drowning.

But they had made a decision when they asked to be booked into Denmar. “I am a boy,” they told everyone when they arrived, “please call me Miles.” And they did. The warmth and acceptance they received at the facility (“apart from one asshole psychiatrist!”), changed their life.

And that was the beginning of a new phase in their life. They still had to share their new self with their parents which then snowballed to the rest of the family and friends. Miles would have liked to have orchestrated their “coming out” more slowly, but they also know and accept that on the whole – especially with their parents  – they have been blessed.

They still had top surgery to discuss and to navigate, all of which has been done and now their future stretches ahead of them with a clarity that perhaps during their school years seemed impossible.

Nothing came easily and their varsity studies were also interrupted by the wrong choice of subjects. But amidst all of the struggles that dominated their younger life, they know they have landed softly and opting for a degree in clinical psychology and anthropology, their future is about helping others with what they had to battle – often without guidance or role models.

When you hear them saying that a choice of opting to wear a binder (which compresses the breast) meant that they had to choose between physical or emotional discomfort, the constant unease of their life seems unbearable. Time and again, they would rather cope with the physical obstacles. “I didn’t have role models or anyone to turn to,” they say.

That is what they hope to change by opening a practise for transgender youth and young adults. “During the process of transitioning,” they say, “ I didn’t have anyone to go to. I had to put it all together myself.”

For the present, they are exactly where they want to be.

AUTHOR MICK HERRON’S SLOW HORSES OF SLOUGH HOUSE ARE AS DELICIOUS ON SCREEN AS ON PAPER

~ debeernecessities

If you haven’t heard of the author Mick Herron and the imaginary men and women who are all part of Slow Horses, it’s time to find those books and to stream the first two seasons of Slow Horses which can be seen on Apple TV now. DIANE DE BEER reveals more:

If you have Apple TV, this is one to see.

Those of you who loved the intrigue of John le Carré’s spy novels, lost your heart to his characters with George Smiley leading the pack and still remember Alec Guinness’s portrayal of the seemingly distracted, downtrodden spymaster, will be pleased to know there’s another spy series available to both read and catch on a streaming service.

With a gaping hole left behind by the Le Carré absence,  just in time, in steps author Mick Herron. I was told by a friend about the new arrival a few years back, and my husband and I jumped in immediately to tackle the series.

That was a while before the television series was even on the cards.

We were immediately hooked, but for me it was slow going because I had to catch up first with some other freshly published works waiting for review. I was even sent one of the books in the Slow Horses series along the way and quite recently I decided it was time to spoil myself and tackle the last four in the series. And I did so with glee.

Herron is a fantastic writer. His language often has your toes curling, and his characters and their ticks, especially the motley crew who make up the Slow Horses and quickly rule the roost.

Herron’s first thriller, aptly titled Slow Horses, was immediately shortlisted for the CWA Ian Flemming Steel Dagger as well as named one of the 20 best spy novels of all time by the London Daily Telegraph. The second, Dead Lions, won the CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger, and so the list reads on and on with the awards and praise growing with each new novel in the series.

Once you’ve met the reluctant leader of the pack, Jackson Lamb, you won’t stop smiling at all his antics. He must be one of the most reviled bosses ever created and yet, while he is constantly deriding and humiliating his underlings, he is also first on the scene at any sign of trouble and the one to think up some terrible revenge when even a hair on the head of one of his spooks is pulled out of place.

Slough House, the name of the unappealing offices (if you could reasonably call it that), is where spies from MI5 are sent when they’ve messed up. No one cares what happens to them, borne out by the fact that their boss seems no more than a slouch who has been put on this earth to torture those who are unfortunate enough to serve under him.

While all this might be painting completely the wrong picture, it is difficult not to shout from the rooftops about this exhilarating spy writer who seems to have silently (and sometimes unobserved) risen to the top of the all-time best spy series list. It would be tough to find a reader who disagrees.

What more can one ask for than a spy novel written in a way that’s character-driven yet has a story unfolding which not only keeps you up at night, but also boasts a plot that will keep you engaged as you puzzle your way through the world of espionage?

In the end, if I had to pinpoint the most appealing aspect of a Jackson Lamb novel, it would be the language. To prove my point, a small extract which offers some kind of description of Slough House: “Heat rises, as is commonly known, but not always without effort. In Slough House, its ascent is marked by a series of bangs and gurgles, an audible diary of a forced and painful passage through cranky piping, and if you could magic the plumbing out of the structure and view it as a free-standing exoskeleton, it would be all leaks and dribbles: an arthritic dinosaur, its joints angled awkwardly where fractures have messily healed; its limbs a mismatched muddle; its extremities producing explosions of heat in unlikely places; its irregular palpitations a result of pockets of air straining for escape.”

And then about the ethos: “Slough House was a branch of the Service, certainly, but ‘arm’ was pitching it strong. As was ‘finger’, come to that; fingers could be on the button or on the pulse. Fingernails, now those you clipped, discarded, and never wanted to see again. So Slough House was a fingernail of the Service: a fair step from Regent’s Park geographically, and on another planet in most other ways. Slough House was where you ended up when all the bright avenues were closed to you. It was where they sent you when they wanted you to go away, but didn’t want to sack you in case you got litigious about it.”

And then finaly, just something about the feared leader Jackson Lamb: “Breakfast was two pints of water and four Nurofen. Shaving was out of the question, but he released himself from yesterday’s tie with the kitchen scissors and found a fresh suit, which meant one that had been in his actual wardrobe, if not on a hanger”… and it goes on.

I am now waiting patiently for book no ten in the series. In the meantime I could revisit the television series, two seasons of which have been released on Apple TV and are still available to watch with the promise of a third coming later this year.

When you have lost your heart to a series of books, it’s with trepidation that you watch the live version, the characters and stories you have invested in. But with this one, it’s all systems go. While Gary Oldman didn’t pop into my mind as Jackson Lamb, once the actor had inhabited the man, there was no one else who could have stepped into those slippery Lamb shoes with such relish and robust. And ditto to Kristin Scott Thomas in the role of Lamb’s nemesis as she plays his arrogant and disdainful boss at MI5. There are few actresses who can play elegant haughtiness with such ease. And the rest of the cast complete the picture magnificently.

Mick Herron must be thrilled with this adaptation which so sharply captures the essence of both the people and the place of this much loved series. And hopefully we will be able to catch up on the full series – and a few yet to be written, in the years to come.

If any of the above appeals to you, don’t hesitate. It’s a glorious addiction and one I plan to hold onto for as long as possible!

  • Published by John Murray, it is distributed by Jonathan Ball locally.

NATANIËL, AN ARTIST ON A MISSION, AS HE LAUNCHES THREE EXTRAVAGANT PRODUCTIONS

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Checking in with artist Nataniël about his performance schedule these next few weeks/months, he is ending his year on an explosive note with three huge productions all starting or being performed in one week. DIANE DE BEER gives an overview of the festivities ahead:

Those who don’t know about Nataniël’s classical training and studies might be surprised to hear about Die Smitstraat Suite, an oratorium and lifelong ambition of this prolific composer of especially pop songs.

And as he explains it, this 80-minute-long composition consists of a few of his songs not yet recorded, combined with original music. “It will be presented as one musical piece inspired by the classical oratorium, or in some instances,suites,” he explains. The complete work includes nine compositions sung in English and Latin with the unique Nataniël touch – original stories in Afrikaans.

He knows what he is doing could be seen as old school, but in his mind, he is creating something that will last and can be performed through the ages.

Explaining the music, he describes it as filmic, done in an almost world music style.

Some of us who saw his recent performance of the Sanctus at the Arena which he performed with the Akustika choir and his regular musicians (Charl du Plessis, piano; Juan Oosthuizen, guitar; Peter Auret, percussion; with the addition of Ockie Vermeulen, organ), had a glimpse of what’s to come.

Once the piece is finished, every note is scored and he views this as Opus 1 in his life … and perhaps a hint of things to come.

If you were wondering about the name, he wanted to use a surname/name that wouldn’t have any one connection with anyone!

The appealing note in all of this is the fact that even though in most people’s book an oratorium means a very specific thing, Nataniël will make it his own.

Even when trying to explain the concept, he comes up with descriptions like a “framework with stories” or, said differently, “a reason and place for the following composition”.

He also notes that it is a piece of music with text which has no other purpose. For him though, it is something that will hold, not just disappear into thin air, and that makes sense of his artistry.

The concert has an age restriction of 14; it’s 80 minutes long and, warns the performer: phones that ring might lead to violence. I would heed the warning.

Performances:
October 1: Potchefstroom, Aardklop; Ticketpros.co.za
9 October: Affies, Aardklop Aubade; 11am and 3pm.

His annual Christmas season, this year titled Six in a Boat has moved from December to October.

“I hate the festive corporate bookings,” notes Nataniël. It sometimes means that the shows are packed with people who have to be there rather than want to, he feels, and he prefers audiences who come by choice. Who wouldn’t?

 The story was inspired by the visuals of people packed in a boat. Are they refugees. Holiday makers, fishermen or lifesavers?

It’s not as if we can ignore the elephant in the room, he points out. The world is at war.

He cannot understand how and why we tolerate dictatorships and wars? Why do people allow these things to happen? That’s the issue of the day – and the storyt of our time.

He is also hoping to be more extravagant visually. “I miss Emperor’s,” he says referring to his annual spectaculars for many past years. They will be three musicians and three singers (including Dihan Slabbert and Nicolaas Swart.

But he reminds us that there is only so much visual acrobatics the Atterbury Theatre can support. “If we should do a set, the cast won’t make it onto the stage.”

But there will be extra magic with the lighting and past experience has me excited. I know what he can achieve on a dime and with his imagination. He says all the music has been composed and scored but he will be busy writing stories until he steps onto stage. As seen here, his time is limited or limitless, depending how you view it.

Booking at Atterbury Theatre from October 11 to 16, Tuesdays to Saturdays at 7pm and Sunday at 3pm

No interval; no cell phones; no short pants; no children under 15; no drink in the auditorium; bar closes 15 minutes before the performance.

And finally, there’s the latest lifestyle television series with the two Le Roux brothers titled Nataniël. Erik. Wolf.

A Nataniël production or television season often starts with a book and this time was no different.

It was a thick forgotten folder packed with illustrations by the French artist, Gustave Doré.

He had so loved the drawings that he ordered the book and was completely captivated. The sketches also transported him back to his childhood and fairytales, as well as the desire to research and discover the original stories – untouched by commercial publishers and filmmakers.

Then he invited designers and artists – South Africans and Europeans – to participate in this fantastical season.

Following the past few years of the pandemic, Nataniël and his team returned to his favourite European city, Nantes, also the home of his brother Erik, for the first time in three years.

This time Erik sourced a centuries old workshop on the estate of an eccentric mansion and in-between the trees of a lush green forest, the new season flourished. “It looks like the kind of place where Gepetto has just finished carving Pinnochio,” he says.

Food, art, design, books, stories and beautiful music form the foundation of the series and pianist Charl du Plessis joined the group and is featured in many episodes and situations – some musical, other not.

Original Nataniël compositions were developed into a soundtrack and the siblings are holding thumbs that viewers will join them to relax, laugh constantly, cook generously, gravel adventurously, ask questions, address issues, find inspiration and get carried away by the deliciousness of it all, once a week for a few months.

How can we not?

From October 15, Sunday nights at 8pm on KykNet, with rebroadcasts during the week.

A link to all the shows for bookings: www.nataniël.co.za

kykNET SILWERSKERM FILM FESTIVAL’S EXPANDING EMBRACE DRIVES ITS SUCCESS

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The short film Leemte en Leegheid was both an audience favourite and winner as the Best Short Film.

It was time to celebrate at the 10th kykNET Silwerskerm Film Festival following some sidestepping during the pandemic and hectic lockdowns. But they’re back and it appeared as if many filmmakers of both full length and short films benefited from the grace period to sharpen their skills and their scripts. In the long run, this has been a festival that has added potential and punch to the local film landscape. DIANE DE BEER takes a look at her personal 2022 favourites:

The power of storytelling was again in evidence at this year’s 10th celebratory Silwerskerm Film Festival held at Camps Bay’s Bay Hotel at the end of March.

It has always been my experience that the arts is one of the best ways to get to know one another, especially in a country as diverse as ours and (because of our horrific history) still divided in so many ways.

But with different communities sharing their stories, we are invited into different spaces, some familiar and others not so much.

Perhaps the more extreme example is Down So Long, a story set in Hangberg, the settlement in Houtbay so many hoped they could wish away. It is too visible a reminder of the inequalities so rampant in our land with the more affluent Hout Bay directly facing this more struggling offshoot

And yet, that’s not what the film is about. It’s the story of Joseph Mabena who lives with his wife Doreen and their children and spouses and grandchildren in their overcrowded house. When he is injured in a workplace accident, he is offered a substantial amount of money as compensation for the loss of an eye.

But it doesn’t take long for him to see exactly what is happening at home. There’s a sudden rush of affection as the family rallies in the hope of turning their lives around with this unexpected windfall.

Mabena’s eyes are opened, he sees through their deception and arrives home with a new girlfriend.

Scenes from an enthusiastic cast and crew in the powerful and revealing Down So Long.

What makes this such an exciting venture is that the filmmakers wanted to work with what they viewed as  “invisible people” and, by telling their stories, give them a voice.

Workshopped productions are perhaps more easily done in theatre, and here it is especially intriguing, as the cast was comprised of both professional actors and participants from the community who could bring validity to the script.

It’s yet another way of giving voice to the voiceless, and the screening was particularly enchanting because of the excitement of those who had participated. They might not have the acting experience but they came from this place, know the people and could recreate the feeling of what the people and the place represented. “It’s a way of working with the community who represent the lived experience,” said one of the director/producers.

That is the real value of the piece. The camera was used in observational fashion and those of us watching could get a real feel for the place. As entertaining as it was, it is also hugely educational, a true gift.

The Barakat family with Vinette Ebrahim (centre) the heart of the story.

Barakat, a film that deservedly walked off with a clutch of prizes, also deals with a specific community, but this time it is a professional cast telling the story of a Cape Flats Muslim family, who are experiencing their own trauma, trials and tribulations.

This particular community has often been presented with a political backdrop and usually by others telling their stories, but this time, it is just another family going through their own stuff while showing us a lifestyle of a particular community who isn’t usually featured in this fashion.

In interviews, director/screenwriter Amy Jephta acknowledges that she wanted to tell a story about a normal family, their joys and struggles, in this instance that of a Muslim widow Aishee Davids (Vinette Ebrahim) who gathers her family to tell them about her engagement to a Christian suitor.

With four sons, this isn’t going to be easy and this is the journey Jephta (and her co-writer Ephraim Gordon) takes us on.

It is the way the story is told (often with gentle humour), the excellent cast led by a magnificent Vinette Ebrahim (who received the Best Actress award) and the superb production values (deservedly winning them Best Screenplay, Best Original Soundtrack (Kyle Shepherd), Best Production Design and Best Supporting Actress for June van Mersch).

The storytelling sweeps you off your feet as you are invited into the heart of this close-knit yet squabbling family, who has forgotten all about their blessings and are focussed on their individual needs. Bakarat means blessing, and that’s exactly what this left me with while watching. We live in a country where for far too long certain voices and stories were ignored.

By acknowledging who we are, our stories embrace the riches which have been neglected, and we all benefit.

Another filmmaker I’ve been watching the past couple of years is Etienne Fourie and this time (as he explained at the post screening discussions) with the appropriately OTT Stiekyt, he truly made the film he wanted to make. And it shows. It’s a scream in many different ways.

First off, he obviously has an imagination which runs riot, and with drag queens (a whole clutch of them) running the show, he could afford to go wild.

Different looks from Best Actor Paul du Toit in Skietyt.

But he does his homework and gets all the building blocks ready before starting a shoot. He has put together a dream cast of young actors. Start with Paul du Toit (who won Best Actor) who plays an actor who joins a failing drag club to save his marriage, and that line should already say enough. He needs money to pay the bills and his wife (Cintaine Schutte) is unaware of his dilemma.

A transformed Albert Pretorius in Stiekyt winning him Best Supporting Actor Award

The club hosts a handful of drag queens played by actors who are tough to recognise in their extravagant costumes, colourful coiffure and knock-‘em-dead makeup, but this camp coterie drives the film in most joyous fashion.

Combine all that with the acting quality of Albert Pretorius (who won Best Supporting Actor), Wessel Pretorius, Carlton George, Jacques Bessinger (in fact the full enselmble) and you already have a winner.

But everything isn’t a laughing matter, as the story unravels in full blooded gory fashion when a killer suddenly emerges in spectacular style. It is that kind of film. If you buy into the premise, you could just die laughing. But I will keep watching this particular screenwriter/director whose movies all seem to pay homage to cinema in a most original fashion.

His films keep you watching and I can’t wait for the moment he strikes gold.

Short films play a huge part in this particular film festival, and this is where future filmmakers start emerging. They’re fun to watch as they are plentiful and give you an idea what stories are being told and what talent is out there from cinematographers to composers to actors – and of course directors and screenwriters.

Many of our most promising directors dabbled in this particular section before they tackled a full-length film.

Ivan Abrahams and Lida Botha in Leemtes and Leegheid

For the first time the audience favourite, Leemtes en Leegheid, was also the winning short film. Starring real-life husband and wife team Lida and Johan Botha, its a stripped yet emotional story that deals with grief as an elderly couple come to terms with the inevitable. A stunning portrayal of ageing, loss and battling with loneliness.

In sharp contrast, Skyn deals in contemporary sass with a young woman who is desperate to escape the drudgery of her own life by imagining a different starring role. The story stars the talented Carla Smith, who also wrote the script winning her the Best Actress award as well as a prize for the Best Ensemble with co-stars Albert Pretorius, Wilhelm van der Walt and Greta Pietersen.

It felt young, had energetic punch and gave Pretorius a very funky make-over to boot.

Scenes from Verstikking; Nagvoël, Sporadies Nomadies, and Twintig Tone In ‘n Hangkas;

Other short films that impressed were Aan/Af rewarding Marlo Minnaar with a Best Actor award; Bergie by Dian Weys, who showed you could make impact in 7 minutes; Nagvoël, which told a cool superhero tale; Sporadies Nomadies, which explored the estranged relationship between a father and daughter; the wacky Twintig Tone In ‘n Hangkas; an intriguing Verstikking; and out-of-competition’s Die Vegan en die Jagter, which turns stereotypes on their head.

A scene from the heart-wrenching Lakutshon’ Ilanga

Something else to look out for is the Bafta-nominated Lakutshon’ Ilanga, which deservedly won an Oscar in 2021 in the Student-Academy section. It is a heart-wrenching local story of a young black nurse in 1985 apartheid South Africa who is trying to fend for her young activist brother. It is inspired by a true story, so many of which still have to be told, and reminds us of how far we have come and how long the road still stretches up ahead.

Both Karen Meiring (former KykNet channel director and founding member of the Silwerskerm) and Jan du Plessis (MNet content director) were honoured with Exceptional Contribution awards for their extraordinary service through the years.

And their input will keep giving to this festival, which in the past 10 years has had a huge impact on the local film industry – and it keeps expanding and embracing, which is a big reason for its success.

For more detail on the festival and the films and where they can be seen, go to www.silwerskerm.co.za.

All the shorfilms that premiered at the 10th Silwerskerm Film Festival are now available on DStv Now and Dstv Catch Up. The feature films will be on DStv Box Office, or released theatrically:

Gaia: Limited theatrical release:

CAPE TOWN: The Labia: 22, 23 April – https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1514006081

JOHANNESBURG

The Bioscope: 23, 28, 29 April – https://tickets.tixsa.co.za/event/special-screenings-of-gaia

DStv BoxOffice: From 22 April

boxoffice.dstv.com (no subscription needed)

Beurtkrag: DStv Box Office release – 16 June 2022.

Indemnity: Ster Kinekor theatrical release – 12 May at Ster Kinekor Theatres.

Vlugtig: DStv BoxOffice until 25 April 2022.

Down so long: Coming soon to DStv BoxOffice. Release date to be confirmed.

Stiekyt: Coming soon to DStv BoxOffice. Release date to be confirmed.

WHEN VOICES AS STRONG AS PEDRO ALMODOVAR AND MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL GET INVOLVED THE LIVES OF MOTHERS SHINE WITH GREAT STRENGTH

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The universe of mothers is something everyone has plenty to say on. But take two storytellers with the gravitas and sparkle of Pedro Almodovar and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who seamlessly slides from actor to director, and you have two extraordinary films with casts that make the stories come alive. DIANE DE BEER reviews:

The great thing about a new Pedro Almodóvar movie is that it is like coming home. It’s about the colours and the characters, the way he tells his stories and the choices he makes. From the start I’ve been a fan.

And because I haven’t yet been back to brick-and mortar-cinemas, I have to depend on what is offered to me. DStv’s Box Office could not have made a better decision than adding Almodóvar’s latest film PARALLEL MOTHERS to its line-up. Not in a million years did I expect that! (The run is finished, but try streaming it somewhere else)

Like the name suggests, it is about mothers but that is about the only thing in this film that is predictable. The rest is like a crazy Almodóvar adventure which makes twists and takes turns to make your head spin. In typical Almodóvar fashion, it’s a story of humanity and even if wild, not that improbable that you can’t take your emotions with you on this ride.

There’s so much that made me happy. I want to live in an Almodóvar world, the way he dresses his people and his rooms, his landscapes and the faces he peoples his films with. All of these appeal to me and take me to a place where I can wallow for a couple of hours.

And then there’s the magnificent Penelope Cruz. She has never done better than in an Almodóvar movie. They get and trust one another and as she grows older, she has also let go and allows him to push her where he wants her to go.

It’s the story of two unlikely mothers-to-be, the one a 40-something and the other just out of her teens (Milena Smit). Together they give birth to their first babies but because of their circumstances, their lives and the outcomes are completely different. And yet they connect through these circumstances that bind them together in a completely fantastic fashion.

Being Almodóvar, there’s also a political thread that runs through the film that plays out both visually and emotionally in a way that rips your heart out. You wouldn’t want it any other way though.

From the leader of the pack, Cruz, to the young Smit, and another Almodóvar regular, Rossy de Palma, they all climb into their characters and before long you’ve forgotten this is only a movie. Don’t miss it, and especially if you don’t know this Spanish filmmaker’s films, have some fun in his world.

Olivia Colman in Lost Daughter

And hopefully you have Netflix to access the acting phenomenon Olivia Colman’s latest exposé of feelings in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, THE LOST DAUGHTER, based on the short novel by Elena Ferrante. It’s also a film on motherhood but in this instance coming from a completely different place – and I’m sure on all counts, many women will identify.

I was almost a newly-wed when I decided not to have children. At the time and as I grew older, the fact that I had taken that decision and wasn’t dictated to by perhaps an inability to have children (don’t know, I never tried!), was often disturbing to others. I was called selfish, asked what I would do when I was old and so forth.

And what this film deals with is also a motherhood topic that isn’t often discussed or publicly explored. The title The Lost Daughter already opens many different possibilities, but what is really at the core here is the inability of some women to easily fall into the mothering role. It isn’t that they don’t love their children or even had an unhappy childhood themselves, it simply doesn’t come naturally to everyone. But in our world today (and that before and after us, I suspect), motherhood is sacrosanct.

In Gyllenhaal and Colman’s extraordinary hands and made with an extremely sensitive yet startling vision, the story unfolds in delicate yet dramatic fashion. It takes a while to find your way, especially if you don’t really know what the film’s about. But from the start it grips you as red herrings unfold and tumble out all over the place.

However, yearning, it seems, is the great motivator here. When you discover something in others (and on full frontal display) that you have lacked, it can do strange things to you head.

More than anything though thanks to the teaming of these two talents, it is the unusual story that turns this into such a tour de force. It’s difficult to believe that there are still such taboo topics so part of our everyday lives.

Everything is also enhanced in the film universe by the diversity on all levels that is growing and unfolding by the day. The more stories that are told from different perspectives, the better and more probing our films will be. And in that way, hopefully touch us more deeply, as both these films do so magnificently.

Parallel Mothers is available on DStv Box Office until 1 April 2022, and The Lost Daughter was on local release.

Shakespeare Is The Man For All Seasons With Women Breaking The Acting Mould

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DIANE DE BEER

“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go” William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Shake Chilling with the Bard Poster Image_ (002)

Stories are never on pause, explains Artistic Director of the Market Theatre, James Ngcobo, as he reveals their latest theatrical celebration which starts during this Women’s Month: Chilling with the Bard, a Shakespeare Season.

And for those of us trying to keep track of the creative juices of Ngcobo, it’s been a sweet ride as he tries to navigate the Covid 19 curve ball which has almost brought the world to a standstill.

I knew the creatives would find different ways to market and move their stories even when their winning ticket – live theatre – was cancelled and closed from the start and will probably be prohibited for the rest of the year.

Yet from the start of the first lockdown, Ngcobo knew he had to find ways to keep theatre going, to embrace rather than defy lockdown. “I commissioned 10 new works all of which are available on our social media platforms and some of which will be reworked next year to stage live,” he says.

Then he turned to a handful of especially young actors to do monologues reflecting on their world and the life we are inhabiting now. “Theatre will rise again,” he says but in the meantime it has given him the opportunity to showcase some performers who are Market regulars but also others he has always hoped to put on stage.
“Covid hasn’t stifled our passion, just moved it into another space.”

He also connected with dancers like Vincent Mantsoe in Paris, writers like Napo Masheane were given a scenario and asked to write something and others to tell their own stories while an international jazz hook-up was also made. He had to find ways to woo audiences to watch and is thrilled by the response – with numbers watching rising constantly as all the work can be easily accessed for free.

Many of these plays will also be staged at the Market once live performances are given the go-ahead. “I envision two weekends of short plays for example where audiences move around from one 20 minute play to another,” he says. For him it is important to stage new work and not just look at what they had available.

This latest season is based on speeches from some of Shakespeare’s iconic plays, mostly written for male characters. They have been carefully picked and partnered with the perfect actress, according to Ngcobo.

These past few months and those ahead have been all about finding ways to work not only for audiences but also for actors. Reversing the roles in this Shakespeare season, Ngcobo hoped to excite both parties with roles that where written more than 400 years ago but are still relevant today.

shake maya and oprahIn an Oprah Masterclass podcast with Maya Angelou, relevance is underlined with the following Angelou musings:

“I read Shakespeare,” she says speaking of herself at a very young age, approximately 12. “I memorised 50 sonnets or something. But I read one sonnet that made me think, Shakespeare must be a black girl from the South who may have been molested. How could he know?”

And then she recites…

In disgrace with  fortune and men’s eyes,

 I all alone beweep my outcast state,

And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,

And look upon myself and curse my fate.

“Shakespeare knew what it was to be raped and scorned, so of course, (and she laughs) I thought he was a black girl, barefoot in the South. It spoke to me.” And who can argue that!

Ngcobo expounds: “I think it’s important that we’re not locked in by the myopia of gender and race,” he says, something that world theatre has embraced as audiences become more adventurous in their viewing choices.

“It is really a marvel that almost 400 years after he wrote this great literature, we are still intrigued and engulfed in this magnificent work of brilliance. Shakespeare poured his heart and imagination into these wonderous stories that have been acclaimed, enjoyed, and staged over the years.” said Ngcobo.

Running through his options he talks about his choices for the season:

 

Eleven of Mzansi finest female actresses take on performing one hander plays on the John Kani stage, showcasing their diverse talent with extraordinary acting. “I’m hoping that this amazing combination of talent will breathe new life to these ancient yet living texts,” says Ngcobo.

 

Shake Arsema Thomas
Arsema Thomas

Arsema Thomas is an American actress currently working in South Africa. She has African parents and wanted to work on the continent. Encouraged by Moonyeenn Lee, Ngcobo auditioned her and was delighted she could participate. The first part is a speech by Rosland in As You Like It (Act 3 scene 5) and then as Lady Percy from Henry 4 Part II (Act 2 scene 3)

Shake Awethu Hleli
Awethu Hleli

Awethu Hleli first caught Ngcobo’s attention working for Cape Town’s Magnet Theatre. She’s multi-talented, a UCT graduate and moves easily from theatre to the screen. Her monologue is as Malvolio from Twelfth Night, Act 5 scene 1.

Shake Bianca Amato
Bianca Amato

Bianca Amato will be remembered by Isidingo fans before she left for the US where she has been amassing a stream of awards. But she’s back home and her contribution is Brutus’s speech from Julius Caesar Act 3, scene 2.

Shake Camilla Waldman
Camilla Waldman

Camilla Waldman has perhaps been seen more often on TV screens than on stage lately, but anything she touches turns to gold as one can witness in the monologue from The Tragedy of King Richard the Third –  Act 1, scene 1 as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, afterwards King Richard III.

Shake Charmaine Weir-Smith
Charmaine Weir-Smith

Charmaine Weir-Smith, a director, writer, actor was last seen in a stunning performance in Paul Slabolepszy’s Suddenly The Storm and also directing Dawid Minnaar and John Kani with a full heart in Fugard’s The Train Driver. She will be doing one of two sonnets, Sonnet 29 “When in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes …”

Shake Kate Liquorish
Kate Liquorish

Kate Liquorish was most recently seen in M-Net’s Still Breathing and on Netflix’s Queen Sono (with Ngcobo) and on stage in a dramatic turn in Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love. She will be playing King Richard II, Act 3 Scene 2 in King Richard II.

Shake Leila Henriques
Leila Henriques

Leila Henriques  starred luminously in the Greg Homann-directed Florence and  with great insight directed the award-winning Hani: The Legacy with  the Market Lab students. She will be playing Viola in Twelfth Night.

Shake Renate Stuurman
Renate Stuurman

Renate Stuurman, also part of Suddenly the Storm cast and very familiar to television audiences will be doing the second sonnet – Sonnet 13 – My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.

Shake Rorisang Motuba
Rorisang Motuba

Rorisang Motuba jumps in at the deep end with Shylock from Merchant of Venice’s To  Bait Fish Withal. She’s a storyteller who approaches her craft from many exciting and different angles.

Shake Tinarie van Wyk Loots
Tinarie van Wyk Loots

Tinarie van Wyk Loots performed at the Market in a Zakes Mda play directed by John Kani, but she is better known for her Afrikaans stage work, which is seen most often at festivals. Versatile and with the bravado of someone who dares to try anything and fly, she opts for Hamlet in no less than the title role – and pulls it off magnificently.

Shake Sara Richard
Sarah Richard

Sarah Richard comes from local theatre royalty (daughter of Michael Richard and Louise Saint Claire) and Ncgobo, who loves giving young actors their chance on stage, leapt at the opportunity for her to play Launce from Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Shake Vanessa Cooke
Vanessa Cooke

Vanessa Cooke is synonymous with the Market Theatre and the Lab and as such becomes what Ngcobo refers to as the ringmaster for this Shakespeare celebration. She plays Jaques in As You Like it with The Ages of Man speech, Act 2 Scene 7.

Shake Zethu Dlomo Mphahlele
Zethu Dlomo Mphahlele

 Zethu Dlomo Mphahlele is a dynamic force on stage and screen with a big international presence. A WITS graduate, she doesn’t flinch while playing Macbeth, Act 3 scene 1.

The Market will start releasing the different performances from this Thursday  with an explosive Camilla Waldman opening the season and following with a new monologue each week on Thursdays at 12. Check their website http://www.markettheatre.co.za and their facebook page for details.

Madiba and Zelda Take a Last Long Walk

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Zelda with Nelson MandelaA new Madiba documentary with Zelda la Grange at its centre will be screened on Sunday nights on kykNET at 8pm for the next 6 weeks. DIANE DE BEER attended the launch in Johannesburg:

 

“Memory is keen to build the country of our dreams,” said Sello Hatang, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation who was hosting the launch of the new kykNET series Madiba: ‘n Uitsonderlike Roeping (Channel 144) starting on Sunday.

He witnessed the Mandela/La Grange relationship and embroidered on the special bond between these two people whose daily interaction reminded one of that between a father and daughter. He asked many people to remark on how they viewed the relationship, and the conclusion was always the same.

Also pointing to the relationship between this most unlikely couple, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Chief Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela noted how they were initially puzzled by this presence in their grandfather’s life, (“a white Afrikaans woman in our house!”) but the love between the two of them was remarkable. “We are here to say thank you Zelda.”

Zelda at Union Building's Nelson MandelaFor Zelda, it is a simple quest: “I bear witness to a man waking up every day, convinced that if he could just touch one life a day, he could change the world. I think history tells us he did exactly that. So I choose to believe that individual actions matter too.

She further believes she has an obligation as she was blessed and honoured with her first-hand experience of someone the world regards as one of the best men ever to walk this earth. South Africans who regard him as their own, absolutely agree.

She was also inspired by a Ted Talk by Nigerian Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled The danger of a single story. “She says that our lives, our cultures are composed of many overlapping stories and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

“I, like so many others, have maintained over the last couple of years that our modern history is dependent on people sharing and writing truthfully about their experiences.”

For her it has been a self-imposed responsibility to add her version. She knows this isn’t a single story but a tapestry of stories. She wanted to capture her memories through the stories and talks between the two of them.

“When I first spoke to Carien (Loubser, the producer) about the idea of doing something in Afrikaans about Madiba’s life, my concern was that many Afrikaans people still only considered Nelson Mandela as the President that appeared at Ellispark in 1995, wearing a Springbok cap and jersey. But we know that there was much, much more to him.

“With the enormous privilege I have had, working for him for so many years, I realised that there is also a responsibility, a self-imposed need, to tell a story, to add to all the other stories, in my language.

Zelda with rural women

It is also a personal longing to understand the great man better by investigating his past. “I wanted to know what influenced Nelson Mandela to become the person I met in the Union Buildings in 1994, when I started working for him,” she says. And for that, she believes one has to go back – which is also the start of the series (6 episodes of 52 minutes each) – a visit to the region of his birth, where he grew up and where he was happiest after his release from prison.

“This documentary is not as a result of things that are being said,” she says in response to a question. “Twenty-five years after democracy nothing like this has been done in Afrikaans to educate people about Nelson Mandela’s life.  Why not? And should we wait longer or why has others not done so yet? And will it ever be done if I don’t do it for the Afrikaans audience?

“This is not my story, and this is not his usual life story. The episodes are about things I have personally wondered about over the years and no-one has looked into before. Research is never completed.

Zelda looking at the hills and valleys Mandela loved

Looking over the hills and valleys in the introductory episode, La Grange feels she can understand his way of life as she inhales the simplicity, the beauty, the silence of this place. “For me this is all very personal,” she said, “and I hope we have done justice to his legacy.”

She knows that anything being said out there has to do with the position she filled which caused resentment, not the person.  “It is not something I can apologise for either or a relationship that I have to defend. Madiba kept me in his service and paid my salary for 19 years.”

“He was never prescriptive about his legacy and how he should be remembered.  He consistently said that he would leave it to others to decide how he should be remembered. He did interviews in my presence for almost two decades and spoke on almost any topic in the world. It is for us to research his words to see how we can improve society with what he left behind.

“He is still very present to me personally because I choose to hold on to the ideals and principles that he stood for.”

The series is about actually visiting the places where he walked, moved, lived. “History denied me and many others the opportunity of understanding more about Madiba the person and the young boy. I wanted to know more about his mother and father, the events around their deaths and how that affected him. I have been fascinated with Justice, the man Madiba considered his brother, and son to the Regent that brought him up after his father passed on.  I wanted to meet him and share with him memories about his ‘brother’ and friends’ life.

“Who was the woman that gave him and Justice a lift from Queenstown to Johannesburg that changed the course of his life? And did she realize that she was a catalyst for something so important?  How did it feel standing in the Palace of Justice expecting to be sentenced to death? What does his old hostel look like or the garden he used to work in for Rev Harris etc. These things are topics of episodes to come. It’s about stories he told me of which I wanted to know more.”

She is strongly advocating that everyone tells their Mandela stories. “This cannot and should not be the only story. People should continue telling their stories and share first-hand experiences of him because the more information we have about Madiba, the stronger his legacy will be in 50 years time when none of us are around to tell people what he was really like or what he did.”

Zelda
Zelda la Grange

There’s a reason La Grange played such an important role in our history. Some of it is her approach. “I’ve learnt in life that you will never do anything that pleases everyone. You have to be personally convinced that you are doing the right thing and then be able to live with yourself.

It’s difficult to conclude anything with an introductory episode of any series but there are many spin offs to this endeavour. La Grange for example hopes that the area in the Eastern Cape and all the little places where Mandela left his mark will be revisited and reclaimed and hopefully resuscitate struggling communities economically.

She’s also intent on honouring all the forgotten heroes with whom Mandela maintained contact. “It is a single story,” she says. “But hopefully it will encourage others to tell their stories and solidify the history of a glorious human achievement that was Nelson Mandela’s life.”

No one knows and understands that better than Zelda la Grange who seems to have taken her long walk with Mandela forward – by sharing many intimacies with the world.

She has had to reclaim her life because for two decades, she dedicated everything she did to Nelson Mandela – and was honoured to. Driving her car down memory lane to the Union Building right at the start of this story, she reminisces about the extraordinary turn of events when she was only 23. “I can’t believe that they allowed someone so young into such a powerful space,” she says shaking her head.

That was the extraordinary chemistry between these two human beings – Nelson Mandela and Zelda la Grange. They could have been overwhelmed by the chasm that should have festered between them and yet, the one found something in the other that further clarified and enhanced their worlds.

She describes the feeling when he died as an “enorme leemte” (huge hole ) as she returns to the places he loved – for the first time after the funeral. “He always believed that the place you come from provides your anchor in life,” she says. “That is why I need to see what influenced him. We need his wisdom more than ever.”

Many South Africans will agree.

And she concludes: “If I touch one person’s life with this documentary by showing them what the places looked like and who the people were that shaped the character of the person that I met in 1994, I would have achieved my goal.”

And perhaps his wife Graca Machel should have the final word: “It didn’t matter whose company he was in, Pope or pauper, he would always remain equal to himself.”

  • Madiba: ‘n Uitsonderlike Roeping (Madiba: A Glorious Human Achievement) is directed by Carien Loubser and her team from Brainwave productions; research by Dr Schalk van der Merwe; and music by Karen Zoid 
  • The six part documentary will be broadcast in Afrikaans with English subtitles and will also be available on Showmax.

The Sorrow of the Same Train: Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us and James Baldwin’s Tell Me How Long …

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True stories of the persecution of black boys and men in the United States have, perhaps, never been as raw as in Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us. Her four-part miniseries about the Central Park (Exonerated) Five is breaking viewing records on Netflix. But when DIANE DE BEER read James Baldwin’s Tell Me How Long The Train’s Been Gone (1968) at the same time as watching the miniseries, the 50 years between the two explorations of the same agonising topic burned away, into the same history of hate:

 

 

When two brothers, Caleb (17) and Leo (10) are stopped by the police in James Baldwin’s Tell Me How Long The Train’s Been Gone (1968)

I’m glad you were with me, because if it hadn’t been for you, they’d have given me licking …

What for?

Because I’m black, Caleb said. Because I’m black and they paid to beat on black asses. But with a kid your size, they just might get into trouble. So they let us go.

 

Anything changed? That was written more than 30 years before the last century ended and we are almost 20 years into the new one.

when they see us
A scene from Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us

And yet horror is still being expressed by the events (1989) of the exonerated Central Park Five. The story has suddenly been given life again by the expressive Ava DuVernay’s evocative and brilliantly blunt When They See Us, recently released on Netflix.

You just need to focus on the name of the four-episode dramatised version of five black and brown teenagers wrongly accused of the assault and rape of a woman jogger in new York’s most iconic public park – hence the name, the Central Park Five. The men were exonerated years later, in 2002, but this series is a reminder once again of the horrific racism of the American justice department including the police and the prosecutors as well as the wrongful rage of the media at the time. Property magnate Donald Trump further exacerbated and fuelled the fire of an already baying white citizenry with full-page ads (at the cost of $85 000) in the New York Times and other papers. He called for New York State to adopt the death penalty.

What DuVernay does in this particular series is focus on the young boys (from 14 to 16 at the time of their arrest), the way they were mistreated, the absence of any rights for the young boys and their parents and how far and wide the damage spreads in a community when this kind of devastatingly wrongful act is taken to its conclusion – one of the young men, 16 at the time, was tried as an adult and sent directly to Rykers, one of America’s most notorious prisons.

Ava DuVernay at work
Ava DuVernay at work on When They See Us

 

To witness only his story which unfolds in harrowing detail in episode 4, is devastating. I cried from start to finish. To see a life destroyed in such a wilful manner is impossibly sad. But DuVernay knows exactly what she is doing and she doesn’t hold back.

In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour for example, when talking about Donald Trump (now president of course) she explains why she included particular clips of him and a television interview: “What he said at the time contributed to the air of criminal bias pointing to black and brown boys and girls as animals, a wolfpack, dehumanising black people.”

The Trump interview itself is also packaged in a way that is both screamingly funny yet shows the contempt of  the two women when they hear him speak.

As he talks about black people (in 1989), he says he would like to be a “well educated black because I do believe they have an actual advantage today”. The real interview is played on a television screen in the room with two of the mothers of the accused boys watching. The one turns to the other and says:

“What is a black?”

“I don’t know,” says the friend, “but when is the white man going to get a break in this country?”

A retort follows sharply: “They have to keep that bigot off TV.”

“Don’t worry about it, his 15 minutes is almost up!”

And knowing what we know now, that’s no longer funny.

Ava DuVernay

 

James Baldwin writes further in his book about his white fellow Americans: I did not want to leave this fire, leave this room, but I wanted to get out of this country. I had had it amongst all these deadly and dangerous people, who made their own lives, and all the lives they touched, so flat and stale and joyless.

My countrymen impressed me, simply as being the emptiest and most unattractive people in the world. It seemed a great waste of one’s only lifetime to be condemned to their chattering, vicious, pathetic, hysterically dishonest company.

For these people would not change, they could not, they had no energy for change: the very word caused their eyes to unfocus, their lips to loosen or to tighten, and sent them scurrying into their various bombshelters.

 

What is so astonishing about DuVernay’s stubborn spotlight on issues and people who have never had a voice, is that she has obviously decided to take a stand and speak her mind on issues that people have been pussyfooting around to the consternation or confusion of the rest of the world watching.

When referring to Trump, there’s no hesitation when she points to his “racist supremacist views and opportunist buffoonery of the time”.

She’s equally blunt when speaking about the US prison system, something she has invested in keenly with her Academy Award winning documentary 13th which exposed the historical racial bias in the system.

Answering a question by Amanpour about the broken system, she again approached it head-on: “I don’t believe the system is broken. It’s working exactly as it was meant to work.”

And that’s exactly what she focussed on in 13th: “How the system came to be, the historical context of a criminal justice system that overindexes on the criminalisation of people of colour in the US.”

“It can’t be reformed,” she tells Amanpour. ”It has to be completely overhauled.” And then she adds, “We need massive work to reframe how we think of criminality in the US.”

That is precisely why the five young men (Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, and Kevin Richardson) turned to her as their saviour, the one they wanted and willed to tell their story.

They knew she had the insight and would get it right. For her it was about showing their innocence destroyed as they were ripped from their youth in a matter of moments. They didn’t stand a chance. The prosecutor of the case is heard saying: “Every black man who was in the park that night is a suspect. I need all of them.”

She got what she asked for and more. Corey Wise wasn’t in the park, he simply accompanied a friend to the police station as support. He was sentenced for 15 years and because he was unwilling to confess to a crime he didn’t commit, he wasn’t allowed parole.

 

A final note from James Baldwin: People become frightened in many different ways – the ways in which they become frightened may sometimes determine how long they live. Here I was, in the country, and on a country road, alone, facing two armed white men who had legal sanction to kill me; and if killing me should prove to be an error, it would not matter very much, it would not for them be a serious error. It would not cost them their badges or their pensions, for the only people who would care about my death could certainly never reach them – Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone.

Watch both 13th and When They See Us on Netflix if you haven’t done that already.

 

  • The details are easy to look up on the internet, but in case you want to know: The case was heard in two 1990 trials. In one, Salaam, McCray, and Santana were found guilty of rape, assault, robbery, and riot, and sentenced to the maximum, 5 to 10 years in a youth facility. Richardson was convicted of attempted murder, rape, sodomy, and robbery and was also sentenced to 5 to 10 years. Wise, at 16, tried as an adult and convicted of sexual abuse, assault, and riot was sentenced to 5 to 15 years. Santana, Richardson, McCray, and Salaam went to juvenile detention for five to seven years but when they were released, they were required to register as sex offenders, which limited their ability to find work. Finally they were all exonerated when a man already in prison, came forward with a guilty plea.

Choices Choices Choices: Entertainment In Style – Out On The Town Or At Home

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cine prestige
Cinema in style at Cine Prestige The Grove

There’s a world of entertainment out there for you to tap into whatever your interests. DIANE DE BEER explores some of the options and the way it stretches your mind:

 

 

If your movie-going days seem to have dwindled, The Grove Ster-Kinekor recently launched its revamped Cine Prestige theatre with a screening of action thriller John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum – and all of Cine Prestige’s signature comfort.

If you are one of those people who are reluctant to leave the comfort of their home because cinemas have become rowdy places with cell phone interruptions and blinding screen lights that detract from the experience, then this might be a way to entice you back.

cocktails at cine prestige
Cocktails at Cine Prestige

It reminded me of business or first class flying with seats that move and change into comfortable sofas with you and your partner sweetly ensconced into your own private space.

The experience also includes a cosy private lounge, and a full bar offering with a range of drinks from wine, beer, cocktails, and hot drinks.

You are no longer reliant on popcorn and coke, although those are also available for those die-hard movie memories. Guests can also enjoy gourmet snack platters, and a selection of desserts, all served in the comfort of a fully reclining leather seat. It’s a great way of watching a movie.

All of this comes at a price, naturally (R161 a ticket without refreshments) but assuming you want to watch movies on a big screen in extreme comfort, this certainly is that.

John Wick
Fight or flight in John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

Personally, I realise that I’m not the target audience of the John Wick franchise which we were invited to see yet fortunately this was my first experience of this particular Keanu Reeves strongman, which meant there was an element of novelty involved.

But not for too long. These films are simply a series of flight and fight scenes in various guises, with little happening in-between.

Their next offering, Longshot, is a love story that tracks the life of a free-spirited journalist who keeps running into trouble. Played by Seth Rogen, Fred unexpectedly charms Charlotte (Charlize Theron), who is smart, sophisticated and sassy. The combo of the silly and the serious should be fun and our girl is always someone to watch.

This will be followed by Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which won’t be diarised, and Rocket Man, which is described as an epic musical fantasy which makes sense if you’re told it is based on the unfiltered story of Elton John’s breakthrough years. It nevertheless is not an unauthorised version, Sir Elton was a big part of the process.

Cine Prestige, it seems, is about a fun experience rather than movies that might seriously engage your mind, but we need these escapist adventures as well. And seeing the whole adventure as a bit of a fantasy, the movie itself might just as well fall in that genre too.

But while on the subject of entertainment and keeping up with the latest out there in a way that’s easy – and perhaps not putting you out of pocket, I was recently watching a Christiane Amanpour programme on CNN. This is one of the few that cover politics but also the arts with authors, filmmakers, directors and the like all making an appearance. (Check it out on CNN, currently at 7pm on weeknights and again repeated at 5am in the morning. She keeps you in touch.)

But this particular segment featured two extraordinary women who are both tasked with introducing us to a new world fast emerging out there.

Radhika Jones
Radhika Jones

The first was Radhika Jones, the first mixed race editor of the pop culture magazine Vanity Fair, which immediately impacts their cover and story choices to reflect the world we live in – all of it – not just from a certain vantage. She makes some brave decisions for the future of the magazine, and this is where you get to play around for a while. She recently opened up the Vanity Fair archives, free of charge for now.

Vanity Fair archive
From the Vanity Fair archives

That means you can sit endlessly scrolling through issues from the beginning of time depending on your interest. Vanity Fair has always been a magazine that homes in on the zeitgeist which is what makes it of interest internationally.

As Jones explained to Amanpour, her cover choices weren’t really the result of who she is but rather of what is happening in the world around us, with the success for example of Black Panther and Get Out and she wants to capture the spirit of the times. To allow readers into this world through the archives is a treat. Go and have a look. Just make sure that you are in the archives, not the magazine itself which is limited to four articles a month, of Vanity Fair and then have fun with your reading choices.

 

Rachel Lears

And on that note, if you have a Netflix account, don’t miss the Rachel Lears documentary Knock Down The House. It looks at the primary campaigns of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin, four Democrats endorsed by Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress (the names say it all) who ran for Congress in last year’s US midterm elections.

Knock Down The House1
The four women competing in the Midterm Elections

It premiered at Sundance 2019 in January, was voted an audience favourite and was bought by Netflix for the most money ever paid for a documentary.

These women were running together on a grassroots level and what the filmmaker wanted to explore was power now and what it looked like, how representatives and money converge and what happens when people who don’t have the money, are brought into the process. Because of the large amounts of money required to run, usually only certain kinds of people can access the process, but this is changing with Ocasio-Cortez and her particular brand (and charisma)  turned into hot currency with the current crop of Democratic Presidential hopefuls whenever they have a stage.

She was the only one elected and has already challenged the status quo in a country where a largely white male Alabama senate recently passed the most restrictive abortion bill in the US deciding about the rights of women and their bodies, “the only thing men cannot control,” argues Gloria Steinem.

All of the above are “entertainment” options in our new world of access, streaming and many other avenues that keep popping up.

It’s time to play and stretch the mind – and that’s the best way.

Nataniël’s Second Phase Will Have Him Playing On Many Different Platforms

~ debeernecessities

optog kombi and nataniël.pic by optog
Optog kombi and Nataniël. Picture by Optog!

Showman Nataniël is embarking on what he calls the second phase of his career with quite a few tricks up his sleeve. He tells DIANE DE BEER about his future plans:

 

It took only four phone calls, says Nataniël, to cut his salary by half but this drastic measure was necessary for him to get things going in a different fashion.

It’s always been part of his strategy, not to keep doing the same things all the time. Leave before they’re tired and start something completely different.  “I am not going to do anything that I’m not in control of any longer,” he says hence all the changes. And money is no longer a driving force.

As someone who prefers being the one responsible for something he does, whether good or bad, he says it is time out for projects where he is involved with egos bigger than the talent. “It’s not that I am all-powerful, just tired of all the bull!”

“I am back to earning all my money in my own head,” he notes, but he’s used to creating his own world and then sharing it with the rest of us.

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Men in black – Erik, Nataniël and Nicolaas

He and his assistant Nicolaas Swart are currently in Nantes, France (arriving back this week) where his most recent four-season television series (Die Edik van Nantes with his bro which also evolved into his latest cook/lifestyle-book released just before Christmas) was shot, and while this is a well-earned break, it is also a time to scout for new ideas with his brother-in-arms Erik le Roux who lives in Nantes.

“We love working together, so we will come up with something new,” says Nataniël, who has just started his own YouTube channel, something which is part of his plans but will also prevent one of his huge irritations, people randomly posting show videos or unwanted clips of him on the popular channel. “Once you have your own channel, you can remove any illegal ones,” he says joyously.

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Nataniël in costume.

He will also be shooting a music video for this platform while in France, the first he has made in 20 years. “We’re going to do it with cell phones,” he says, and it will be a short art film with music rather than a traditional music video.

Importantly, he will be focusing on finding creative outlets that make him happy. What he has discovered in especially Nantes, a creative city, is that he has been allowed to film and introduce basically anything to his local audience. “There’s a pride and a generosity which makes everything accessible and it is such a pleasure to work in a hassle-free environment.”

On the performance side locally, he starts his year on a new platform called Optog (March). The brainchild of producer/pianist Matthys Maree, it is described as one huge concert tour on wheels travelling through the whole of the country and beyond, running from February 14 until December with artists like Nataniël, Karen Zoid, Jo Black, Laurika Rauch, Coenie de Villiers and Deon Meyer, Vicky Sampson and Corlea Botha, all on a musical note with a few theatre productions also going on the road. Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Polokwane, Welkom, Sasolburg, Kroonstad, Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Durbanville, Port Elizabeth, East-Londen, Potchefstroom, Durban, Windhoek and Swakopmund are all on the map.

Nataniel and Erik in Nantes
Nataniël and Erik in Nantes

“I am visiting rural towns I have never been to,” says Nataniël, one of our best travelled artists locally – and something he will again do more of in the future. He will be performing in three shows: Nataniël Gesels (talks) where he will be presenting one of his famous talks in theatres, something he tested at the end of last year for the first time; Nataniël Unplugged accompanied by Charl du Plessis, which is a more intimate version of his larger shows; and Four Loud People with his full band, the Charl du Plessis Trio and representative of his shows compiled of stories and songs in both English and Afrikaans.

Check out the website for more info and dates (www.optog.co.za) and hold thumbs for their plans to give new life to existing performance sites and halls in the platteland which might generate more platforms for artists everywhere.

In April he will be presenting a show at Artscape titled Anthems. And we’re not talking national flags or such like here! Nataniël describes it as “songs that singers claim as their personal anthems”. It will be in the style of his classical concerts of the past two years and he can be viewed as songs for grownups. “The songs usually represent an era, a life or an event,” he explains, “but anthems can also be attached to movies.” And he will be showcasing a few of his own.

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Nataniël at Emperor’s

Later in the year he will return to Emperor’s where he has been performing annually for just short of two decades taking a break last year and this time the run is planned to play almost like 12 individual concerts. As always with Nataniël, what that means exactly will only become clear once we see the latest spectacular extravaganza so much a part of his annual showcase.

For the first time he is also in the throes of writing an original book. “I have written many, but these have always been compiled from either columns or my show catalogues,” he says. This is something different, a kind of memoir, and more than that he isn’t willing to reveal, only that it will be published in both English and Afrikaans and this is the first time he has sat down and written an original book. He’s excited but also nervous while working hard on a Nataniël voice that works as well on paper as in performance.

On the food side, he will do a few kitchen demos – usually presented at the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria and booked out as soon as the announcements are made – but much more than that he hopes to avoid. “When you have just finished a cookbook, food is the last thing on your mind,” he says, although his Nataniël Collection (food and kitchen products and tableware) in Checkers is going to be expanded and has been doing well around the country. They will be appearing in every shop and he is hoping to add a few new products, something he always enjoys doing.

And in private time, he will be battling cell phones (mainly in shows) and plastic. “Botswana has banned single-use plastic! Surely, we can too. What makes us so special that we keep destroying the planet?”

He argues that nothing usually comes from the top and a minor anti-plastic violence in shop queues, isn’t a bad thing. “Little old ladies should just hit those using plastic bags with their handbags,” he says. “They can get away with it.”

“It’s not that anyone listens to me, but to remain silent isn’t an option any longer.”