INT. SHACK – UMLAZI TOWNSHIP, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – NIGHT (1997)
A young, African American man leans against the corrugated, iron walls of the shack, balancing himself on a crate whose edges dig into the packed earth floor. He is intoxicated, both by the Amarula he sips and the sights and sounds of this hood on the southwest side of the city.
I had come to South Africa to study post-apartheid politics. As the only man of color in my study-abroad program, I often slipped away from the group to experience the culture of the country as an anonymous African. A modestly dressed, single Black man is virtually invisible to most people in most countries — until you speak.
As was often the case when I ran out of the few Zulu phrases I learned and my American accent revealed my nationality, the first questions for me from the brothers in the room were: Do you know Biggie or Tupac? Are they really dead? Armed with liquid courage this night, I challenged my hosts to explain this fascination with Black celebrities when — to my mind — we had so much more to learn from one another. One young man’s answer echoes in my spirit to this day:
You Africans in America are the most successful Black people on Earth. Whatever you are doing, we are going to do
The images we project of one another reverberate around the world. Yet, like most Americans, African Americans know woefully little about the lives of our brothers and sisters outside the United States. We here in the Blackest City in America have a duty to educate ourselves — and others — on the struggles, successes and still untapped potential of Our People across the Diaspora. This is the mission of the Global South Film Festival.
From the triumph and tragedy of indigenous peoples chronicled in Eternal Song; to the drama of Kidnapping Inc., Meta Take One and Caribbean Heist; to the joy A Soulful Christmas and the genius of our Youth Shorts — the festival is our opportunity to share our stories and build an industry that empowers the next generation of our storytellers.
The Global South Film Festival was built to honor those unafraid to tell their stories.
Those who know that art is a pathway to liberation, and those who stand witness to the transformative power it carries.
Thank you for being here, for supporting independent cinema, and for helping us build not just a festival, but also a bridge – a way to connect our stories and apply our collective imagination to a future waiting for us to create it.
Danielle Duncan
Artistic Director
