"We need to ask questions. Kliptown has a monument worth millions, but some people there continue to live without running water, lights and toilets," Francis says.
LAST year when the Afrika Culture and Development Club still had a base in Kliptown, Gauteng, a film screening had to be cancelled because the community hall was not available.
There was no electricity anywhere else and no space to accommodate the droves of youngsters who had come to see the film.
So when the club representative told the children the film was cancelled, one of them suggested that they ask his mother if they could use her generator.
But this did not happen because his mother, living in an informal settlement, did not want to give up her family's heat and light for a film.
So the club died, suffocated by a lack of resources. And for an organisation that tries to use "cinema for change" that was devastating.
The ACDC director, film director and arts activist Benjy Francis, believes that such things should never be allowed to happen and that communities should fight for self-sustainability at all costs.
"We need to ask questions. Kliptown has a monument worth millions, but some people there continue to live without running water, lights and toilets," Francis says.
Such criticism of one's social conditions is exactly what the club attempts to engender in the minds of the children who attend their screenings.
Children are encouraged to bring along parents, grandparents or sibling, to create a communal experience. At the end of the viewing, the film becomes the basis for a broader conversation. This is meant to make it easier for parents to talk about otherwise difficult topics with their children.
Last year, under the umbrella of the Afrika Cultural Centre, the organisation started setting up local film clubs across Gauteng.
The initiative maintains a strong bond with the Association of Danish Film Clubs for Children and the Youth.
Last year the club sent three delegates to Denmark for training. There are now seven clubs operating in Ivory Park, Westclare, Alexandra and Soweto.
The idea is to use films to harness dialogue around issues such as drugs and teenage pregnancy.
The selection of films is broad, from animation to feature films from all over the world.
The programme from last year's winter screening includes films such as The Wooden Camera, The Princess and the Frog and the South African township drama Fools.
The ACDC believes that film and art literacy can be used to enhance the educational curriculum.
Francis also speaks of the organisation's long-term vision to establish satellite clubs in schools and in other provinces.
"Art is not a pastime, but a revolutionary act. It's not enough to write a play, perform it and appear on TV and think you have done a good job," he says. - mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
Changing lives with movies
"We need to ask questions. Kliptown has a monument worth millions, but some people there continue to live without running water, lights and toilets," Francis says.
LAST year when the Afrika Culture and Development Club still had a base in Kliptown, Gauteng, a film screening had to be cancelled because the community hall was not available.
There was no electricity anywhere else and no space to accommodate the droves of youngsters who had come to see the film.
So when the club representative told the children the film was cancelled, one of them suggested that they ask his mother if they could use her generator.
But this did not happen because his mother, living in an informal settlement, did not want to give up her family's heat and light for a film.
So the club died, suffocated by a lack of resources. And for an organisation that tries to use "cinema for change" that was devastating.
The ACDC director, film director and arts activist Benjy Francis, believes that such things should never be allowed to happen and that communities should fight for self-sustainability at all costs.
"We need to ask questions. Kliptown has a monument worth millions, but some people there continue to live without running water, lights and toilets," Francis says.
Such criticism of one's social conditions is exactly what the club attempts to engender in the minds of the children who attend their screenings.
Children are encouraged to bring along parents, grandparents or sibling, to create a communal experience. At the end of the viewing, the film becomes the basis for a broader conversation. This is meant to make it easier for parents to talk about otherwise difficult topics with their children.
Last year, under the umbrella of the Afrika Cultural Centre, the organisation started setting up local film clubs across Gauteng.
The initiative maintains a strong bond with the Association of Danish Film Clubs for Children and the Youth.
Last year the club sent three delegates to Denmark for training. There are now seven clubs operating in Ivory Park, Westclare, Alexandra and Soweto.
The idea is to use films to harness dialogue around issues such as drugs and teenage pregnancy.
The selection of films is broad, from animation to feature films from all over the world.
The programme from last year's winter screening includes films such as The Wooden Camera, The Princess and the Frog and the South African township drama Fools.
The ACDC believes that film and art literacy can be used to enhance the educational curriculum.
Francis also speaks of the organisation's long-term vision to establish satellite clubs in schools and in other provinces.
"Art is not a pastime, but a revolutionary act. It's not enough to write a play, perform it and appear on TV and think you have done a good job," he says. - mahopoz@sowetan.co.za
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