The feature and documentary films that we show, the majority of which were made by African directors, celebrate Africa’s achievements, expose Africa’s failures, and reveal the possibilities for a more hopeful future. They show us pictures of Africa through the eyes of Africans, rather than a vision of Africa that is packaged primarily for western viewers. The films represent African concerns that are political, historical, and social. This year’s films cover a wide range of themes and topics, including African identity, liberation, emigration, displacement, dictatorship, racism and war, issues of trauma, conflict and reconciliation, peace, truth, justice, forgiveness, and the position of women.

The story of Streetball, a documentary on South Africa’s 2008 – 2009 Homeless World Cup Teams

In Cape Town, there are two realities.  Sixteen years after the end of apartheid, South Africa prepares to

host the FIFA World Cup and the country is ripe with celebration.  New hot spots, airports and stadiums were built to welcome travelers from around the world. However, there remains a generation that lives in extreme poverty, with many youth falling into lives of violence, drugs and abuse.

Streetball is a fast paced documentary that tells the stories of South Africa’s 2008 Homeless World Cup team. The Homeless World Cup is an annual soccer tournament that draws teams from over 56 countries—comprised of homeless and the excluded.  The SA Squad consists of ex-convicts, former gangsters, orphans and recovering drug addicts that band together to represent their country, proving that no one is beyond redemption.   Streetball is a story of hope and of the resilience that dwells within the human spirit.   But while these mens’ dreams are simply to have a home and to be recognized as people who need care, often times the realization of those dreams is accompanied by a sobering reality.

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Meet the soccer players of South Africa’s 2008 Homeless World Cup team and their leaders in the Cape Town community.

Martin Africa grew up in Cape Town and lived on the streets since he was five years old.    After spending years in and out of prisons and gangs, Martin found out he had a son and needed to find a way out of a life of drugs and gangsterism.  In 2007, he attended trials for South Africa’s Homeless World Cup street soccer team. He was subsequently named captain of the 2008 team.

Thapelo Kalpens grew up as an orphan , living in a youth home.  He’s a strong student and wants to attend college but is unsure of how to pay for tuition. He tried out for the Homeless World Cup team in hopes of gaining experiences and connections that would benefit his future. Thapelo made the team and was named vice-captain.

Sandile Mhlongo became an orphan when he was nine years old.  He grew up in a children’s shelter but when he turned eighteen, he was sent out to live on his own.  With no family or support, he ended up living on the streets.  He heard about trials for the Homeless World Cup team and stood out among the competition. Sandile was a top goal scorer for the 2008 Homeless World Cup team.

Petros Nkomo, aka “Rasta,” grew up in Soweto and later moved to Cape Town.  He was an orphan at age seven and struggled to find stability for himself on the streets.  He spent some time in prison due to petty crimes and while he was there, he played soccer. He became an excellent goal keeper which made him an obvious choice for the 2008 team.

David Abrahams is a community leader, focused on developing youth structures. He founded the Western Cape Street Soccer League in 2006, in preparation for the Homeless World Cup held that year in Cape Town.  He has since grown the league into the organization, South African Homeless Street Soccer (SAHSS) and works for the league on a volunteer basis.

Peter Cooksen coached the 2008 Homeless World Cup team.  He works full time for organizations in the Atlantis community and volunteered for the South African Homeless Street Soccer League.  His coaching provided guidance to the players as they prepared to compete in Australia.

Kgafela oa Magogodi is a Spoken Word Poet and film scholar. He taught at the University of the Witwatersrand and was also a guest lecturer at New York University.    He has performed worldwide and was the first recipient of the Steve Biko Fellowship.  His work explores the social roles and media representation of Black intellectuals, as well as the significance of maintaining cultural practices to uphold a vibrant civil society.

Araminta de Clermont

Photo by Araminta de Clermont

Araminta de Clermont is a British born photographer who is now based out of Cape Town. Her work explores “rites of passage, and the visual currencies of group identification and formation.” Before Life her second solo show, follows Life After, which was exhibited at Joao Ferreira Gallery, and at ArtSpace, Berlin. Her work features in the  UNISA collection, in The Trustman collection,  and has been showcased throughout the US and Europe as well as in South Africa.

ETC Crew

ETC CREW is the “Cape Town-based, multi-racial, cross-dimensional Hip Hop rap outfit you might’ve already heard of.”  Fueled by their own fresh yet energetic, jazzy, head-nodding Hip Hop sound, they are on a mission to fill a cultural and musical gap in the South African music industry. Not content to be followers in the game, they would rather do it differently, making changes on their own terms, armed with the kind of quality beats that speak to your feet and a highly comedic lyrical flow that is completely contagious. ETC Crew is here to re-adjust any kind of attitude that says Hip Hop and rap are strictly for gang bangers.

Faith47

Faith47 is a Cape Town based graffiti artist and has been adorning the streets of South Africa for over fifteen years.  Her work explores the divisions that still exist within South Africa’s communities and seeks to draw attention to the places and people that are often over looked.  Her artwork has appeared in galleries across Europe, North and South America as well as throughout Africa.

Jitsvinger

Jitsvinger (Quintin Goliath) is one of South Africa’s fastest rising Afrikaans vernacular Hip Hop artists.  He plays acoustic and electric guitar and successfully launched his debut album, Skeletsleutel, in 2006. He has traveled the country and world, performing at various outdoor and indoor festivals, theaters, clubs, living rooms and even cordoned off streets.

In 2005, Jitsvinger was invited to facilitate a creative writing program at Robben Island.  He has performed with poet and author Antjie Krog, and poets Kgafela oa Magododi and Comrade Fatso. He traveled and collaborated with Khoisan praise poet, Jethro Louw, performing traditional cultural music in the Taiwanese cities of Tainan and Taipei. In mid-2008, he traveled to Switzerland as part of the inter-continental Rogue State of Mind project where he performed and recorded with fellow artists from Switzerland and South Africa.  Jitsvinger has been working on his follow-up album due for release in 2009.

Kgafela

Kgafela oa Magogodi is a Spoken Word Poet, Spoken Word Theater director and film scholar. He has taught at the University of the Witwatersrand School of the Arts as a lecturer in African Cinema, Oral Performance and Rap/Dub Poetry Studies and has also been a guest lecturer at New York University.  He directs and produces original Spoken Word Theater and his productions have included “Itchy City,” “Warsoil,” “Bread,” and “Blood.”

Kgafela has written several screenplays and produced his feature length film, I Mic What I Like, in 2006.  He has performed worldwide and was the first recipient of the Steve Biko Fellowship. His work explores the social roles and media representation of Black intellectuals, as well as the significance of maintaining cultural practices to uphold a vibrant civil society.

Rudimentals

The Rudimentals are an eight-piece ska/reggae band that have been described as a “South African Institution.” The band released its first CD, “More Fire,” in October, 2003 and the hit song “Noh TV” won a National Bronze Stone award for best music video. In 2004, the band was voted “Best Reggae and Ska Band” in South Africa, by nationally popular Blunt Magazine.

In 2006, the band released their second CD entitled, “Set It Proper.” The CD fuses Ska, Reggae, Dub, Dancehall, Rock, African Mbaquanga and Jazz into what is now known as Afro-Ska. Sponsors include Cape Audio College, Township Guitars, Moskow Clothing and Critik Shoes.  In 2007, the Band was signed for their first CD, “More Fire”, with Moonskaworld UK.

UjU

Gwen Ansell of Business Day claimed, “(UjU’s) compositions are memorable and the playing rather better than it needs to be. Whatever this new kind of popular music ends up being called, UjU does it exceedingly well.”

Today’s incarnation of the band was crystallized at a twelve-hour jam session in early March, 2004. Led by spiritual leader of the band, Ntuthu Ndlovu (poet and vocals), UjU has a sound that is distinctly their own, mixing strong Mbaqanga rhythms with modern Jazz and Hip Hop.  UjU – Zulu for Honey – writes with a heightened consciousness, informed by critical social, economic and political issues.  They aim to bring about the entirely new and distinctly South African sound that represents their generation.  As they say, “Nothing cheesy here but always self-referential and ironic.”