Documentary on Missing Chibok Schoolgirls Wins at Venice Film Festival
Daughters of Chibok’ tells the harrowing story about the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram. The powerful documentary debuted at this year’s festival and won in the category of best virtual reality documentary. The film’s director, Joel Kachi Benson, said in his acceptance speech: “With this VR film, all I wanted to do was to take the world to the women of Chibok, who five years after their daughters had been kidnapped, are still living with the incredible pain of their absence. I felt it was wrong for us to forget or even doubt and move on.”
SOURCES: CNN
This Artist Brings Myths of the Black Diaspora to Life through Self-Portraits
In a new series of self-portraits, photographer Ayana V. Jackson explores the sea-related myths that arose during the traumatic voyages of the slave trade. Jackson divides her time between Paris, Johannesburg, and New York—cities on the three continents that marked the triangular slave trade. The history of the black experience in each of her home regions saturates her images, titled “Take Me to the Water”.
SOURCES: ARTSY
Photos: A Look Inside Nigeria’s Alté Subculture
In subversion of Nigeria’s more conservative cultural norms, the Alté subculture glorifies the different or “alternative” in music and fashion. What was originally intended to be an expression of the alien or outcast is now becoming all the rage. Just like most cultural waves that come from Nigeria, the roots of the alté subculture can be traced back to Lagos. The bubbling populous city is home to innovative hustlers and a large youth population which leads to a lot of experimentation and creation of new sounds and subcultures happening within.
SOURCES: OKAYAFRICA
Lebo Mashile Breathes Inner Life into the Story of Saartjie Baartman
In a powerful new staged production, Lebo Mashile explores the complex life of the artist Saartjie Baartman, otherwise known as the Hottentot Venus, a Khoi woman who was exploited in 19th century freak shows. Titled Saartjie vs Venus, the narrative’s exploration of the effects of slavery, the hypersexualisation of the black female body, and the silencing of minority voices created a relevant tapestry of matters for modern theatre audiences to grapple with.
SOURCES: DESIGN INDABA
Defining the Contemporary South African Furniture Design Aesthetic
A look at some of the most interesting offerings from South African designers demonstrates that storytelling is an important part of the design aesthetic. The rise of these designers gives us a peek at the developing product design landscape informing the elusive contemporary South African furniture and lighting design aesthetic. One can’t resist the feeling that the South African home is being redefined, not only for South Africans with a taste for the vernacular in contemporary design, but for a global marketplace that is ready to see African craft and design beyond the curio, beyond safari lodges, and in everyday homes.
SOURCES: DAILY MAVERICK
A Catalogue of Great African Music can be Found on this Platform
On a continent where musicians have been making money only through telecom giants, who buy songs to use as ringtones, digital streaming revenue would be a breakthrough, especially given rampant piracy and hazy royalty laws. Africori works to make sure its artists have a global streaming footprint and retain the rights to their music. Hundreds of artists and labels are signed up, including biggies like Ghanaian hip-hop artist Pappy Kojo, Kenyan rapper Nyashinski, South African producer Gemini Major, House Afrika Records and Sol Generation Records, as well as obscure artists from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia. Now, Francophone African musicians from Sierra Leone, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and more are jumping on the bandwagon.
SOURCES: OZY
Back to Nature with a Spectacular Safari during Tanzania’s Top Season
October welcomes the dry season to the plains of Tanzania, beckoning clear, immense skies and a superabundance of wildlife unobstructed by vegetation. Safaris don’t get more majestic than this with millions of animals like zebras, wildebeests, antelopes, lions and leopards staking their claim on the Serengeti.
SOURCES: LONELY PLANET
A Foodie Tour through Ghana
The Street food crawl led by food stylist, chef, television host, and blogger Mukasechic is the perfect way to start a food-first immersive tour of Accra. Jay, better known as food personality Mukasechic, has the inside track on where to find the very best versions of Ghana’s most beloved dishes from red red to fufu and everything in between. Sunshine Slad Bar serves up amazing healthy eats, fresh juices, and smoothies with rapid-fire service. Stopping here for a mango, mint, and cardamon smoothie is a bet on the deliciousness that’ll hold you over through dinner. Round up the food experience at Fulani Dine on a Mat, and prepare to sit, relax, and enjoy while learning about the culinary traditions of the Fulani tribe by eating the same way they have for centuries – with some modern twists.
SOURCES: TASTEMAKERS AFRICA
Front Row Seats to Southern Africa’s Majestic Falls
A breakfast cruise on the Zambezi River is the perfect way to prepare your body and soul for a day of sightseeing in Victoria Falls. Many of the cruise operators do regular pickups at the major hotels in the town, so getting to the jetty in time for a 7 am departure is easier than you think. A two-hour cruise flies by as guests spot hippos playing in the water and crocodiles sunning themselves on the riverbank.
SOURCES: IOL
Senegal’s Capital Due for a Modern Twist
In Dakar, the city’s horse-drawn buggies have long been a staple means of getting around, are under an emerging threat from motorized rickshaws. Some city officials see the horse-drawn carts as a vestige of a poorer country, incompatible with the modern highways in a capital that is booming economically. The carts, in their view, are too slow, block traffic and cause accidents. The move toward electric rickshaws got a big lift after a recent visit by President Macky Sall to India, where he saw motorized cabs widely in use and liked what he saw. He asked for, and was given, a gift from the state of 250 of them to try an experiment in clean-energy transportation in Dakar.
SOURCES: THE NEW YORK TIMES