Crowdfunding a Documentary about the "LA Rebellion" Film Movement

Zeinabu irene Davis' documentary about the LA Rebellion-- a film movement out of UCLA in late '60s-- is worth every crowdfunding cent.

LA Rebellion alums include Charles Burnett '69 ("Killer of Sheep"), Billy Woodberry MFA '82 ("Bless Their Little Hearts"), and Julie Dash MFA '85 ("Daughters of the Dust") and at the core of the movement is the work of the late of Ethiopian scholar Teshome Gabriel (blogged - here) and filmmaker Haile Gerima (Gerima on Gabriel - blogged here).



Synopsis:

...documents the lives and work of a small group of critically acclaimed, but as of yet relatively unknown group of black filmmakers and media artists known as the Los Angeles Rebellion, the first sustained movement in the United States by a collective of minority filmmakers that aimed to reimagine the production process so as to represent, reflect on, and enrich the day to day lives of people in their own communities. All of the filmmakers associated with this movement attended UCLA between the “Watts riots” of 1965 and the “urban uprising” in Los Angeles that followed the Rodney King verdict in 1992

Kickstart - here.

Cape Verde: Remittances and Diaspora

From (translation) second provisional data from the Bank of Cape Verde:

Remittances between the months of January to July this year increased 26% compared with the same period in 2010 despite the economic and financial crisis affecting the various host countries. The only ones who sent less money to Cape Verde were the emigrants settled in the U.S. The Cape Verdean immigrants living in the diaspora sent to the islands in the first seven months of this year 7,160,900,000 escudos, against 5.6715 billion remitted in the same period in 2010, representing an increase of 26%. By countries, the largest amounts came from Portugal (2,530,900,000 escudos), 47% more than last year, when he was sent to Cape Verde 1,726,300,000 escudos. France reached 1.5338 billion escudos, the Netherlands 686.7 million escudos and Italy 376 million escudos. Also increased shipments from Germany, UK, Switzerland, Angola and Luxembourg, which increased from 127 to 199.7. The only countries where there have been declines in remittances channeled to Cape Verde are the USA, whose value decreased from 995.5 to 893.3 million escudos, and Spain, which decreased from 209.7 to 180 million escudos. In relation to all other countries that receive Cape Verde was a slight increase in the total amount of remittances from 161.1 to 245.6 million escudos.

Above Alvaro Gonzalez (World Bank Africa Region Senior Economist), explaining an Initial Assessment of the Cape Verdean Labor Market carried out by the world Bank earlier this year, touches on the issue of remittances 4:45 mins in. Thalif Deen writes in IPS those emmigration rates are dropping:

Despite relatively small figures, Cape Verde ranks among the countries with the highest emigration rates relative to the size of its population. Although more than three-quarters of all its emigrants are low or medium skilled, Cape Verde does lose a large percentage of its highly skilled workers - nearly 70 percent go to Western industrial nations, mostly in Europe. Still, a deeply-rooted tradition of emigration to achieve personal and social success is appearing to be less marked today in Cape Verde, according to IOM's latest migration profile on this West African nation. The profile shows that despite major gaps and weaknesses in data collection, there has been a steady decrease in emigration from Cape Verde since the 1970s. Asked if the decrease in emigration is due to the improvement in the country's economy, IOM's Dario Muhamudo told IPS, "The continuous growth of Cape Verde's economy in recent years stimulated further investments which allow the national labour market to absorb more labour supply." The decrease in emigration is particularly significant if compared to the increasing number of immigrants, resulting in a drastic reduction of the net migration. Asked if the decline in migrant earnings will impact on the economy, Muhamudo said, "Precise impacts are rather difficult to predict. What we can say is that Cape Verde has been less affected by the global economic crisis as most African countries but the slight reduction in remittances could make households depending on remittances for survival much more vulnerable." The share of remittances invested in economic activities is limited, thus, labour market and economic growth should be less affected, he added.

Dadaab from the Photographer's Perspective

Follow British photographer James Mollison (who admits that in order to pay the bills to fund his other creative projects, does the occasional NGO work) from his studio in Venice, Italy, to Dabaab, Kenya for a photographer's perspective on capturing the faces of the refugees fleeing civil war, drought and famine



... He also follows that Rankin trend of setting up simple backdrops that remove the subject from the chaos that surrounds them to create striking personal portraits that convey the emotion and life that make up the sprawl.

Other hard to forget removal or backdrop devices include Hoek's return to the studio style in Ethiopia or Tepleski's use of water in Ghana.

The Untold Stories Waiting to be Told are Overwhelming

Still on earlier thoughts about who gets to expliot the value of African images, the passage below from Peter Vlam's Gup magazine interview with Marc Prüst, the creative director of just concluded Lagos photo festival, proved insightful:....

...People from the Western world photographing in Africa have a different ‘eye’ than people who are at home in their continent. They see different things. It is like describing an elephant blindfolded. One is touching the trunk and the other the tale. When they describe what they are seeing, you get different descriptions. This some how also goes for the difference between Western and non-Western photographers when we are talking about documentary photography. They tell different stories and that is something I believe you can see during the festival. Very exciting to bring this together.'... I believe that the need for photography as an art form within Africa is big. The demand for African made images is huge, the artistic potential of the African photographers is huge and the untold stories waiting to be told are overwhelming, LagosPhoto can be the center of this kind of developments in the future and it is wonderful to be part of this movement.

More flikr pics. In a recent photo essay, Ghananian photographer Nana Kofi Acquah sees ...

the other connection:

Young African photographers who have broken out of the mould of photographing people in dingy studios in their Sunday clothing, can be seen all over expressing themselves on the internet, some of them even being published in foreign magazines and their photographs being exhibited to mainly western audiences. This change in target consumer for the African photographer, also brings with it the challenge of shaping stories to suit the taste of the new buyer. It is a classic case of whoever pays the piper calls the tune. Add to it the fact that this consumer is financially more capable of supporting photographers; and also comes with a rich history of photography… which means its taste is highly developed and specific. In conclusion, I will state that The African Photographer and the camera are still new neighbours… neighbours who are gradually getting to know each other… and I can only wish them all the best. 

Exhibiting Addis' Mentally ill

It's ironic how the absurd degree of inequality in the world gives back to those at the bottom a grotesque contrast and charm, which in turn imbues their images aesthetic and financial values they seldom have the connections to expliot.

Over @ Vice magazine, photographer Jan Hoek explains how he became fascinated by the mentally ill or "sweet crazies" roaming the streets of Addis Ababa, and how...

Out of respect for the Sweet Crazies I decided not to photograph them in the littered streets. Instead, I shot them in typical Ethiopian photo studios filled with Roman pillars and golden thrones. These are the kind of places newlyweds go to look wealthy in ivory suits. Together with my Ethiopian pal Solomon, I spent a month trying to make friends with the Sweet Crazies in order to get them to participate in the project.... Jan Hoek is showing these and more portraits of Sweet Crazies at Amsterdam's Artpocalypse Collective gallery untill the 12th of November... details here.

Curious Times in Cape Town

Developed at Saatchi & Saatchi, Cape Town, the Curious Times ad takes some time to build, but the lesson is sure worth the wait. Creative director Sammy-Jane Thom, art director Gareth Cohen, copywriter Alex Goldberg, agency produce Lee-Anne Jacobz, account manager Sheharazaad Allie. Animation was produced at Conduit Productions. Sound was designed at Soft Light City.

H/T: inspiration room

Where's the Beef, Bishop Tutu?

After the South African government--in the pocket of China--refuse, again, to grant the Dalai Lama a visa to visit the South Africa, chicken joint Nandos couldn't resist...

Agency: Black River FC

World Bank's Shanta Devarajan on Africa's Statistical Tragedy

Over @ the World Bank blog, Shanta Devarajan reveals countries on the continent have been getting short changed for years when it comes to the measuring their economic indicators due to "weak capacity in countries to collect, manage and disseminate data; inadequate funding; diffuse responsibilities; and fragmentation, with many diffuse data collection efforts". The above is exacerbated by the fact that donors, the World Bank included, "have taken little time to strengthen countries’ statistical capacity... because they need data for their own purpose—to publish reports—and this means getting it faster." excerpt:

To show that this is not an arcane point, consider the case of Ghana, which decided to update its GDP last year to the 1993 system. When they did so, they found that their GDP was 62 percent higher than previously thought. Ghana’s per capita GDP is now over $1,000, making it a middle-income country. The “tragedy” is that we were happily publishing GDP statistics and growth figures for Ghana over the last decades, when in fact the national accounts were understating GDP by 62 percent.... The tragedy is that donors, including the World Bank, undertake statistical activities without ensuring that they are consistent with the NSDS. Why? Because they need data for their own purpose—to publish reports—and this means getting it faster, with little time to strengthen the countries’ statistical capacity. But just as Africans turned around their growth tragedy, they can turn around their statistical tragedy.

Data Uncovered's response makes the case for more government open data systems:

We are beginning to see government-led open data movements on the African continent (and one from Bangladesh’s central bank that this talk put on my radar), but Devarajan’s post makes clear the value of getting national-level buy-in for these new public data sites to extend beyond start-up — streamlined mechanisms for responding to how the public engages with data can only enhance statistical quality.

French Political Correctness Run Amuck

Text here:

A modern French history textbook now boasts no less than 20 pages on the history of black slavery while devoting a mere six pages to the achievements of Napoleon – shown here sitting on a toilet. France's new history textbooks are enraging parents and teachers who call it political correctness gone mad.

The Prize - Adam Nossiter Narrates for NY Times

The silliest response to the prize also comes from the NY Times - a commenter wrote:

The peace prize decision was made on faulty information. In all holy books, God guides that the women should be home. From home she has great power to strengthen the family, the community and ultimately the world. She can see closely when things are wrong in any segment and through conversations with women and men, she can influence guide to decisions for correction.

God commands us not to seek riches and honors, use debt, interest and insurance, pride or vanity. These are the things that have led to lifelong enslavement to employment... that is not freedom; it is mostly slavery by another name.

Thorbjorn Jagland, a former Norwegian prime minister who heads the Oslo-based Nobel committee said, “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society,”

There can be no peace within families, communities or the world when there is no consistent guidance and loving care within the families. Part-time parenting leads to single parents. Cultures that insist on God's ways will always fight this "mistaken" human right of women seeking to leave the home in search of riches and honor. It destroys civilization.

De-Racializing the “Dark” Oriental - Revisiting an Israeli Propaganda Film from the 50s

Recently discovered in the cellars of the Israeli army archives, a propaganda film from the 1950’s which reveals the depths of racism applied to Oriental Jewish children who came to Israel – and how it was justified by militarism and the need for disciplined soldiers. Channel 2 brings those in the film or people close to them back, in 2011, to revisit the scenes and comment on how they were treated. Dimi Reider over @ 927 magazine writes:

To me, the most poignant moment is Sa’adia’s friend  - now in his late 60’s – insists he is not remotely offended at being presented as a fly-covered wildling, sprayed with chemicals, and drilled into “civilisation”, because this is how him and his kids, later soldiers, won the Six Day War. In other words, the de-Arabising was good because it let us beat the Arabs (and, by implication, prove we were worthy and even essentially needed Israeli Jews).

It is an interesting look at how racist delegitimization of the oriental culture seemed perfectly natural back then. There were also claims made in 2010 against Israel, this time having to do with contraceptives given to the Jewish Ethiopian population.

Boubacar Traore Explains the Blues

"Mitt Romney is Socialist Moslem Kenyan"

The Daily Show explains Mitt Romney versus Mitt Romney:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Art of Farid Boudjellal

Farid Boudjellal, son of Algerian parents, has had polio since he was eight years old.

The disease didn't stop him from succeeding in high school and going to college. After a few years of university, he decided he wanted to draw and tell stories. In 1978, Farid had his first publications in Circus and Charlie Mensuel.... In 1998 he produced the first part of 'Petit Polio', about a little boy with polio, the same disease Boudjellal has.

DigiBid previews of :Petit Polio, T1 par Farid Boudjellal - digiBiDi

U.S.- Arab Relations - The Age of Hip Hop Diplomacy

The Grand (Hip Hop) Chessboard by Hishaam Aidi

Excerpt:

And this is the crux the growing debate over hip-hop diplomacy: Proponents claim that hip-hop can have the same liberating and rebranding effect as jazz did in the 1950s, somehow overlooking Washington’s close alliances with the authoritarian regimes of North Africa and the Middle East. The Cold War is not the “war on terror.” The US could use jazz to “sell” America behind the Iron Curtain and foster dissent in Soviet-backed regimes, but can American “soft power” liberate people in US-backed tyrannies? The hip-hop initiatives may be more successful in generating good will in Europe, where Muslims are marginalized, but do enjoy some rights, or in a non-allied dictatorship like Burma, where rap artists are heavily censored, than in authoritarian regimes backed by US hard power. The hip-hop diplomacy initiatives have sparked a heated debate over the purpose of hip-hop: whether it is “protest music” or “party music”; whether it is the “soundtrack to the struggle,” as the immensely popular Lowkey titled his latest album, or to American unipolarity; whether to accept embassy assistance or not; and what it means that states—not just corporations—have entered the hip-hop game. Hip-hop activists have long been concerned about how to protect their music from corporate power, but now that the music is being used in diplomacy and counter-terrorism, the conversation is shifting. “Hip-hop at its best has exposed power, challenged power, it hasn’t served power,” says the London-based “underground” rapper Lowkey. “When the US government loves the same rappers you love, whose interests are those rappers serving?”

Reverberations will be Embedded

"Room for Me" - Just a Band, Lisa Oduor Noah and Jahcoozi. Album: Welcome to the Madhouse. 2011. Details.

HT: Kenyan Christian

Amber Rose on Ghana's Middle Class, or the Absense of One

On a recent trip to Ghana to host a Vodaphone O20 Live music concert, Amber Rose (who is she?) remarked all she saw was any one of two extremes - mind numbing poverty or the filthy rich. She asks, where is the middle class?

In response, I'd say you need to stray outside the reach of your agenda and your handlers and off the beaten path of the tourist in order to meet a country's middle class. Lot's more - here. Old thoughts on tourism and Africa's middle class - here...

Famine,Trade and Foreign Aid

After the Ethiopian famine of the 90s, Eleni Gabre-Madhinm, an Ethiopian economist bent on ending hunger in her famine-prone country, came to the realization that inefficiencies in the country's ancient market systems have been partly responsible for famines. The 2009 PBS Wide-Angle documentary looks at how she went about designing the nation’s first commodities exchange.

USAID talking recently with the Economist about using foreign aid to spur private sector investment to build capacity on the ground in famine-prone countries - here.

An excerpt of Bill Easterly from back in 2010 talking on BH about famine in Somalia, USAID and why its difficult to use foreign aid to build self sustaining capacity on the ground: