An
International
House Philadelphia Celebration
September
2005 – June 2006
Ubuntu
is a South
African ethic or ideology focusing on people's allegiances
and
relations with each other. The word comes from the Zulu
and Xhola languages.
A
rough translation in English would be "humanity towards
others"
and
"the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects
all humanity."
"A
person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming
of others, does not feel
threatened
that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper
self-assurance that comes
from
knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is
diminished when others
are
humiliated or diminished, when
others are tortured or oppressed." Archbishop Desmond
Tutu
Just
as ubuntu is seen as one of the founding principles of the
new republic
of
South Africa, so too could it be used to describe the mission
and practices
of
International House Philadelphia. Thus Ubuntu is a fitting
title for our year
long
celebration of the people, history and culture of South
Africa.
Click
here for
Global Gala 2006
Africa
- A Night of Enchantment
Click
Here for Geographic Adventures' Trip to South Africa
Thursday,
September 29 at 7:00pm
Estates
of South Africa Wine Tasting
In
partnership with Wilmington Trust, International House Philadelphia
will host a wine tasting featuring selections from a number
of South Africa’s “boutique” estates. The tasting will be
led by The Wild Grape, an importer of small production wines
from South Africa, committed to importing limited quantities
of wines that show particular quality and style.
Friday,
October 21 at 7:00pm
South
Africa in Film and Music
Siliva
the Zulu
dir.
Attilio Gatti, Italy/Zululand, 1927, BetaSP, 60 mins, b/w, silent
w/ live musical accompaniment
Musical
accompaniment by Themba Tana
 In
the annals of African cinema, Siliva the Zulu is a
landmark. In 1927, Italian director and explorer Attilio Gatti
traveled to Zululand, where he devised a script filled with
love, hate, intrigue and adventure. He chose to shoot in a rural
community, and as a result, Siliva stands virtually
alone as an authentic record of Zulu life and culture at that
time. Siliva will be presented with live music composed
and performed by Themba Tana, a South African Canadian.
Equally
adept at playing with western and traditional African musicians,
Themba Tana has performed solo and with his group The South
African Big Band Revival at countless world music festivals.
His recorded work includes African
Heritage, Songs and Drumming of Africa (Aural Tradition)
and 11 Jungle Walk (Themba Music).
Saturday,
October 22 at 11:00am
African
Drumming Workshop with Themba Tana
Explore
the rhythms of South Africa and the world beyond
in
this intimate workshop with international recording artist Themba
Tana. Originally from South Africa Tana has trekked all
over the world, collecting stories, instruments and music. Tana
will be performing live on Friday, October 21, accompanying
Siliva the Zulu.
Sunday,
October 23 at 2:00pm
In
Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid
dir.
Peter Davis, Canada, 1994, BetaSP, 112 mins, color and b/w
Introduced
by director Peter Davis
 Almost
from the beginning of cinema, filmmakers have looked at the
continent of Africa with a mixture of fear and fascination,
prejudice and contempt. South Africa, with its fabulous mineral
wealth, exotic locations, and white settlers, attracted scores
of movie makers. Now, with the era of white rule finished, In
Darkest Hollywood asks, “What was the role of cinema during
the 45 year reign of apartheid?” Through a mosaic of feature,
documentary, and propaganda films, with commentary by writers,
directors and actors, some of whom supported apartheid, and
others who fought to destroy it, Peter Davis award winning film
turns the lens towards the filmmakers and the society they so
often misunderstood and misrepresented.
preceded
by
Sangoma
dir. Peter
Davis, Canada/South Africa, 1997, BetaSP, 54 mins, color
 One
of the legacies of apartheid is a two-tiered health system that
heavily favors the white population. Inyangas and sangomas –
the
traditional healers –
have always been regarded with suspicion by practitioners of
Western medicine. New efforts to integrate traditional healers
into primary health care, nutritional education, and AIDS work
holds some promise for a public health system under siege. Sangoma
explores how homeopathy and holistic healing are gaining
acceptance in South Africa as therapeutic concepts which make
no distinction between mind and body, individual and society.
Under
the aegis of Villon Films, the company which he founded, British
born director Peter Davis has been independently producing and
distributing award-winning films since 1970. With a strong focus
on socio-political documentary, Davis’ work spans such issues
as government, history, ecology, culture, health and science,
women's issues, biography, and the apartheid period of South
African history.
Thursday,
October 27 at 6:30pm
Ahmed
Kathrada, Nelson
Mandela prison confidante debuts Memoirs at the National
Constitution Center
 Arrested
and charged with treason in South Africa, Ahmed Kathrada spent
nearly 27 years imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela.
Kathrada will speak about his autobiography, Memoirs,
and hold a book signing in an event co-sponsored by International
House Philadelphia.
Born
a shopkeeper’s son in a small rural town, he became the trusted
confidante of some of the most prominent political figures in
South Africa’s history, among them Nelson Mandela and Walter
Sisulu. Politically active at the age of 10, Kathrada devoted
his life to the freedom struggle in South Africa. He was persecuted,
driven underground and sentenced to life in prison at the Rivonia
Trial. On Robben Island, in his tiny garden patch, Kathrada
buried the original draft of Mandela’s autobiography, until
it could be smuggled to London for publication.
After
Kathrada’s release from prison on October 15, 1989, he served
as an advisor to former President Nelson Mandela. He is now
the chairperson of the Robben
Island Museum Council and of the Ex-Political Prisoner's Committee.
The
National Constitution
Center is located at 525 Arch Street, Independence Mall,
Philadelphia.
Wednesday,
November 16 at 7:00pm
Looking
Back: Growing Up Under Apartheid
Moderated
by Richard Stengel, President & CEO of the National Constitution
Center
 Apartheid
- a policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced
by white minority governments in South Africa from 1948 to1994.
South
African law classified residents as Black, White, Indian or
Coloured and life under this system was very different for each
group. Listen as our panel frankly discusses what life was like
for them, growing up under apartheid.
In
addition to his work in journalism and politics, Mr.
Stengel is the author
of
January Sun: One Day, Three Lives, a South African Town,
which traces the
way
apartheid affected the daily lives of three families-one white,
one black and one Indian and collaborated
with Nelson Mandela on Long Walk to Freedom in 1993.
This
talk was taped by WYBE
Public Television.
Please
contact programs@ihphilly.org
to order your copy.
Looking
Back - Growing Up Under Aprtheid is made possible, in part,
with support from the Lincoln Financial Group.
Wednesday,
April 19 at 7:00pm
Reelblack
Orphans
of Nkandla
dir. Brian Woods
and Deborah Shipley, UK, 2003, video, 80 mins, color
 The
village of Nkandla lies approximately 120 kilometers from
the South African
city of Durban in the middle of a beautiful landscape. Its
inhabitants from the Zulu tribe live in primitive clay huts
where electricity and running water, as in much of Africa,
are things that can only be dreamed of. And, like many other
African villages, the local community is infected with the
HIV virus.
In a powerful documentary
film produced by the BBC, we become acquainted with several
children whose parents are suffering from AIDS. Until they
become orphans, as are three-quarters of a million South African
children, they must take care of their parents. "The worst
is always the morning, when I am afraid to go see if my father
is still alive," says 13-year-old Mbali, who spends all her
time caring for the household and her siblings. One of the
few bright spots in her life is Sister Hedwig,
a nun who helps them
get some of their most basic needs. Unless South Africa begins
to fight AIDS more effectively, by the end of the decade over
two million children here will become orphans.
Proceeds of ticket sales will help
a Philadelphia delegation of high school students going to
Cape Town in July through Learning Circle Network. Please
visit www.learningcirclenetwork.org
for more information.
Thursday,
April 27 at 7:00pm
Scribe
Video Center Producers’ Forum
Twelve
Disciples of Nelson Mandela - Philadelphia Premiere
dir. Thomas Allen
Harris, South Africa/USA, 2005, HDCam, 73 mins, color, English,
Setswana and Afrikaans w/ English subtitles
Director
Thomas Allen Harris in person
 In
1960, while apartheid was shoring up its foundations,
a group of young activists
from the African National Congress fought back from outside
South Africa. Among them was Pule "Lee" Leinaeng, the man
who would become stepfather to director Thomas Allen Harris.
Harris weaves a wealth of archival images with interviews
and dramatic re-enactments featuring young South African actors,
to recount how Lee and his ANC colleagues came to political
consciousness and sent themselves into exile.
preceded by
Spirit
of Resistance
dir. Jamese Wells,
USA, 2006, video, 15 mins, color
In rural Tanzania, two former Black
Panthers, a local hip-hop crew called Watengwa (Kiswahili
for outcasts) and Prometheus Radio Project come together to
build a community radio station.
Wednesday,
June 7 at 7:00pm
International
House Philadelphia and The Wild Grape present
A
Wild Taste of South Africa
Come
sample wines of South Africa with the Young Friends of International
House. Try
reds and whites from five wine estates.
 The
Wild Grape is an importer of small production wines
from South Africa to select American markets. They have a
particular focus on boutique estate, those that would appeal
to finer wine buyers, and are committed to importing small
quantities of wines that show particular quality and style.
Visit
them at www.twgrape.com.
Contact: 215.895.6569
Email: programs@ihphilly.org
|
