Sean Jacobs's Blog, page 557

How to make a movie about Muslims

All the talk in the South African film world is about the comedy "Material" these days, starring Cape Town stand-up comedian Riaad Moosa and Vincent Ebrahim of the popular BBC show The Kumars at No. 42). The film is also doing really well at the South African box office. I recently saw Material and I have to say it didn't disappoint. Set in Fordsburg, a predominantly Indian neighborhood of Johannesburg, the film revolves around a young Muslim shopkeeper, Cassim Kaif (Moosa), on the cusp of taking over the family business upon the insistence of his father (played by Ebrahim). He struggles to honor his family's needs and expectations while pursuing his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. He slips out in the middle of the night and performs to mixed crowds in Johannesburg's downtown bars; something which for his father is more than haram.

The film is based on some of Moosa's own experiences with his family (he is a qualified doctor whose passion for comedy led him to hang up the stethoscope) as well as on stories that he and producer Ronnie Apteker had heard.

I found the film quite refreshing as Indian South Africans are often underrepresented in South African film, despite their crucial role in our society and history. There is a subtle yet poignant reference made in the film to the apartheid era Group Areas Act which led to forced removals of Johannesburg Indians from the racially mixed area of Fietas to create Fordsburg as an area for Indians. Within the global comedy context it is equally refreshing as the film is able to portray Muslims and Islam without resorting to the regular comedic clichés and slapstick. The film presents a much more nuanced view of what it means to be a Muslim and Indian in contemporary South Africa.

Here's some reactions from inside South Africa.

Khadija Patel writing for Daily Maverick:

The film lends historical significance through its storyline of conflict between Riaad Moosa's father in the film, played by Vincent Ebrahim, and his brother. Their conflict was founded when shopkeepers from Fietas – one of the oldest communities in Johannesburg, and one of the first 'locations', or multi-racial areas established under the government of Paul Kruger in 1893 – were forcibly removed by the Group Areas Act. Until then, Fietas was an integrated community, not unlike District Six and Sophiatown. Many of the shopkeepers who lost their livelihoods in the move from Fietas to Lenasia, ended up at the Oriental Plaza, the shopping complex in the heart of Fordsburg, now famous for bargains, samoosas and a plurality of fabric stores. And the story of the film goes, Vincent Ebrahim's character was affronted by the readiness of other shopkeepers to sell out to the apartheid government and go meekly to the Plaza. His brother however has no such qualms. And it is this richness in the story telling, the attention to historical detail that sets this film aside from other efforts to represent the Fordsburg community in all its beguiling eccentricity …

This is not a film about the backwardness of Muslims. It does not portray Muslims in an unforgiving light. Instead, it shows an aspect of Muslim life in South Africa rarely seen before. Away from the bombs of Baghdad and the schizophrenia of Pakistan, this is Johannesburg, South Africa, and this film reminds us that though Muslims are easily wound up into fits of self-righteousness, they are human too. They share the same physical space as other South Africans. They share the same experiences.

South African journalist Nikita Ramkissoon concluded that the main achievement of "Material" is it "raising the bar in Indian South African entertainment":

I have had it up to my ears with Indian theatre and film perpetuating Indian stereotypes of the Lenasia or Chatsworth accent. The humour is generally tasteless, mindless and embarrassing. Our Indian heritage is so rich – full of life, colour, history and wisdom. Our culture is beautiful and achievements plentiful. But Indian theatre … degrade Indians to the lowest common denominator. Then you have Bollywood theatre which portrays us as nothing more than a bunch of dancing models … 'Material' on the other hand, hit the right balance. The balance comes out in portraying the stereotypes we can laugh at, not through awkward clowning, but through the character Cassim's clever comedy, as well as bringing up our apartheid-entrenched heritage and the culture/ identity crises young Indian South Africans face today. I want to see more of this, please. Telling our stories as normal films would. Not berating our stunning culture with curry-flavoured fart jokes.

Also check in at the film's Facebook page here for reactions to the film.

I highly recommend "Material." Go see it if it makes it to a film festival close to you or gets onto a streaming service.

* BTW, Sean's got an interview lined up with Khalid Shamis, the director of the excellent documentary "Imam and I."

"Material," a new feature film about Muslim life in South Africa

All the talk in the South African film world is all about the comedy "Material" these days, starring Cape Town stand-up comedian Riaad Moosa. It is also doing really well at the South African box office. I recently saw Material and I have to say it didn't disappoint. Set in Johannesburg's predominantly Indian area of Fordsburg, it follows a young Muslim shopkeeper, Cassim Kaif (Moosa), on the cusp of taking over the family business upon the insistence of his father (expertly played by Vincent Ebrahim of the popular BBC show The Kumars at No. 42). He struggles to honor his family's needs and expectations while pursuing his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. He slips out in the middle of the night and performs to mixed crowds in Johannesburg's downtown bars; something which for his father is more than haram.The film is based on some of Moosa's own experiences with his family (he is a qualified doctor whose passion for comedy led him to hang up the stethoscope) as well as on stories that he and producer Ronnie Apteker had heard.

I found the film quite refreshing as Indian South Africans are often underrepresented in South African film, despite their crucial role in our society and history. There is a subtle yet poignant reference made in the film to the apartheid era Group Areas Act which led to forced removals of Johannesburg Indians from the racially mixed area of Fietas to create Fordsburg as an area for Indians. Within the global comedy context it is equally refreshing as the film is able to portray Muslims and Islam without resorting to the regular comedic clichés and slapstick. The film presents a much more nuanced view of what it means to be a Muslim and Indian in contemporary South Africa.

Here's some reactions from inside South Africa.

Khadija Patel writing for Daily Maverick:

The film lends historical significance through its storyline of conflict between Riaad Moosa's father in the film, played by Vincent Ebrahim, and his brother. Their conflict was founded when shopkeepers from Fietas – one of the oldest communities in Johannesburg, and one of the first 'locations', or multi-racial areas established under the government of Paul Kruger in 1893 – were forcibly removed by the Group Areas Act. Until then, Fietas was an integrated community, not unlike District Six and Sophiatown. Many of the shopkeepers who lost their livelihoods in the move from Fietas to Lenasia, ended up at the Oriental Plaza, the shopping complex in the heart of Fordsburg, now famous for bargains, samoosas and a plurality of fabric stores. And the story of the film goes, Vincent Ebrahim's character was affronted by the readiness of other shopkeepers to sell out to the apartheid government and go meekly to the Plaza. His brother however has no such qualms. And it is this richness in the story telling, the attention to historical detail that sets this film aside from other efforts to represent the Fordsburg community in all its beguiling eccentricity …

This is not a film about the backwardness of Muslims. It does not portray Muslims in an unforgiving light. Instead, it shows an aspect of Muslim life in South Africa rarely seen before. Away from the bombs of Baghdad and the schizophrenia of Pakistan, this is Johannesburg, South Africa, and this film reminds us that though Muslims are easily wound up into fits of self-righteousness, they are human too. They share the same physical space as other South Africans. They share the same experiences.

South African journalist Nikita Ramkissoon concluded that the main achievement of "Material" is "raising the bar in Indian South African entertainment":

I have had it up to my ears with Indian theatre and film perpetuating Indian stereotypes of the Lenasia or Chatsworth accent. The humour is generally tasteless, mindless and embarrassing. Our Indian heritage is so rich – full of life, colour, history and wisdom. Our culture is beautiful and achievements plentiful. But Indian theatre … degrade Indians to the lowest common denominator. Then you have Bollywood theatre which portrays us as nothing more than a bunch of dancing models … 'Material' on the other hand, hit the right balance. The balance comes out in portraying the stereotypes we can laugh at, not through awkward clowning, but through the character Cassim's clever comedy, as well as bringing up our apartheid-entrenched heritage and the culture/ identity crises young Indian South Africans face today. I want to see more of this, please. Telling our stories as normal films would. Not berating our stunning culture with curry-flavoured fart jokes.

Also check in at the film's Facebook page here for reactions to the film.

I highly recommend "Material." Go see it if it makes it to a film festival close to you or gets onto a streaming service.

Review. 'Material'

The South African film world is all about the comedy Material these days, starring Capetonian funnyman Riaad Moosa and directed by Ronnie Apteker. I recently saw Material and I have to say it didn't disappoint. Set in Johannesburg's predominantly Indian area of Fordsburg, it follows a young Muslim shopkeeper, Cassim Kaif (Moosa), on the cusp of taking over the family business upon the insistence of his father (expertly played by Vincent Ebrahim of the popular BBC show The Kumars at No. 42). He struggles to honor his family's needs and expectations while pursuing his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. He slips out in the middle of the night and performs to mixed crowds in Johannesburg's downtown bars; something which for his father is more than haram.

The film is based on some of Moosa's own experiences with his family (he is a qualified doctor whose passion for comedy led him to hang up the stethoscope) as well as on stories that he and director Ronnie Apteker had heard.

I found the film quite refreshing as Indian South Africans are often underrepresented in South African film, despite their crucial role in our society and history. There is a subtle yet poignant reference made in the film to the apartheid era Group Areas Act which led to forced removals of Johannesburg Indians from the racially mixed area of Fietas to create Fordsburg as an area for Indians. Within the global comedy context it is equally refreshing as the film is able to portray Muslims and Islam without resorting to the regular comedic clichés and slapstick. The film presents a much more nuanced view of what it means to be a Muslim and Indian in contemporary South Africa. I highly recommend Material. Go see it.

The three little pigs

No, they're not Africans. It's just a great TV ad campaign for The Guardian newspaper.

Music Break. Bilingual MCs

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On 'Super Mc', a group of rappers (Omar Offendum, Lou Piensa, Ceschi, Jarabe Del Sol, M.O.A, Hadjii — all residing in the US — and Outspoken — from Zimbabwe) flex their bilingual skills in a single verse over beats and cuts by Dj Nio and Dj Boo. Nomadic Wax has the details. 'Super Mc' is one of 38 tracks on the second volume of the Internationally Known mixtape series.

Marrakech Biennale looks North

Kicking off this week is the 4th Marrakech Biennale. The opening days will see performances, debates, talks and screenings as well as the opening of the main 'Higher Atlas' visual arts exhibition. "Through partnerships with African and international voices," the Biennale hopes to "promote the status of the artist and contemporary culture in North Africa and to dynamize the regional creative scene." Looking at the list of artists participating in the Higher Atlas exhibition, one could get the impression the intended "dialogues that [will] produce new, consensual realities" will most likely reflect a North Atlantic triangular reality with a tiny Moroccan base, since most of the contributing artists are European or American. The Moroccan artists that were included are Younes Baba-Ali, Faouzi Laatiris and Hassan Darsi. South of Morocco, they seem to have only found one artist: Pascale Marthine Tayou. So much for the African voices.

Among the movies scheduled to show in the Biennale's film section are the dubious 'I Am Slave' (from 2010; Basia promises to put up a review soon), Moroccan Narjiss Nejjar's new film 'L'Amante du Rif' but also writer and director Hicham Lasri's first feature, 'The End', set in a postapocalyptic 1999, on the eve of the death of King Hassan II:

In the literature section, we find writers Latifa Baqa, Omar Berrada, Zahia Rahmani, Abderrahim Elkhassar and litfest veterans Ben Okri and Rian Malan.

Anybody in Marrakech to give us some feed-back? The Official Parallel Projects look interesting.

Pepe Reina and the shagging African cannibals

Pepe Reina, Liverpool and Spain's national team goalkeeper, is a spokesperson for the Spanish multinational insurance company Groupama Seguros. In a new TV ad, Reina lands up in a jungle where a blackfaced chief claims Reina as his wife. You get the joke: it's supposed to be a play on Reina's last name which translates as "Queen". Haha. After complaints about its offensive nature, Groupama Seguros pulled the ad, but denied it was in any way offensive. As OBV reports, Groupama Seguros released a statement saying it "… does not consider that this advert contains either offensive nor any discriminatory content." As my man Davy Lane asks: "It's all animals and cannibals and wild shagging in Africa. Racist, small minded fools all over the shop in Spanish advertising and marketing circles? A reflection of racist Spanish society?" It also makes you wonder what goes on in the club house at Liverpool Football Club. I'll refrain from commenting on the comments on Youtube where viewers are asking how this could be racist.

Via Davy Lane.

Music Break. Cabo Snoop

An older Cabo Snoop tune (kuduristas in Angola and elsewhere have been dancing to 'Zagala' since 2010) but it comes with a new video in which he gets away with dropping his name (and record) among the Kenyan Maasai, while effortlessly branding the South African clothing label Amakipkip in a next shot.

Exhibition. Millennium Magazines

At the MoMA, the Millennium Magazines exhibition aims to show a "survey of experimental art and design magazines published since 2000 [exploring] the various ways in which contemporary artists and designers utilize the magazine format as an experimental space for the presentation of artworks and text." The list of magazines on view is long and while it is true that it represents "a broad array of international titles", it is also true that most are US- or Europe-based — with a few exceptions, Chimurenga being one of them. The exhibition runs until May 14.

African joking

When I started watching Jump Off TV's online UK video debates, I wasn't quite sure what had hit me. I was left confused. I desperately wanted to disagree vocally with what was being said, but after fifteen minutes of watching people shouting on the internet, that opportunity never rose. I didn't know what to say or think. Now that I am a regular viewer of these heated emotional debates I know not to worry too much about a thing. You must either enjoy or not click. That is the rule. This week's topic was the African jokes: who (can) make them, are they funny or do they go too far?

To avoid any misunderstandings (and for those not familiar with British comedy culture), it's perhaps good to be clear that in the UK, the African jokes are often performed by comedians who were either born in Africa or have parents born there, and when the panelists speak of African jokes the meaning of 'African' – often if not always – is 'African in the context of the UK society'. So it all differs from the better known American examples, but other than that there is no good way of explaining this discussion. It has a life of its own and it would be difficult to figure out what was concluded. There just isn't a consensus on what is funny and what people are allowed to say.

Comedians often work as social experimenters who try to say something out loud so we can see what we think about it. Sometimes situations are very clear cut – most of us agree – and other times people differ quite a bit in their responses to a joke or a routine. A recent example of the latter was when South African comedian Trevor Noah joked about the African-American community in the United States. Many viewed the routine as tasteless and others, such as South African author Zakes Mda, liked it a lot. So the nature of this discussion is such that we could all disagree even if we didn't shout as much as the panelists in this week's, or indeed any week's, Jump Off TV UK debate. That said, it is the casual atmosphere of the chats and the passion, amplified by a few drinks, that make me return to these debates. You know, if you like that sort of thing.

If you are easily offended (or if you hold, say, more conservative values), you're probably better off skipping this. And if you're at work, watch it with headphones, as the strong language starts from the very beginning.