Enc2019: Zulu Return + Fall into the Sky(Short)

The Bioscope is proud to once again host The Encounters Documentary Film Festival in Johannesburg.

ZULU RETURN

Dir. gugulethu

2019 | South Africa | 92min

The voice of director, gugulethu, over the opening animation and the rest of the documentary gives the impression of a griot, a storyteller who is responsible for maintaining the oral tradition in West African culture. gugulethu and Zulu Return become the griot for the artist, Afrika Bambaataa. The documentary follows the fallen hip hop hero’s spiritual quest to South Africa – the country he spent so much of his life honouring and defending through his music and activism – as he faces the effects of abuse allegations against him in his own life. His trip is unlike most tourist visits as it includes going to a Sangoma; prayer time by the ocean and disturbing graphic footage of a goat sacrificed to the ancestors. We see Afrika Bambaataa search for his ancestral roots to help him grapple with his personal claims of injustice.

FALL INTO THE SKY

2018 | South Africa |9 minutes

Director: Akuol De Mabior

Black women narrate their experiences of race, colourism, Afrophobia and Xenophobia in this powerful short documentary.