Windhoek Screening: “Miners Shot Down” by Rehad Desai, Wednesday, 9 July, 18h30, at the FNCC, Windhoek

After presenting the film to various restricted audiences in Namibia, AfricAvenir and the FNCC invite to another screening of Miners Shot Down (South Africa, 2014, 85 min, directed by Rehad Desai), on 9 July, 18h30, at the FNCC, Windhoek.  Entrance 20,- N$. The entrance fee and a collection will be made available to the widows and survivors of the strike. One of the highlights of this year’s South Africa Pavilion at Cannes!

Co-funded by the NFVF and the DTI, this South African documentary by Rehad Desai is like nothing you have ever seen before. The film is a blistering criticism of the government’s deadly response to striking miners in Marikana in 2012. The story made headlines worldwide, and the commission of inquiry is ongoing.

In August 2012, mineworkers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages. Six days later, the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress the strike, killing 34 and injuring many more.  the POV of the Marikana miners, Miners Shot Down, follows the strike at one of South Africa’s platinum mines from day one, showing the courageous but isolated fight waged by a group of low paid workers

“We’re going to go for a very fresh look,” declares Carla Dias of South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation in a Variety interview regarding the presentation of South African films in Cannes. Dias says Miners Shot Down reflects the growing spirit and conviction of South African filmmakers who are “not worried about criticizing our own government.” “They’re not scared to tell (this story),” she says. n“Look how far we’ve come and we can still make films like this,’” says Dias. “That for me is freedom.”nnnnMore information here:  http://www.minersshotdown.co.za/nAbout the director:
Rehad Desai is one of South Africa’s best-known documentary filmmakers and the CEO of a Uhuru Productions. A former political exile, Rehad worked as a trade union organiser and as a Director of a HIV prevention NGO before entering the film and television industry as a current affairs journalist. He has a Masters in Social History and post-graduate degree in TV and film producing (AVEA) and a  post-graduate diploma in documentary (Eurodoc). Rehad has directed over twenty documentaries, many of which have seen international broadcast and been accepted into numerous festivals, receiving critical acclaim. One of his films, “The Battle of Johannesburg” (SA, 2010, 72 min) AfricAvenir screened in 2013 at the Polytechnic of Namibia, Department of Architecture.
His current project, “Miners Shot Down”, is a synthesis of Rehad’s skills as a filmmaker and experience as an activist.

About Production Company/Producers:
Uhuru Productions has been making social justice films in southern Africa for 11 years, since the beginning of 2003. It has produced over twenty high-quality documentaries for local and international audiences.nHeaded by acclaimed producer/director Rehad Desai, the company has a wealth of expertise in the production and management of current affairs programming, documentaries, drama and non-broadcast productions in South Africa and Southern Africa. Uhuru has also acted as an implementing partner of the renowned Tri Continental Film Festival since its inception in 2003, and the People to People International Documentary Conference, since 2007.nBeyond the film production expertise, Uhuru Productions has extensive experience working with communities at a very grassroots level in using film as a catalyst for social change.  This puts us in a unique position to run a very successful outreach project as we fully understand the power of film to motivate for change but are also able to engage with communities so that the film gets seen by large numbers of people.