Upcoming screening

FWFC Proudly Presents...

Beats of the Antonov

September 6^th

7:30/8:00 pm

Studio 4

DIRECTOR:	Hajooj Kuka
YEAR:	2014
LANGUAGE:	Arabic (Subtitled in English)
STARRING:	Anthony Coleman, Lionel Newton, Tony Kgoroge, Faye Peters
DURATION:	65min
GENRE:	Documentary
COUNTRY:	Sudan

SYNOPSIS
Sudanese filmmaker and cultural activist Hajooj Kuka set out to document the precarious situation of the displaced people in the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile, between the North and South Sudans. In between running for cover during strikes carried out by the military, he discovered joy, cultural pride and resilience. Together with singer and ethnomusicologist Alsarah, he explores their rich local music heritage how they through improvised compositions express cultural pride, deal with injustices and instil pride. 'Beats of the Antonov' has won Hajooj Kuka numerous award, incl. Durban International Film Festival's Best Documentary prize in 2015 and the People's Choice Documentary Award at Toronto International Film Festival, 2014.

- Limited seating
- Film courtesy of Big World Cinema

Collaborations

First Wednesday Film Club often partners with organizations, institutions and distribution companies, among them the Gauteng Film Commission, Big World Cinema, Indigenous Pictures, the Bioscope Independent Cinema, Alliance Française, the Goethe-Institut, the British Council, One Fine Day Film Workshop as well as the Encounters and Tri Continental film festivals.

Do you want to collaborate with First Wednesday Film Club or do you want us to consider your film for screening?

Contact us: info@atlasstudios.com

First Wednesday Film Club

About the Film Club

What started out as an informal gathering aimed at local film makers in 2004, hosted by Atlas Studios and ran by filmmakers John Barker and Ziggy Hofmeyr, has, one decade later, become South Africa’s best attended regular screening event outside the film festival circuit, and a reputable launching platform for new films, curated by filmmaker Akin Omotoso and writer Katarina Hedrén.

Today the First Wednesday Film Club’s reach extends far beyond the filmmaking community and includes a broader gathering of cinema lovers who are interested in watching films of all genres from across the world that usually are not available on the local circuit. For its unique offering of films and its chilled atmosphere with people from across the world, the film club has also become a "must attend” event for many visitors to Johannesburg.

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First Wednesday Film Club celebrates 10 years

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Networking

The First Wednesday Film Club is a great a place to exchange ideas, network, or simply enjoy a fun evening in the company of fellow film enthusiasts. Even though the film club continues to attract a growing audience, the atmosphere remains friendly and relaxed. In the words of co-host Jonathan Gimpel: "It’s all about being part of a community; an eclectic incubator that shares resources to help independent film makers get better exposure and support.”

Sneak-preview platform

During the last couple of years, the film club has become a popular launching platform for films about to be released on the local circuit or distributed through other channels. Among the films that have ‘sneak-premiered’ at the First Wednesday Film Club are Andrew Wessel’s "Blitz Patrollie", Charlie Vundla’s How to steal 2 Million, Jann Turner’s "White Wedding" and "Material". This has also been the case with non-South African films distributed in South Africa, including "Let the Right in" and "Black Power Mixtape" 1969-1975) and "Concerning Violence", both by Swedish filmmaker Göran Hugo Olsson.