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Kola
Moderator
Username: Kola
Post Number: 2726
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 03:00 pm: | 
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South Africa has produced
the first BLACK JESUS CHRIST film
and it features South African's
#1 box office draw....PAULINE MALEFANE
as "Mary"
_______________________________
JOHANNESBURG (Jan. 19) - Billed as the world's first black Jesus movie, "Son of Man" portrays Christ as a modern African revolutionary and aims to shatter the Western image of a placid savior with fair hair and blue eyes.
The South African film, which premieres on Sunday at the U.S. Sundance festival in Utah, transports the life and death of Christ from first century Palestine to a contemporary African state racked by war and poverty.
Jesus is born in a shanty-town shed, a far cry from a manger in a Bethlehem stable. His mother Mary is a virgin, though feisty enough to argue with the angels. Gun-wielding authorities fear his message of equality and he ends up hanging on a cross.
"We wanted to look at the gospels as if they were written by spindoctors and to strip that away and look at the truth," director Mark Dornford-May told Reuters in an interview.
"The truth is that Christ was born in an occupied state and preached equality at a time when that wasn't very acceptable."
By portraying Jesus as a black African, Dornford-May hopes to sharpen the political context of the gospels, when Israel was under Roman occupation, and challenge Western perceptions of Christ as meek, mild and European.
"We have to accept that Christ has been hijacked a bit -- he's gone very blonde haired and blue-eyed," he said. "The important thing about the message of Christ was that it is universal. It doesn't matter what he looked like."
In fact, there was a film called "Black Jesus" made in 1968 and starring Woody Strode, but it is described as a political commentary rather than an interpretation of the life of Christ.
RESURRECTION HOPE
Made by the same theater company behind last year's award-winning "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha," Son of Man is in the tongue-clicking Xhosa African language and English and was filmed in the sprawling black townships near Cape Town.
Jesus begins his public ministry after an encounter with Satan -- who appears cloaked in black leather -- during his traditional Xhosa circumcision rite.
He gathers followers from the factions of armed rebels across the country and demands they lay down their guns and confront their corrupt rulers with a vision of non-violent protest and solidarity.
Dornford-May, who says he subscribes to Christ's teachings without necessarily believing he is the son of God, says the Jesus in the film is a divine being who rises from the dead.
His resurrection is meant to signal hope for Africa, the world's poorest continent which is sometimes dismissed by foreigners as a hopeless mess of conflict and corruption.
"The ending is optimistic but realistic. There is an incredible struggle to get to the optimism," he said.
Dornford-May says focus groups of church leaders and ordinary Christians in South Africa, where Christianity often comes in a conservative form, broadly praised the film, which he hopes will prove a hit on the continent and worldwide.
Mary, played by the star of U-Carmen, Pauline Malefane, gets a beefed-up role as the inspiration for Christ's politics and humanity, compared to her fairly brief biblical appearances.
And Malefane, who is married to Dorford-May, makes a smooth transition from playing the seductive heroine Carmen to the world's most famous virgin, he said.
"They are both women who are prepared to stand outside of society. They may be different sides of the coin but they are still the same coin -- but I'm not going to be very popular for saying that."
Pauline Malefane won BEST ACTRESS
at the Berlin Film Festival 2 years
ago for her dynamic remake of "CARMEN"
Here's a scene from the South
African "CARMEN"...which was nominated
for BEST PICTURE at the Berlin Film
Festival and the Caanes Film Festival
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Kola
Moderator
Username: Kola
Post Number: 2729
Registered: 02-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 03:15 pm: |
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As I'm moving up now...
I'm really going to try to make films in America, of course featuring black American women---and don't forget my own t.v. movie project "Volcano Woman" that I'm working on.
So I'm extremely happy to see these kind of positive images of Black People being created in the world.
I could not find a photo of the STAR of "Son of Man", but I'm very proud and happy for him wherever he is...and it gives me so much hope that the PLUS-size Pauline Malefane is such a huge star in South Africa and literally captivated all of Europe with her sexy, sensuous performance of "CARMEN".
That film is still setting records in Europe.
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Roxie
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Roxie
Post Number: 566
Registered: 06-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 05:51 pm: |
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AOL has taken notice of this film and,as usual, they put the "Controversy" spin on it.
-------------------------------------------------
Updated: 12:15 PM EST
Black Jesus Film Makes Waves at Sundance
By Rebecca Harrison, Reuters
JOHANNESBURG (Jan. 19) - Billed as the world's first black Jesus movie, "Son of Man" portrays Christ as a modern African revolutionary and aims to shatter the Western image of a placid savior with fair hair and blue eyes.
The South African film, which premieres on Sunday at the U.S. Sundance festival in Utah, transports the life and death of Christ from first century Palestine to a contemporary African state racked by war and poverty.
Jesus is born in a shanty-town shed, a far cry from a manger in a Bethlehem stable. His mother Mary is a virgin, though feisty enough to argue with the angels. Gun-wielding authorities fear his message of equality and he ends up hanging on a cross.
"We wanted to look at the gospels as if they were written by spindoctors and to strip that away and look at the truth," director Mark Dornford-May told Reuters in an interview.
"The truth is that Christ was born in an occupied state and preached equality at a time when that wasn't very acceptable."
By portraying Jesus as a black African, Dornford-May hopes to sharpen the political context of the gospels, when Israel was under Roman occupation, and challenge Western perceptions of Christ as meek, mild and European.
"We have to accept that Christ has been hijacked a bit -- he's gone very blonde haired and blue-eyed," he said. "The important thing about the message of Christ was that it is universal. It doesn't matter what he looked like."
In fact, there was a film called "Black Jesus" made in 1968 and starring Woody Strode, but it is described as a political commentary rather than an interpretation of the life of Christ.
RESURRECTION HOPE
Made by the same theater company behind last year's award-winning "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha," Son of Man is in the tongue-clicking Xhosa African language and English and was filmed in the sprawling black townships near Cape Town.
Jesus begins his public ministry after an encounter with Satan -- who appears cloaked in black leather -- during his traditional Xhosa circumcision rite.
Everyone Loves a Controversy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Watch Video: 'The Passion' Trailer
He gathers followers from the factions of armed rebels across the country and demands they lay down their guns and confront their corrupt rulers with a vision of non-violent protest and solidarity.
Dornford-May, who says he subscribes to Christ's teachings without necessarily believing he is the son of God, says the Jesus in the film is a divine being who rises from the dead.
His resurrection is meant to signal hope for Africa, the world's poorest continent which is sometimes dismissed by foreigners as a hopeless mess of conflict and corruption.
"The ending is optimistic but realistic. There is an incredible struggle to get to the optimism," he said.
Dornford-May says focus groups of church leaders and ordinary Christians in South Africa, where Christianity often comes in a conservative form, broadly praised the film, which he hopes will prove a hit on the continent and worldwide.
Mary, played by the star of U-Carmen, Pauline Malefane, gets a beefed-up role as the inspiration for Christ's politics and humanity, compared to her fairly brief biblical appearances.
And Malefane, who is married to Dorford-May, makes a smooth transition from playing the seductive heroine Carmen to the world's most famous virgin, he said.
"They are both women who are prepared to stand outside of society. They may be different sides of the coin but they are still the same coin -- but I'm not going to be very popular for saying that."
01/19/06 06:02 ET
------------------------------------------------
I can't wait to see it on the sundance channel though!
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Roxie
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Roxie
Post Number: 567
Registered: 06-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 20, 2006 - 05:55 pm: |
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Note how the reporter calls africa "the world's poorest continent".
yeah.....doesn't India have a larger population of poor people than than the entire continent of africa too? Talk about your "spin"! |
questioner
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 03:11 am: |
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But Jesus was white, wasnt he? |
Anonymous
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 03:26 am: |
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No he was not. |
Renata
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 498
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 03:13 pm: |
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The "king of the jews" was hardly white. And hardly the son of God. Even he referred to himself as the "SON OF MAN", and when asked if he was the son of god, he said himself, "It's YOU who say that I am. But you will see the SON OF MAN sitting at the right hand of god."
Dangit, christians, read the bible for yourself. The white man says Jesus is the son of god, and you can read where Jesus HIMSELF says that he isn't...and whose word do you take?
I'm bored with this topic. |
Serenasailor
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Serenasailor
Post Number: 158
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 07:53 pm: |
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But Jesus was white, wasnt he?
Questioner get your white cracka ass out of here. This chat room is for blacks only. |
Prettybabygirl
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Prettybabygirl
Post Number: 125
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 08:43 pm: |
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That "questioner" was Mrs. Hart.
Who also plays "JENNY" on another thread.
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Anonymous
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 08:57 pm: |
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i definitely agree pbg mrs hart is a white man and no way a blaCCCCCCCK WOMAN! HER POST JUST SEEM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WERID!!! |
Anonymous
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006 - 09:10 pm: |
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error his post just seem sooooooooo werid. i think MRS HART IS ACTUALLY MR HART!!! |
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