kagablog

“Welcome to the Slaughterhouse” is a powerful video essay produced by Aryan Kaganof in 2007, with extracts from films and the complicity of other video makers from the African Noise Foundation. During the 41 minutes of the film, we witness violent scenes, some of them from television reports, opening with one of that year’s most shocking emblems – the image of the latest college massacre in the United States perpetrated by Cho Seung Hui. At the beginning of the film he talks to us of his motives and decision to kill his fellow students, and his secret method. The second part of the film is an ironic collage of various CNN images of the current American president expounding his plans to fight terrorism. The superimposed headings parody his discourse, mixing up his words which promise to spare us from terrorists’ blackmail.

The music by the composer Joel Assaizky, (Kaganof’s long-term collaborator and member of their group “Freedom Fighter”) aims to give unity and intimate coherence to this slightly jumbled collage. Aside from the themes of violence and war which we come back to again and again, the films’ other themes are various; in the third part of the film entitled “Baphomet danse macabre” we see extracts from the ball from “Last Year in Marienbad”, scenes with no apparent logical suite but in sonic contradiction, for in this remake of Resnais’ film, a couple are looking at each other peacefully and lovingly.

The fourth part is the most sado-masochist and is made up of images of Johan Thom’s actual performance. It is called, simply “Baphomet” and is a contemporary adaptation of “Bodybuilding”, a performance by Otto Muehl dating from 1966, where the artist firmly binds his face with bandages. Here, 41 years later, Thom attaches his face with thick, transparent thread which must surely hurt. This time, the electronic editing and stroboscopic effects transform his face into a modifiable and elastic – almost plastic – space, in emotional contradiction with the melodic and serene music by Ruth White. The representation of corporal pain is in complete accordance with the film’s other images.

The fifth part is the most abstract, and a formal variation on the preceding one. It’s called “Corticotropin” and is inspired by Kaganof’s abstract plastic creations. Kaganof the plastic artist wanted to animate them in order to emphasise the enigmatic aspect of his essay. “Panic Attack” is the title of the sixth part and is an adaptation of Rob Schroder’s film “Moral Panic”, which consists of a collage of television reports from 1963 to 2004. Principally inspired by images of war and terrorist attacks, Schroder’s film is inspired by the militant cinema of Guy Debord, in a more contemporary context.

“Mary Worshipping Baphomet” is the seventh part, containing images from one of Kaganof’s earlier films, “Two Heads Are Better Than One”. The impressively edited bicephalous monster who sings is a variation on the contemporary individual. The penultimate section is called “War Zone” and is the most violent, with real images of lynched corpses. The ninth and final section, “Floor Crossing”, again contains scenes from the classic “Dead man 2”, a film on death and resurrection through pure love.

With this film, Kaganof is above all trying to subvert television, which is not his favourite medium, in order to show us how television news and reports are used as method of widespread manipulation. The rotoreliefs in the fifth part of his film are nothing but a metonymy of the vertigo of televisual disinformation. As a whole, his film takes up the chaotic images of this disinformation, giving it perfect aesthetic and poetic coherence worthy of the pinnacle of video art. The film is dedicated to the memory of Kurt Vonnegut, the American author of “Slaughterhouse-Five”, who died in 2007.

Dionysos ANDRONIS

translated from the french by lucy lyall grant

don’t miss it
independent armchair theatre
lower main road, observatory
cape town
starts 8pm

“Kaganof’s film successfully unearths the efforts and diverse motivations of a subversive group of musicians who, as local muso Warrick Sony suggests, refuse to censor their expression to comply with the musical tastes of the masses.”
- Mary Corrigall, Sunday Independent, 8 July 2007.

An improvised performance of poetry set to music by Kaganof and Righard Kapp will follow. Thereafter Felix Laband and Warrick Sony will perform together for the first time ever.

DJ Chairman Miao (Cherry Bomb/Rose Lombard) will end the evening with a mix of vintage African rock ‘n’ roll.

The event grew organically out of filmmaker Aryan Kaganof’s request to Rosemary Lombard to organise a Cape Town screening for “Unyazi of the Bushveld” (45 min, 2007), his experimental documentary of Unyazi 2005, Africa’s first international electronic music symposium, an event which was conceived and organised by Dimitri Voudouris, and held at Wits University, Johannesburg in September 2005. Rosemary saw the Cape Town premiere of Unyazi of the Bushveld as an opportunity to facilitate a live collaborative performance by some of this city’s established electronic sound innovators, in context with the spirit of experimentation and exchange espoused at the original symposium.

After the unyazi film screening at 8.30, the live performance will commence with abstract guitarist Righard Kapp, possibly most familiar to audiences from his work with the Buckfever Underground, accompanying spoken word poetry by Kaganof. Thereafter, Kapp will be joined by prolific music producer and sound collector Warrick Sony (aka Kalahari Surfers) and electronica superstar Felix Laband for a loosely structured, improvised sonic tableau, involving esoteric, mostly locally-derived samples, fractured dubby moodscapes and prepared songforms attempting to convey a sense of the hardwired dread and cognitive dissonances embedded in the contemporary South African psyche.

unyazi of the bushveld features performances by zim ngqawana, pops mohamed, michael blake, pauline oliveros, james webb, george lewis and many others. sound design is by joel assaizky and the film was produced by the african noise foundation.

The new South African comedy “Big Fellas” releases nationwide in Nu Metro cinemas as from 23 November. Written and produced by Ross Garland and directed by Philip Roberts, “Big Fellas” brings together stand up comedians Cokey Falkow, Kagiso Lediga, Marc Lottering, Louw Venter, Jason Cope, screen stars Colin Moss and Hakeem Kae-Kazim, and models Minki van der Westhuizen and Gina Athans.

The soundtrack is full of cutting edge and diverse young South African music, from Afrikaans reggae to Joburg kwaito to English electronica to Western Cape ska. Joel Assaisky (“Bunny Chow”) composed six original music pieces for the film.

“Big Fellas” is a story about two white guys, Zed and Jake, who have made a documentary expose about the modelling industry, and go on a road trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg to get some money from the government. However, they are urgently in need of a black economic empowerment (BEE) partner.

Says Garland: “In South Africa’s fresh and bracing democracy, comedy is a tool for survival and analysis, a way to access difficult issues, but mostly to release the pressure valve. “Big Fellas” brings the key issue of identity in South Africa today into the public arena through the medium of broad comedy. In the words of one of the stars of the film, Kagiso Lediga, ‘We need to poke fun at ourselves to make sure it all doesn’t explode’.”

In its November issue SL Magazine wrote: “You know when a South African movie comes out and you feel you should probably see it, because it’s your duty? “Big Fellas” is NOT one of those movies. The film is a genuinely hilarious road trip comedy movie…a bold and satirical take on both white attitudes and BEE.”

News24.com reviewer Alistair Fairweather commented that “if you’re looking for a dose of goofy humour this weekend, steer a path towards “Big Fellas”. It may not have the budget of the slick rubbish Hollywood churns out (Mr Woodcock, I’m looking at you), but it’s got 10 times the heart.”

For more information about the film visit www.bigfellasmovie.com

text kaganof
music joel assaizky

Tonight Extra has already heard good things about Big Fellas, a local comedy movie releasing next Friday, written and produced by Ross Garland.
The plot revolves around SA two white guys, Zed and Jake, who have made a documentary expose about the modelling industry, and go on a SA road trip to get some money from the government.

One problem - they need a BEE partner, and they need one fast. On the trip the boys are continually sidetracked, by their nemesis Ray and his femme fatale assistant Lola, Karoo serial killers, supermodels, mannequins, Gatberg darts champions and the curiously named Ronnie’s Sex Shop…but still no BEE partner in sight. When the boys arrive in Jozi, their dreams come true, and they find a partner in the most unusual place.

As one reviewer put it: “You know when a South African movie comes out and you feel you should probably see it, because it’s your duty? Big Fellas is NOT one of those movies. The film is a genuinely hilarious road trip comedy movie…a bold and satirical take on both white attitudes and BEE.”

Big Fellas co-stars another DHS old boy and stand up comic Cokey Falkow. Also on the bill are Marc Lottering, Colin Moss and Hakeem Kae-Kazim (the latter is now based in Los Angeles and had a cameo in Lost recently). The sound track is full of cutting edge and diverse young South African music, from Afrikaans reggae to Joburg kwaito to English electronica to Western Cape ska. Joel Assaisky (Bunny Chow) composed 6 original music pieces for the film which is part rock ‘n roll to contemporary South African music.

Big Fellas releases in Nu Metro cinemas on 23 November. Check out www.bigfellasmovie.com and join the “Big Fellas movie” facebook group.

Best Music in a TV Drama for Hard Copy (credits to the Junior Musicians Yacht Club with co-writer Farryl Roth)

Best Music - Bunny Chow

Best Sound Design - Bunny Chow

I’m really not sure how I got a sound design nomination - all i did was provide thumping noises for that rock-concert atmos at oppikoppi.

As my good friend Eran Tahor (nominated for a SAFTA too) pointed out, SAFTA in hebrew means GRANDMA

With that in mind I humbly thank all for my grandma nominations.