Zola Maseko
Encyclopedia
Zola Maseko is a Swazi
film director
and screenwriter
. He is noted for his documentary films related to xenophobia
.
, the armed sector of the African National Congress
, in 1987. After moving to the United Kingdom
, he graduated from the National Film and Television School
in Beaconsfield
in 1994. Maseko's first film was the documentary Dear Sunshine, released in 1992. He fought apartheid in several countries.
He moved to South Africa in 1994 and wrote The Foreigner, a short fiction film about xenophobia
in this country. In 1996, after Maseko drove to his house, an unknown assailant pointed a gun at the director and fired twice. He fled after the gun did not fire. A few minutes later, he called his house, and the assailant was on the phone. He "thought [Maseko was] a foreigner. We are a vigilante group going around killing foreigners. We don't want them here."
In 1998 he directed The Life and Times of Sarah Baartman, a 53 minute documentary film
about a woman named Sarah Baartman
in colonial times. Set between 1810 and 1815, the documentary relates the true story of a 20 year-old woman travelling to London
from Cape Town
and addresses the taboo themes of racial inferiority and black female sexuality. The woman is taken to France in 1814 and from then on became a subject of scientific investigation. Maseko's cinematic techniques were employed to depict the woman as a sub-human species, emphasising the racial prejudice against black Africans in Europe during imperialist
times. After her death, her sexual organs and brain were displayed in the Musee de l'Homme
in Paris until as recently as 1985. Critically acclaimed, it garnered many awards including Best African Documentary, 1999 at the Pan-African Film Festival
(FESPACO), Best Documentary at the 1999 Milan African Film Festival and an award at the 2001 African Literature Association Conference Film Festival.
Other short films by Maseko include The Return of Sarah Baartman, Children of the Revolution, and A Drink in the Passage, all released in 2002. The latter won the Special Jury Award at FESPACO.
His first feature film was Drum
, released in 2004. Set in 1950s Johannesburg
, it tells of the magazine of the same name and specifically focuses on Henry Nxumalo
, a journalist fighting apartheid. He received the top prize at FESPACO, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, in addition to a cash prize of 10 million CFA francs (US$20,000) at its closing ceremony in 2005, the first South African to do such.
The filmmaker is currently working on the television series, Homecoming
, following the adventures of three freedom fighters trying to fit in with the rest of South Africa. Maseko is also working on Liverpool Leopard, which is to be his second feature film.
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He is noted for his documentary films related to xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
.
Biography
Maseko was born in exile in 1967. Educated in Swaziland and Tanzania, he joined Umkhonto We SizweUmkhonto we Sizwe
Umkhonto we Sizwe , translated "Spear of the Nation," was the armed wing of the African National Congress which fought against the South African apartheid government. MK launched its first guerrilla attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961...
, the armed sector of the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
, in 1987. After moving to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, he graduated from the National Film and Television School
National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
in Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
in 1994. Maseko's first film was the documentary Dear Sunshine, released in 1992. He fought apartheid in several countries.
He moved to South Africa in 1994 and wrote The Foreigner, a short fiction film about xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
in this country. In 1996, after Maseko drove to his house, an unknown assailant pointed a gun at the director and fired twice. He fled after the gun did not fire. A few minutes later, he called his house, and the assailant was on the phone. He "thought [Maseko was] a foreigner. We are a vigilante group going around killing foreigners. We don't want them here."
In 1998 he directed The Life and Times of Sarah Baartman, a 53 minute documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about a woman named Sarah Baartman
Saartjie Baartman
Sarah "Saartjie" Baartman was the most famous of at least two Khoikhoi women who were exhibited as freak show attractions in 19th century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus—"Hottentot" as the then-current name for the Khoi people, now considered an offensive term, and "Venus" in reference to...
in colonial times. Set between 1810 and 1815, the documentary relates the true story of a 20 year-old woman travelling to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and addresses the taboo themes of racial inferiority and black female sexuality. The woman is taken to France in 1814 and from then on became a subject of scientific investigation. Maseko's cinematic techniques were employed to depict the woman as a sub-human species, emphasising the racial prejudice against black Africans in Europe during imperialist
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
times. After her death, her sexual organs and brain were displayed in the Musee de l'Homme
Musée de l'Homme
The Musée de l'Homme was created in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne. It is the descendant of the Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro, founded in 1878...
in Paris until as recently as 1985. Critically acclaimed, it garnered many awards including Best African Documentary, 1999 at the Pan-African Film Festival
Pan-African Film Festival
Established in 1992, The Pan African Film Festival is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion of cultural and racial tolerance and understanding through the exhibition of film, art and creative expression....
(FESPACO), Best Documentary at the 1999 Milan African Film Festival and an award at the 2001 African Literature Association Conference Film Festival.
Other short films by Maseko include The Return of Sarah Baartman, Children of the Revolution, and A Drink in the Passage, all released in 2002. The latter won the Special Jury Award at FESPACO.
His first feature film was Drum
Drum (2004 film)
Drum is a 2004 film based on the life of South African investigative journalist Henry Nxumalo, who worked for the popular Drum magazine, called "the first black lifestyle magazine in Africa." It was director Zola Maseko's first film and deals with the issues of apartheid and the forced removal of...
, released in 2004. Set in 1950s Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, it tells of the magazine of the same name and specifically focuses on Henry Nxumalo
Henry Nxumalo
Henry Nxumalo, also known as Henry "Mr Drum" Nxumalo was a South African journalist.- Biography :He was born in 1917 in Margate, Natal, South Africa and attended the Fascadale Mission School...
, a journalist fighting apartheid. He received the top prize at FESPACO, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, in addition to a cash prize of 10 million CFA francs (US$20,000) at its closing ceremony in 2005, the first South African to do such.
The filmmaker is currently working on the television series, Homecoming
Homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni of a school. It most commonly refers to a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America...
, following the adventures of three freedom fighters trying to fit in with the rest of South Africa. Maseko is also working on Liverpool Leopard, which is to be his second feature film.
As director
- The Foreigner (1997)
- The Life and Times of Sara Baartman (1998)
- The Return of Sarah Baartman (2002)
- Children of the Revolution (2002)
- A Drink in the Passage (2002)
- DrumDrum (2004 film)Drum is a 2004 film based on the life of South African investigative journalist Henry Nxumalo, who worked for the popular Drum magazine, called "the first black lifestyle magazine in Africa." It was director Zola Maseko's first film and deals with the issues of apartheid and the forced removal of...
(2004)