Shield and Spear premieres at the Bioscope

Thursday, February 26, 2015 - 7:30pm

In May 2012, a six-foot-tall painting ignited a firestorm of controversy in South Africa when the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg mounted an exhibit of artist Brett Murray's politically inspired work. The show included The Spear, a cheeky portrait of scandal-plagued South African president Jacob Zuma, which prompted a landmark lawsuit, death threats against the artist and massive street protests.

The passionate debate surrounding the painting inspired filmmaker Petter Ringbom to explore South Africa's vibrant, exuberant and sometimes fractious community of artists in his feature-length documentary. Coming exactly 20 years after the country's historic first democratic elections in 1994, the film explores a constellation of stories about art, music, identity, race, and freedom of expression in South Africa by examining the lives and work of a diverse group of artists. From bustling international metropolises like Capetown and Johannesburg to the traditional townships of Soweto and Khayelitsha, Ringbom observes what it means to be an artist in a fledgling democracy and finds the indomitable creative urge burning brightly. In cafes, clubs and galleries, and at all levels of society, politically charged words and imagery fill the rooms and the streets of South Africa, and spill over onto the international stage. Whenever we play music, whenever we tour the world, being South African artists, the politics of South Africa are there by default, says Mpumi Mcata of BLK JKS, the South African band that performed at the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup alongside Alicia Keys and Black Eyed Peas. Whether we are talking about it or not, we are addressing it simply by being. In an innately conservative country that still bears the scars of almost a half-century of apartheid, the brutal state-sponsored system of racial segregation, Ringbom discovers that everyone-black, white or colored, Afrikaans or English speaker, affluent or poor-is struggling to find their place in the new South Africa.

SHIELD AND SPEAR will have its Johannesburg premiere at The Bioscope Independent Cinema on Thursday, February 26th, with subsequent daily screenings until March 5th. The premiere on the 26th will be directly followed by a party at Curiocity Backpackers. The party will include a performance by The Brother Moves On presents Stopnoncents, and DJ sets by Jo o Orecchia of Mot l Mari and Sibu Sithole of the Smarteez fashion collective. The premiere party is free and open to the public. Expected to attend are SHIELD AND SPEAR filmmakers and participants such as The Brother Moves On, BLK JKS, Smarteez, Mot l Mari, Iman Rappetti, Ferial Haffajee and Goodman Gallery

SHIELD AND SPEAR will have its Cape Town premiere at That Art Fair's That Art Party on Friday, February 27th, with subsequent screenings on February 29th and March 1st. The premiere on the 27th will be directly followed by performances by The Brother Moves On, Spoek Mathambo, Thor Rixon and DJ Invizable's Champions of the Sonaverse. Expected to attend are SHIELD AND SPEAR filmmakers and participants such as Brett Murray, Fokofpolisiekar, DJ Invizable, Yolanda Fyrus, Goodman Gallery and The Brother Moves On.

SHIELD AND SPEAR SYNOPSIS

Logline

An artist paints a caricature of South African president Jacob Zuma that provokes a lawsuit, death threats and a massive street protest. Around this incident, Shield and Spear explores a constellation of stories about identity, art, race, and freedom of expression in South Africa, twenty years into democracy.

Synopsis

An artist paints a caricature of South African president Jacob Zuma that provokes a lawsuit, death threats and a massive street protest. An Afrikaans musician devises a stage character based on an archetypal African dictator to more freely comment on his community and his country. For a group of designers in Soweto, their fashion creations and style are manifestations of freedom. A photographer dedicates her life to documenting the LGBT community and exposing hate crimes that go unnoticed by the government and mainstream media. While one Johannesburg-based band is overtly political, another band makes a conscious decision to not deal with politics. Shield and Spear explores a constellation of stories about art, music, identity, race, and freedom of expression in South Africa, twenty years into democracy.

The film documents what it's like to live and work as an artist in this new democracy. It's a story about what comes after the jubilation and celebration of a newly won freedom when you're faced with the real complexities of being a Rainbow Nation. Shield and Spear explores the areas where art and politics intersect. It's a film about creative identity in a place where issues of race, class and history are impossible to ignore. In Shield and Spear, music and art are a gateway through which to open dialogue about social and political issues of South Africa that resonate in countless other countries around the world. A theme of the film is how the apartheid system still affects younger artists, black or white, working in South Africa today. Given South Africa's history, it's only natural that issues of race, identity and cultural heritage impact the work of artists and affect the ways their work is perceived by an audience. Brett Murray, who is white, made a caricature of the black President Zuma and depicted him in what some would judge to be a stereotypical way - thus accusations of racism were inevitable. Indeed, the artists and musicians in this film tackle stereotypes in various ways; some use humor or shock to play with their racial identity; some revolt against their heritage; while others embrace and celebrate it.

Shield and Spear features the contemporary South African artists and musicians; Brett M

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