One of the most uplifting films at this year's Durban International Film Festival is also an indictment of Sudan's current president, Omar al-Bashir. Beats of The Antonov gives a human face to the victims of al-Bashir, who was allowed to leave South Africa last month, flouting a court order and international convention.
The documentary tells the story of the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan, who fought with the South for independence but now remain trapped in a civil war in the North.
The Antonov in the title refers to the planes that drop bombs on the civilian population there. As Nuba Reports wrote in The Daily Maverick just after al-Bashir's escape, As South Africa dissects the implications of President Omar al-Bashir's visit, and his illegal departure, it's worth remembering that although the International Criminal Court wants him for crimes committed years ago, the Sudanese president is still in power - and he's still dropping cluster bombs on civilians.
The documentary depicts al-Bashir not just as the kind of leader who drops bombs on unarmed civilians, but also as a racist, dividing his country along racial and ethnic lines, waging war against all the African elements in Sudan. As CityPress wrote in their review, al-Bashir's quest for a purely Arab state leaves the other 156 cultural African groups unaccounted for. Bashir calls these people black sacks and vows to wipe them out.
According to The Mail and Guardian, the ANC described the decision to aide al-Bashir's escape as choosing African unity over the law. But after watching the film, you'll be left asking whether a stand for African unity shouldn't rather be a stand with the people of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains, not with those trying to Arabicize them. The documentary is not anti-Islamic; it just argues that you can be Muslim without needing to be culturally Arabic, that you can embrace being an African Muslim rather than forcing everyone to be an Arabic one.
This may all sound like unlikely source material for the most uplifting film at the Durban International Film Festival, but Beats of the Antonov is a celebration of the human spirit and of the Sudanese people South African president Jacob Zuma failed to protect when he had the chance. These are people who laugh after surviving an air-raid, who dance all-night to stay awake while on sentry duty; this is a place where music is as integral a part of society as water, food and air, a place where there is no separation between the musicians and their audience.
As refugee Insaf Rawad says in the film, Culture protects us. If people don't release their pain, they will become miserable, without these parties to lift their spirits. When people are anxious and disturbed, dancing helps them get over it.
Similarly, ethnomusicologist Sarah Mohamed says, Truly there is an alternative Sudan, other than the fake one presented to us in the capital Khartoum. There is a happy smiling Sudan that loves life.
Beats of the Antonov has charmed audiences around the world, even winning The People's Choice Documentary Award at The Toronto International Film Festival and four other international awards. Sudanese filmmaker hajooj kuka directed and shot the documentary over two years, at immense personal risk. He also produced alongside South African Steven Markovitz, as a coproduction between Sudanese production company Refugee Club and South African company Big World Cinema. South African Khalid Shamis edited the documentary with hajooj kuka in Cape Town.
I urge all South Africans to see this film, says Steven. This film turns the notion of Africa as a continent of victims on its head and shows the incredible resilience of Sudanese people at a time of great adversity. They deserve our support.''
hajooj kuka will be attending the Durban International Film Festival, where Beats of the Antonov is in competition. The documentary premieres on Saturday, 18 July 2015 at 6pm at Suncoast.
What people are saying:
I was quite wrong about where Beats of the Antonov would take me Despite its vicious political plot, Beats of the Antonov is a story of triumph. The very thing that the dominant regime wishes to stamp out - black African identity - is what saves these people from complete desolation. By gathering to make music in local languages, and pass on these cultural practices to a new generation, they sing their identity into being: a defeat of the Bashir project. Binwe Adebayo, CityPress
Every now and then, it seems as if there is nothing new out there. Everything seems derivative, repetitive or just plain bland. As a filmmaker, I sometimes go through moments of extreme lack of inspiration; and even question my choice of career. And then an unexpected spark happens to light the way. Beats of the Antonov is such a spark Kuka paints a beautiful picture of music, war and identity in the Blue Nile and Nuba regions, and the film is unlike anything I have ever seen Beats of the Antonov and its infectious music stayed with me for days after viewing it With more films like this coming from African directors, we could be witnessing the start of a new canon of African film. Dylan Valley, Africa Is A Country
'Beats of the Antonov is a true standout '' Variety
Equal parts war-documentary and visual ethnomusicology project a nuanced portrayal of cultural identity, the trauma of civil war, and what it means to be Sudanese today. OkayAfrica
With agile camerawork that dances amongst the colourful scarves of mothers and girls, that huddles in lamp-lit tents and dives into trenches to escape a passing bomber, filmmaker and war reporter Hajooj Kuka weaves a thread where life daily teeters on a knife edge and, nonetheless, goes on. Encounters programmer Jenna Bass
Despite the loss and bruta
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
One of the most uplifting films at this year's Durban International Film Festival is also an indictment of Sudan's current president, Omar al-Bashir. Beats of The Antonov gives a human face to the victims of al-Bashir, who was allowed to leave South Africa last month, flouting a court order and international convention.
