The Mamelodi Documentary Project, the brainchild of Ajani Husbands, a Master’s degree graduate in International Development from the American University in Washington DC, is currently being edited in the US. Part of the goals is to have the hour-long documentary ready for distribution by January 2008.

The Mamelodi Documentary Project aims to document the experiences of community organisations in the Pretoria township of Mamelodi and to give their struggles and determinations a world audience. It is primarily aimed at the American audience and aims to “acquaint the audience with the history of South Africa’s former system of Apartheid, how it affects the population today, and what individuals and concerned community members are doing to work against these effects”.

Prior to the shooting of the documentary, the Mamelodi Conference took place on 19 July 2007. The conference involved a number of Mamelodi’s leading organisations, each one representing different aims and objectives in the community, and each one contributing towards the development within the township, namely various sectors including technology, government, health, education, non-governmental organisations and religion.

The Mamelodi Documentary Project is a multi-faceted venture that includes a documentary, round-table discussions, photojournalism and community involvement. Crew members spent seven weeks in the Mamelodi township, recording more than 60 hours of footage, interviewing dozens of individuals, and capturing over 5 000 photographs.

See November issue of Screen Africa.