Where Do I Stand?
Shikaya has partnered with filmmaker Molly Blank to produce the documentary Where Do I Stand?
http://vimeo.com/16293063
When xenophobic attacks broke out across South Africa in 2008, many were caught off guard, shocked by violence that felt like a violation of the principles of their newly democratic nation. Over two months, 62 people were killed, hundreds injured and many more left homeless. In the midst of the violence, many young people picked up pangas. Other youth, clad in the bright greens and maroons of their school uniforms, looted neighborhood shops while some of their classmates, refugees themselves, fled to safer ground. Some young people tried to find a way to help, but still more stood by, watching from their windows or on television.
Called “brilliant” and “compelling”, Where Do I Stand? uses the attacks as a window into the lives of seven young people who are thinking deeply about their actions during this violence and the choices they made. They include a Rwandan refugee, a girl wrestling with the reality of foreigners in her township, a boy facing calls of cowardice, and a suburban girl whose family sheltered their Malawian gardener.
Where Do I Stand? captures the optimistic voices of youth grappling with what they experienced and seeking to carve out their own places in this complex and divided nation.
Where Do I Stand? Has Received Great Press in South Africa and Internationally…
"We see young people who are thinking through their humanity with great insight... we see an incredible sense of awakening and understanding of their own moral horizons and an awareness of how much they need to be more than simply driftwood in history. It is this possibility, of South Africans taking responsibility for their own actions, that this documentary will hopefully add impetus to."
- Crain Soudien, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Town
"Thought-provoking, deeply moving and thoroughly professional, Where Do I Stand? sets a new standard for education of youth and adults about complex and troubling issues in South African society. This is not only a story about hurt and trauma, but one of reconciliation and hope, crucial ingredients for rebuilding a broken country.
- Jonathan Jansen, Rector, University of the Free State “I have a new favorite film about education. This one is NOT about school but rather about the moral dilemmas we all face, in this case a matter of life and death.”
- taking note, thoughts on education from John Merrow, November 17, 2010.
“A brilliant movie maker, Molly Blank, renders a powerful account about xenophobia in her new documentary, Where Do I Stand?”
– Jonathan Jansen, The Times (July 14 2010)
Hear director Molly Blank’s interview on the national radio show Dispatches. Listen to the interview.
For more information on the film visit www.wheredoistandfilm.com
Where Do I Stand? is generously funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and Wallace Global Fund.
