Production

Electric South has supported African artists from a spectrum of creative disciplines to explore 360 filmmaking.

We act as a production studio – securing finance for projects; guiding creative development of ideas; mentoring first-time VR filmmakers throughout the production process; and facilitating post-production.

Our first projects were co-produced under the New Dimensions banner by Electric South and the Goethe-Institut South Africa, with additional support from Big World Cinema, Blue Ice Docs and the Bertha Foundation.

The New Dimension 2017 workshop opened me to the possibility VR technology affords as a tool of expression for a visual artist, making it easier to transition into viewing the world in a sphere. Special thanks to the Electric South team for the opportunity.” – Jumoke Sanwo

Container

by Meghna Singh and Simon Wood

Container makes visible the ‘invisiblized’ bodies enabling our consumer society. Confronting slavery through an ever-transforming shipping container, the past becomes the present, the invisible become visible. We witness the shards of society: the ghosts of the past and living spectres of the modern world.

The Subterranean Imprint Archive

by Francois Knoetze and Amy Louise Wilson (Lo-Def Film Factory)

The Subterranean Imprint Archive is a 6dof VR experience. It situates the viewer in a counter-archive which traces the legacy of technopolitics in Central and Southern Africa. The starting point of the work is Shinkolobwe, a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the uranium used in the Manhattan project was extracted. The image of Congolese ore exploding over Japan is a symbol of the earth-shattering devastation whose impact continues to be felt on the African continent. While the eyes of the world were transfixed on a city engulfed in a ball of light, a long shadow was cast.

Azibuye – The Occupation

by Dylan Valley

“Azibuye – The Occupation” is a stereo 360 documentary about Masello and Evan, two homeless black artist/activists who take up residence in an crumbling mansion, vacant for 20 years, in an affluent part of Johannesburg. They proclaim their illegal occupation to be an artistic and political act to address the ongoing racial inequalities in land ownership in South Africa. When it is revealed who the owner of the house is, the pair have a difficult decision to make.

Azimuth

by Nirma Madhoo

The term ‘azimuth’ is derived from Arabic and denotes a measurement in a spherical space. Azimuth is a short fashion VR film that explores stylised Brutalist architectures as a triptych to fashion performances and an immersive ambisonics original score. It is an experimentation of 360° live action filming with underwater, aerial and drone rigging and composites digital 3D assets from Lidar scanning and photogrammetry. Conceptualised and produced in South Africa, Azimuth is testimony to collaborative practice and digital fashion expressions from a Global South.

Here

by Shelley Barry

PREMIERE AT NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL, SOUTH AFRICA 2019

Here is a music and dance performance by Johannesburg artists with disabilities, celebrating their craft while reimagining their city as an inclusive and fantastical space.

Lagos at Large

by Jumoke Sanwo

PREMIERE AT INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL AMSTERDAM (IDFA)

History, colonialism, growth, nostalgia, decay and transformation collide in this introduction to Lagos, as three characters mould the identity of their megacity and where they belong in it.

Le Lac

by Nyasha Kadandara

WINNER: BEST DIGITAL NARRATIVE AT SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST 2019.
“Le Lac” is a dreamscape where liquid gives way to dust. The oasis of the Sahel, Lake Chad, is not who she used to be. Ninety percent of her water is gone, leaving her feeling depleted, wary, scared and insecure. Climate change has made the millions of people who depend on her vulnerable, and induced the threat of Boko Haram insurgency. In this immersive documentary,step into the lives of Mahamat, a once-wealthy pastoralist, and Nassuri, a refugee-turned-fisherman, as the lake herself hopes for their survival amidst her scattered ponds.

Let This Be A Warning

by The Nest Collective

A group of Africans have left the Earth to create a colony on a distant planet. They respond with disquiet to the arrival of an uninvited guest.

Nairobi Berries

by Ng'endo Mukii

In this poetic symphony, two women and a man wrangle in forests full of smoke and beneath waters dappled with bougainvillea.  Each must hollow out the other’s core for fruits promised but only ever borne in dreams.     

The Other Dakar

by Selly Raby Kane

A little girl receives a message and discovers the hidden face of Dakar. An homage to Senegalese mythology and a stunning visual debut from Dakar-based artist and designer, Selly Raby Kane, this magical 360° film transports viewers to a place where past and future meet and where artists are the beating heart of the city.

Spirit Robot

by Jonathan Dotse

VR documentary which explores the Chale Wote Street Art Festival in Accra.