Documentary News Letter (1947-1949)

!)()( I Ml \l\in I II \1 M \\s '»5 The Film Society Movement in Son tli Africa by Lily Rabkin (Reprinted from 'The Outspan', February 6, 1948) the first South African Film Society was started in Cape Town some years ago, but it had to give up owing to numerous difficulties. The present flourishing movements — there are film societies in Cape Town, Stellenbosch. Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg. Durban and Maritzburg. and at the University of the Witwatersrand — also began in Cape Town. In June, 1945, about ten people, all interested in the film, met at a private house, and decided to form some organization for the showing of films, old and new, which were worthy of attention and which could not be seen on the commercial circuit. The initial aims were very modest. We did not expect that the group would attract more than 40 people and we decided to start our meetings with documentary films easily obtainable locally. Each of the original sponsors contributed something towards initial expenses and a circular explaining the idea was sent out to people who might be interested in the project. We hired a board-room in Adderley Street, which holds about 90 people, and held our first meeting on August 29. 1945. To our pleased surprise — and embarrassment, for some had to be turned away — about 150 people turned up and the idea was triumphantly justified. The first programme consisted of a British Council colour film. Teeth of Steel: a 1917 Charlie Chaplin short; that classic British documentary, Night Mail (directors, Harry Watt and Basil Wright); and the first of Frank Capra's powerful war documentaries, Why We Fight. Thus the Cape Town Film Society was born. Its objects, as laid down in the constitution, are (1) to further interest in the film as a social, artistic and historical medium, (2) to further film appreciation. The CTFS is, of course, a non-commercial and non-profit-making body, and it is worthy of note that it has no colour bar. The society meets monthly and meetings are open only to members, who pay their subscriptions for a minimum period of three months. The subscription is only 2s. 6d. a month, which places the society within the reach of most people. One of the first problems of a film society in South Africa is a suitable hall. We met for a long time at the Metropolitan Hall, which seats about 300 people. When the hall was reserved by the Methodist Church for its own activities, we moved to the smaller Oddfellows Hall. We have, therefore, had to keep our membership more or less stationary at about 200 people. The membership is composed about equally of men and women and consists of representatives of all professions and occupations. Most of the members are between 25 and 45 years. We have regular monthly meetings, have shown a wide variety of films, old and new. and have, we hope, brought home the importance of the film both as a sociological and artistic instrument. Geoffrey Smith, our chairman, was present at Brussels in June last year when. during the Film Festival there, the World Union of Documentary was formed, pledging its support to the fight for peace and reconstruction, for the independence of subject peoples, for free intellectual and cultural expression and the free dissemination of knowledge. Either directly or indirectly inspired by the (ape Town example, six other film societies have been started. Once they were in operation. Cape Town has been able to help and advise in many ways, particularly by lending its films. The first of these was Stellenbosch. The membership of the Stellenbosch Film Society now stands at about 80, of whom about 60 are drawn from the University staff and their families, graduates and students. Of the remainder. nine are schoolteachers. Stellenbosch. an extremely enthusiastic and enterprising group, holds meetings once a month for eight months of the year. Port Elizabeth, in turn, held its first, very crowded, film society meeting in the Technical College Hall on January 24, 1946. The sponsor was a local industrialist. Neil Abrahams. The membership of the Port Elizabeth Film Society is about 130, mostly professional and business people over thirty. The Johannesburg Film Society began operations in October, 1946. The chairman, Fanny Klenerman, a Johannesburg bookseller, hired the Escom Theatre and invited those interested to see The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the famous German experimental film (imported into South Africa by the Cape Town Film Society). Then a meeting was called and the Johannesburg Film Society was formed. It is naturally the biggest group, with about 450 members. Meetings are held in the Escom Theatre, with two 'sittings' for each programme. Durban started its Film Society in February. 1947. Dr Herbert Coblans, the chairman, had been on the first committee of the Cape Town Film Society, and gathered together a preliminary committee. At the first meeting, Film and Reality, an absorbingly exciting history of the film, with excerpts from film landmarks of many kinds, was shown. As in the other centres, the hall was too small for the enthusiasts. Now, with the use of the larger i M< \ hall, the membership is between 350 and 400. In Marit/burg the meetings are held in the hall of the Technical College, which allows the use of the hall and projectoi at greatly reduced terms, because the Principal, very rightly, feels that such a Body is a valuable form of adult education. Of the membership of about 140 a third are students (who pa) a reduced subscription) and 20 are members of the University stall The youngest group is the Witwatersrand Film Society, which has already held a couple of meetings. I list in the list oi film society problems in South Africa is the quest for films. Cape Town Started oil with documentaries, which are easily available in South Africa. Of these the most spectacular, perhaps, was Nanook of the (Robert Flaherty, 1922). a copy of which was found in a commercial film library in Johannesburg. This film was shown by the film societies long before the re-issue was shown on a South African commercial circuit. When it came on to the commercial screen, members of the Cape Town Film Society, to my knowand probably elsewhere, went to see it again, urged their friends 'not to miss it", and sent their children to the matinees. It is thus plain that the film society movement is a useful supplement to the commercial cinema. Other films are not so easy to come by. luckily the British Film Institute has a National Film Library, which lets film societies have on permanent loan prints of films ovei which it has certain copyright rights. In this way the Cape Town Film Society has been able nport, at very reasonable cost, a number of films which are very important cinematic landmarks, and to share them with the other film societies. These include, among others, the Russian Mother (Pudovkin, 1926), the German et of Dr Caligari (Robert W'iene. 1919), the French Italian Straw Hat (Rene Clair's joyous satire on the French bourgeoisie, made in 1927), the Russian The General Line (Eisenstein and Alexandrov. 1929), and the documentary history of the film, Film and Reality (Cavalcanti. 1942 1. It is verj interesting to note to which films members respond most heartily sometimes the response is very unexpected. Cape Town members have enjoyed most, I think. Nanook of the North. The Italian Straw Hat, and the two parts of Film and Reality. Stellenbosch's high-light was also Nanook. Port Elizabeth liked Diary for Timothy best, and Durban went for The Ox-bow Incident, The Italian Straw Hat and Sabotage it ape I own wasn't over-excited about v but we had a poor print I. Marit/burg enjoyed Film and Realil .Han Straw Hat and Nanook. A further aim of the film societies is to cooperate if possible with other cultural and tional organizations. ( ape [own has had a few highly successful experiments in this direction. In March. 1 t*4f>. we had a meeting. in co-operation with the Association ol title Workers, on 'The Film and Public Health' Relevant films were shown and Dl I R.I like K onttnued on page 96. column 3)