Kampala Nights
Experience Africanised scores for classic Western silent films on 19 and 20 July 2007 at the Southbank.
World London is an exciting annual festival that explores the cultural roots of London’s diverse communities. As part of this new series you can on Wednesday, 18 July 2007, and Thursday, 19 July 2007, at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX, check out Kampala Nights. Direct from the Amakula Kampala International Film Festival, this will be a season of classic silent films screened to live music performed by Ugandan musicians Percussion Discussion and Michael & Kinobe, who have made a speciality of this genre.
It will be the first time that this intriguing strand of the Amakula Film Festival is brought to the UK. Leading Ugandan musicians perform new, Africanised scores for classic Western silent films, creating a new experience that brings together these different cultures. Both a craftsman and a performer, instrument maker Kinobe Herbert joins guitarist Michael Ouma, while Percussion Discussion Afrika perform on traditional drums of the tribal peoples of Uganda, rarely heard outside of East Africa. The film programme is different for both performance days:
Wednesday 18 July: Man With a Movie Camera - This seminal silent documentary film by Russian director Dziga Vertov portrays urban life in Soviet cities, and was originally released in 1929 accompanied in theatres with live music. In recent years Norwegian ambient outfit Biosphere, British jazz and electronica band Cinematic Orchestra and composer Michael Nyman have all scored their own soundtracks to the film.
Thursday 19 July: Sunrise - Sunrise won an an Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production at the first ever Oscar ceremony in 1929. German expressionist director F W Murnau (Nosferatu) created the story of a man and wife struggling through a dark moment in their marriage, full of innovative film techniques. It is considered by many to be the peak of silent film-making.
On Thursday there will also DJs Danniluv and Will, both from London's popular Pier One nightclub, playing the latest sounds from Uganda in The Front Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall after the main performance. Admission for this after-party is free.
Tickets for the main performances are £15 (plus booking fee) in person from the box office or by phone (0871 663 2500) or online (www.southbankcentre.co.uk).