The secret to making a good movie about sport is to make sure there isn’t any sport in it. Remember ‘Invictus‘? Remember ‘Goal‘? Exactly. Distinguished Nigerian filmmaker Tunde Kelani must have known this, because there isn’t any sport in his film, ‘Maami’, even though his hero, Kashy (Wole Ojo), is a global footballing superstar who plays for Arsenal.
The 19th New York African Film Festival: ‘Maami’
April 12, 2012 By 1 Comment
‘Let’s pray that this is one bit of culture that won’t make it out of Africa’
October 18, 2011 By 2 Comments
Magnificent
May 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Earlier this week ESPN won seven Sports Emmy Awards, including one for music during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, like the video–played at the start of broadcasts and during breaks from the studio in South Africa–featuring U2 (I prefer Bono when he sings, not when he wants to save Africa) and the Soweto Gospel Choir above and this one, below:
Shameless Self-Promotion
January 3, 2011 By 5 Comments
A piece I wrote was published in The New York Times–on January 1, 2011–as part of an op-ed feature “Around the World in 12 Months (in 2010).”
My recollections of the 2010 World Cup was the entry for June. My 4 year old daughter (she’s now 5) traveled with me and the piece riffs on her experiences of the tournament.
–Sean Jacobs
* If you’re wondering why I am posting on January 3, I’m in Cape Town for The New School’s winter school break. New York City is 7 hours behind. (We left New York City right before the blizzard hit).
Music Break
October 6, 2010 By 1 Comment
In case you missed it, here is one the stars of the 2010 World Cup, Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan, making his debut as Baby Jet, in the video for Castro’s “African Girls.”
Despite all the bling, bubbly and booty, it has me wanting to do the Asamoah Gyan dance too.
Streets is Watching
July 14, 2010 By 3 Comments
Oh no she didn’t.
(Shakira gets asked about the origins of “Waka Waka” about 30 seconds into this press conference during the World Cup in South Africa.)
Seriously, who didn’t already know this song when they heard its reincarnation as “Waka Waka”? The very first time I heard it, I was nine, spending one of many family vacations in the motherland. And I won’t even tell you how long ago that was. I shouldn’t have to anyway, since Chief Boima covered this months ago, and traced the song back to its origin in Cameroon.
But what’s all that to Shakira and FIFA? They are, after all, engaging in yet another tried and true pastime: undermining African peoples’ intellectual and artistic rights. From an excellent post by Dibussi Tande:
Obrigado, Pelé
June 30, 2010 By 3 Comments
What if Pelé had scored his final goal for Brazil, against Argentina? That’s the premise of 1284, the new short film starring 69-year old Pelé himself, which is ultimately a really touching tribute to the greatest footballer that ever lived.
The film was created by Young and Rubicam Brazil for Brazilian mobile telecommunications company and official national team sponsor, Vivo, and produced by Fernando Meirelles. It’s enough to make me forget The Constant Gardener.
h/t Shadow and Act
Le Lion Indomptable
June 24, 2010 By 2 Comments
As we all know, The Indomitable Lions were the first team to be ousted from this year’s World Cup. As they play their final match in South Africa against Holland, let’s take a moment to remember some of their better days, brought to us courtesy of Roger Milla.
A mutual friend sent me this video made by artist James Blagden for PUMA Football. Coca-Cola tried and failed with their ad honoring Milla—what do you think of this one?
Dirty Paraffin is “genre-defying”
June 24, 2010 By 2 Comments
We’ve been following The Fader’s Pitch Perfect documentary series since the start of the World Cup two weeks ago. In episode 2, The Fader documentary team receives a “short history of SA dance pop” from Johannesburg’s “genre-defying” duo, Dirty Paraffin. I’ve never heard of these guys before but after watching this video, I’m hooked. That party looks dope. But then again, everything looks better in black and white.
The Ugly American
June 19, 2010 By 38 Comments
That’s Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King on Malian referee Koman Coulibaly—perhaps now the most hated man in America—who called yesterday’s already infamous match between USA and Slovenia (which ended in a 2–2 draw for those who don’t know). King’s also got a column to go with this tweet.
I have no words. But thankfully, others do.
