If religion is the greatest international divider, Indian cinema is the most unifying force.’ - Ebrahim Essa
Today the Shiraz cinema in Victoria Street stands as an ailing
monument, the last remaining outpost (closing in April) of the former
hey day of Indian cinema in Durban’s city centre. It’s not to say
Indian Cinema in the province is dead – far from it - still the
illustrious boom era of motion pictures in Durban’s CBD (the 1940’s
through to the 80’s) goes mostly untold which is why local film makers
Colwyn Thomas, Karen Logan and Neil Coppen have launched an exciting
new documentary project that aims to distill the essence and history of
this golden age.
Aspects the film makers intend to cover throughout the film are…
- The competition between rival cinemas (ranging from the Victoria Picture Palace, Shah Jehan, Isfahan, Avalon and the Naaz Dynasties)
- The trials and tribulations regarding distribution and couriering of Indian films
- The industrious black market.
- Indian cinema within the Apartheid context.
- What influences on the development of Indian identity as well as ideas and imaginings of India itself did the films of the time provide?
- What was it that brought the golden age of motion pictures to a close? Dallas or the pirated DVD?
With the central focus of our narrative being the Shiraz Cinema closure, the documentary hopes to branch out to explore the arrival and impact of cinema in the province (more particularly the rise and fall of complexes in the Grey Street region) and its subsequent relocation to outlying suburbs and malls.
In pursuit of answers the filmmakers hope to combine personal narratives and recollections (accompanied by archive photography and film) from various prolific local Playwrights, Historians, novelists, film makers, cinema owners, projectionists, Durban (past and present) cinema owners and audience members. The film makers aim to compile a moving and enlightening retrospective of cinema’s expansive roots and its far reaching effects on the coastal African city.
If you have any information, contacts, Archive materials, personal recollections or anecdotes you would like to contribute toward the project please get hold of Neil Coppen at kwacinema@gmail.com or call 0837811459.
