Black on White (Schwarz auf Weiss) exposes casual racism in Germany by showing the difficulties faced by Kwami, a Somali, when he tries to rent an apartment, buy a gold watch or stay at a campsite. The twist: Kwami is actually Günter Wallraff, Germany’s best-known investigative journalist, who blacked up and wore an Afro wig for this film. When I went to the screening at the Centre for Investigative Journalism at City University in London, I thought the film would be very predictable – but found it very disturbing. The everyday racism towards people of a different skin colour was much worse than I expected and ranged from casual disparaging remarks to outright aggression. It won’t come as a big surprise that Kwami does not get the apartment (the landlady says afterwards: “He was so black, like Heidi Klum’s guy, horrible!) and is not welcome at a German...
- 2/8/2010
- by Julia Kollewe
- t5m.com
Investigative Film Week, London
If your idea of investigative journalism is uncovering the truth about Brangelina's break-up, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate with a visit to this fascinating week-long festival. Each of the six films showing is followed by a Q&A with the director, and leading the pack is Günter Wallraff, whose latest, Black On White, sees him donning blackface to expose racism in Germany. There's also Afghanistan: On The Dollar Trail, a dangerous study of where aid money really goes, and a film that will make you think twice the next time you pour a cuppa, Flip The Coin: The Bitter Taste of Tea, which probes the dichotomy between the corporations who provide tea for the west and the poverty-stricken people who pick it for them.
City University, EC1, Tue to 6 Feb, visit tcij.org
Andrea Hubert
Oil City Confidential, London & nationwide
Having done the Sex Pistols and the Clash,...
If your idea of investigative journalism is uncovering the truth about Brangelina's break-up, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate with a visit to this fascinating week-long festival. Each of the six films showing is followed by a Q&A with the director, and leading the pack is Günter Wallraff, whose latest, Black On White, sees him donning blackface to expose racism in Germany. There's also Afghanistan: On The Dollar Trail, a dangerous study of where aid money really goes, and a film that will make you think twice the next time you pour a cuppa, Flip The Coin: The Bitter Taste of Tea, which probes the dichotomy between the corporations who provide tea for the west and the poverty-stricken people who pick it for them.
City University, EC1, Tue to 6 Feb, visit tcij.org
Andrea Hubert
Oil City Confidential, London & nationwide
Having done the Sex Pistols and the Clash,...
- 1/30/2010
- by Steve Rose, Andrea Hubert, Phelim O'Neill
- The Guardian - Film News
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