....a snapshot in the life of.....

NO!NO!NO!

a snapshot in the life of.....

THIS DOCUMENTARY BEGAN QUITE BY ACCIDENT. THE NONONO DJ COLLECTIVE HELD A DJ EVENT AT ORIGIN NIGHT CLUB 27 FEBRUARY. AS MY SON, LEO JANSSEN, WAS A MEMBER OF THIS GROUP AND DUE TO THE FACT THAT THIS WAS THE LAST GIG FOR ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS (TRAVIS LYLE AKA HEDMEKANIK) AND HIS LOVELY WIFE (ABIGAIL CASE AKA MIXINVIXIN) I DECIDED, ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT TO FILM THE EVENT. BY COMPLETE SURPRISE, THE NIGHT ITSELF TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THOSE REALLY MAGIC NIGHTS WITHIN THE GRASP OF CLUB HISTORY. DURBANITES WERE SHOWN TO BE AT THEIR GREGARIOUS AND COMPATIBLE BEST!

IN THE GLOW OF THIS AFTERMATH I, INTERVIEWED LEO JANSSEN (A WORDSMAN OF NOTE HAVING BEEN PART OF POETRY AFRICA FESTIVAL DURBAN, AND SPEAK THE MINDS FESTIVAL JHB) TRAVIS LYLE (HEDMEKANIK) AND ABIGAIL CASE (MIXINVIXIN). THESE THREE PEOPLE ARE THE MAIN INNOVATORS OF THE NONONO ETHIC, AND I WANTED TO GAIN SOME INSIGHT INTO THEIR COLLECTIVE ATTITUDE. THE TITLE OF THE DOCUMENTARY WAS INSPIRED BY A STATEMENT LEO MADE WHILE FILMING.

WITHIN THE BACKDROP OF THIS EVENT, ‘..a snapshot in the life of...’ REVEALS HOW, BY SIMPLY ORIENTATING AROUND CHOICE OF MUSIC - GIVEN THEIR MANTRA OF “NO MORE CORRUPTION, NO MORE INJUSTICE, NO MORE SHIT MUSIC”, THE DJ ROLE BECOMES NOT JUST ONE OF GETTING PEOPLE TO ENJOY THEMSELVES, BUT OF CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT. THIS BECOMES A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW LIVING AUTHENTICALLY BECOMES A POLITICAL STATEMENT WITHOUT THE POLITICAL GRAND STANDING. THE DOCUMENTARY HAS CAPTURED THE EXPERIENCE AND CLEARLY REVEALS WHY IT IS THAT NIGHT CLUBS HAVE BECOME SUCH A POPULAR FORMAT FOR YOUTH LIFESTYLES - LIVING IN A WORLD THAT CREATES ITS OWN REALITY....EVEN IF JUST FOR A NIGHT. ON ONE LEVEL, THIS IS ALL THAT IT IS. ON ANOTHER, THE EVENTS OF THE NIGHT, CARRY OVER INTO THE EVERYDAY AND EXTENDS ONES’ LIFESTYLE.

WHAT HAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ME PERSONALLY ABOUT NIGHT CLUBS IS THE SUBTEXT OF OPEN MINDEDNESS AND ACCEPTANCE OF DIFFERENCES. GIVEN THE ROLE THAT NIGHT CLUBS HAD PLAYED IN THE ANTI APARTHEID STRUGGLE, THIS ‘IDEAL’ (INCLUSIVENESS) BECOMES A SIMPLE METAPHOR FOR RESISTANCE. AND NOW, 16 YEARS INTO OUR DEMOCRACY, WE SEE THE APPLICATION OF THE NIGHT CLUB STILL USED AS A REFUGE FROM DAILY PRESSURES.

APART FROM THE INTERVIEWS THEMSELVES, THE CAMERA IS LEFT TO TELL THE TALE AND TO PICK UP THE SUBTLE INTERPLAY THAT IS THE HALL MARK OF THE NIGHT CLUB SCENE.

THE HAND HELD CAMERA TECHNIQUE GIVES AN EDGINESS TO THE CONTEMPORARY OVERALL FEEL OF THIS DOCUMENTED STATEMENT. THIS IS ULTIMATELY AN UPLIFTING LOOK INTO YOUTH CULTURE AND AN INTERESTING CROSSCUT INTO DURBAN SOCIETY AT THE EDGE OF EXPERIENCING THE 2010 WORLD CUP.

(Sadly the size of the video meant I had to convert it to an acceptable format for Create Culture. I appologise for the poor quality. I cannot say I am an expert in understanding the various video formats available....the MP4 format conversion is 30 MB too large.)