The Slow Fund: Exploring the Power of Music With Music Beyond Borders

Discover the incredible power of music in the fight for human rights during apartheid in South Africa with WE ARE NOT AFRAID, a captivating documentary co-directed by Janie Cole and Shameela Seedat. This inspiring film, set for release in 2023, delves into the lives of former political prisoners and how they used music as a tool for resistance.

Set against the historical context of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/#page-section-72" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(112, 178, 196);">WE ARE NOT AFRAID</a>&nbsp;explores music’s critical role as a force for resistance and survival in the apartheid prisons, especially at the maximum-security prison on Robben Island, where activists including Nelson Mandela were imprisoned from the early 1960s onwards and at Number 4 women’s jail at the Old Fort in Johannesburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Blending archival footage of major historical struggles markers such as the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the 1976 Soweto Uprising, extensive new interviews with former political prisoners, shot many years later after their release, and musical performance and observation, the film casts light on both past and present.Through torture, harrowing prison conditions and abuse, black music performance provided resistance, critique, community, communication, therapy, memory and identity for political prisoners, uniting an oppressed people against a common enemy.Night and day, political prisoners sang whatever was in their defiant hearts through torture, despair and hope, and united as one they could not be defeated. Women’s narratives and songs expose the deadly gender-based violence that underlay structures of state violence and express their fight against both racial and gender oppression and dehumanizing prison experiences, which differed sharply to a male-centred struggle world.&nbsp;&nbsp;Through these remarkable resilient individuals, testimonies and music, the film touches on broader questions about cultural expression as advancing social change and the uses of music by individuals suffering and protesting the violation of human rights under oppressive patriarchal regimes at the intersections of music, resilience, power, violence, gender, race, trauma and human rights.&nbsp;Dr. Janie Cole collaborates with B&amp;R on Bespoke trips to South Africa and offers unique, private lecture experiences in her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(112, 178, 196);">Music Beyond Borders</a>&nbsp;“<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/#page-section-150" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Travels in Sound</a>” series, including “Robben Island, Mandela and the Story of Music in the Apartheid Prisons” to travellers.The Slow Fund contributed US$10,000 to the development phase of the film project in 2019, enabling the completion of critical interviews with former political prisoners. The Slow Fund further supported the film's completion with a contribution of $15,000 towards the budget, and we're deeply honoured to be associated with this important work.

Discover the incredible power of music in the fight for human rights during apartheid in South Africa with WE ARE NOT AFRAID, a captivating documentary co-directed by Janie Cole and Shameela Seedat 

South Africa

Experience one of the world’s most beautiful lands in a new era of reconciliation and growth. There are remarkably conserved wilderness areas filled with animals found nowhere else in the world, including the famous Big Five that contribute so much to South Africa’s identity. Its award-winning vineyards, some of which roll down to the sea while others perch spectacularly on the slopes of the Cape Fold Mountains, produce some of the best red wines around. Hello, South Africa.

Iconic wildlife, rich heritage

South Africa | Butterfield & Robinson

South Africa’s many colours are reflected in the kaleidoscope of art, music and cuisines in her cities, the 12 official languages she boasts and in the faces of her people (Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa, descendants of British, Dutch, French and Cape Muslims, to name a few). Here, you can sip the finest new world wines, bike through fynbos-bedecked hills, swim with sharks or spend the day tracking the Big 5 before watching the sunset below the horizon with a sundowner in hand. B&amp;R’s South Africa blends the colours in a canvas of people, experiences and sensations that we hope will take your breath away. So breathe in the pure African air, and let us plan your ultimate South African safari.

Land of Striking Contrasts

Local Connections

Unique Gastronomy

Yes, it's a long flight—but there is (quite literally) no place on earth like South Africa. One moment you’re biking through fynbos hills, the next you’re tracking lions before toasting the sunset with a chilled Chenin. With wild coasts, big skies and even bigger wildlife, it’s a feast for the senses. Come for the views, stay for the vibes—and let us tailor every jaw-dropping detail.

Come for safari, stay for Ubuntu

It’s by no accident she’s known as the ‘Rainbow Nation’

Bespoke travel lets you to take our inspirational cues and craft them into your personalized, private adventure. Collaborate one-on-one with an Experience Designer to put together your tailor-made trip.

South Africa Bespoke | Butterfield & Robinson

It’s hard to believe that so much beauty, diversity and wine can be found so close to Cape Town. Not to mention the spectacular lodges and biking and hiking routes. This journey is not dissimilar to many of our European jaunts, as we pop easily from one elegant hotel to the next - enjoying vineyard tastings, art gallery visits and animal sightings along the way. Pedalling past dramatic vistas, we move from the Cape Peninsula to the winelands then finish with a few days of witnessing the&nbsp;“Serengeti of the Sea" on marine safari.

South Africa

The Slow Fund: Exploring the Power of Music With Music Beyond Borders

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