the last king of scotland

Last week I watched The Last King of Scotland. In alot of ways it was a hard movie to watch. The movie is a fictional story but is based on the factual events of the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's rule. Which in itself is horrific. 

What I found very impressive and brave about this movie is that Amin is portrayed not only as a crazed dictator but as a real human. This is a great movie and really is worth the watch, it is so interesting to see the Ugandan  people go from chanting supporters to horrified victims of the dictatorship. It's no wonder Forrest Whitaker won the Oscar for this.

3 Weeks, 3 peaks - African Challenge

An apologetic member of the b+c team has been slow off the mark to blog this fabulous film.

The bricks+cartwheels girls went to the Sydney premiere of the 3 weeks, 3 peaks film a few weeks ago. It was an inspiring film that documented the determination of a small group of young women to raise awareness for Africa's peak issues - health, education and environment. The girls from Australia and America scaled three of Africa's highest peaks (Mount Kenya, Meru and Kilimanjaro) and raised over $385,000 for three local organisations in Kenya and Tanzania.

The girls were fortunate to have the Emmy Award winning cinematographer Michael Brown and a four person film-crew from Serac Adventure Films travelling with them. The result was a very honest and inspiring film that will further increase awareness for Africa's peak issues. Much to the girl's excitement - the film won Best adventure Film at The Boulder International Film Festival on Feb 17 and The People's Choice Award at the Flagstaff Mountain film Festival on March 9.

After the premiere, it was exciting to hear from our friend Brie Koch - a founding team member, that the project will continue - by supporting a new group of young women to complete the challenge in 2009. It is so important for great projects like 3 weeks, 3 peaks to become sustainable organisations. Great work girls! We continue to be inspired by people like you.

film review - out of africa

bricks + cartwheels watched Sydney Pollack's 1985 film "Out of Africa" recently; some of us for the first time, some of us for the first in a long time. But it was a discovery all the same, of a beautiful place filled with colour, and love, and life. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep), a Danish woman who moves to Kenya in 1913 and the many years she spends there after that. Her journey is shared with Denys Finch-Hatton (Robert Redford), a hunter who challenges her mind as well as her emotions. Whilst she believes in the freedom to learn, with her love for adventure set alongside the rhythm of Africa, she learns about freedom.

This film captures the idyllic nature of a country that is wild and beautifully poetic. It truly is captivating. If you do get the chance to see it, we hope it touches you as much as it did us.