|
Review - True Stories 10pm - 11:30pm Albino United
Film by Barney Broomfield, Marc Hoeferlin and Juan Reina
To be screened on More 4 June 8
By John Kaponi Albino's in Tanzania are believed to be "living ghosts" and their bones are thought to bring riches to miners in the mineral, gold and salt mines of the East African state; and its this taboo subject that has focused the mind of Barney Broomfield the son of Nick Broomfield the producer of some the most ground breaking film/ documentaries.
News reports throughout Tanzania reported that the Albino murders were endemic in a couple of towns with witch doctors apparently ordering local men to hunt down albino children in the evening, with torso's found with severed limbs, decapitated bodies laying in the jungle. The documentary which is based around the fortunes of a group of albino soccer players who begin their life in the lowly third division in Tanzania managed by a former professional footballer.
The fortunes for "Albino United" could not have been more bleak with defeat after defeat, and the ridicule of the Tanzanians who kept chanting that the albinos "could not play football", the pain and anguish of the team is captured by Broomfield with the behind the scenes filming of the "before and after" a match scenario.
Barney Broomfield who spoke with the London Daily News said:
"The whole story of the albinos for me was totally unbelievable and I could not believe this was going on".
The film which took four months to film, saw the taboo subject of the albinos uncovered and exposed by the crew which included Nick Broomfield, Marc Hoeferlin and Juan Reina, follow the Albino United into the towns were the murders of the Albinos took place in a match against the local police force. In one scene the team members of Albino United said that the whole team "was scared of their lives" and it was important that they did not travel at night but kept inside a secured compound in case one of them was attacked.
The "Albino United" ethos was to try and dispel the myth to the people of Tanzania that they were simply "living ghosts" and freaks that were better off dead. The football team kept losing at first, but after a stunning victory against the local police force, the Tanzanian footballing faithful started paying attention, with win after win, elevating them from bottom of the third division to fourth in the table.
Broomfield and his team manage to encapsulate the innocence that still exists in Africa which includes the destitution that is common place, which sees human beings resort to dismembering others because a witch doctor believes the bones of an albino will bring "great riches".
Moreover the documentary which will be the debut for Barney Broomfield and his team signals a new era for documentary film making, via the "next generation" of producers who are prepared to go back to basics with well researched, well shot programmes with no special effects, but a good story to tell.
4/5 Excellent
|
