Africa United (2010 film)
Encyclopedia
Africa United is a 2010 film directed by first-time UK film director
Deborah 'Debs' Gardner-Paterson and starring Emmanuel Jal
, Eriya Ndayambaje, Roger Nsengiyumva, Sanyu Joanita Kintu, Sherrie Silver and Yves Dusenge.
where young football know-it-all Dudu Kayenzi is teaching a group of children how to make a football (you need an inflated condom
, a carrier bag and a piece of string
). Teenager Fabrice longs to pursue his ambition of becoming an association football legend and is seen breaking the local record for the most continuous football kick-ups. When Fabrice is offered the chance to audition for the opening ceremony
of the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa
, he sets off for Kigali
, the capital city of Rwanda, with his 'manager' Dudu and Dudu's sister Beatrice. Beatrice wishes to become a doctor and find a cure for AIDS in memory of Dudu. Fabrice tries to express his love of football to his mother, but she simply replies "Africa doesen't need dreams, it needs to wake up".
Fabrice plucks up the courage to sneak out of home early and masquerade as a woman's child with Dudu and Beatrice the following day, in order to get to Kigali. However, they take the wrong bus and on arrival at the end of the bus route, when they look for the auditions stadium, a man states they are in Congo and that the stadium is 1000 miles away in Kinshasa
.
Ending up in a refuge camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they meet George Foreman, an ex-child soldier, who agrees to help them escape the camp. Dudu decides that the group will walk the rest of the way to South Africa (almost 3000 miles away) so that Fabrice can play for the "Dream Team" at the World Cup opening ceremony. They leave during the night in a jeep, but George's fellow soldiers catch up with them the following day. They flee the jeep just before it explodes in front of the soldiers. They end up in a dilapidated railway carriage which Beatrice assumes is a "hotel", on account of the shabby living conditions that she and her brother are used to. Dudu discovers that George has a bag full of money that he has stolen from the general of his ex-army.
They find a leopard
-like black animal in the train and so make off for the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where they hire a boat to get to Tanzania
on the other side. Fabrice's mother texts and calls him on his mobile (cell) phone, but he finally has enough and throws the phone into the middle of the lake. Eventually they arrive on the other side of the lake at a whitewhased villa
, where Celeste, a sex slave, is working for the white owner by selling beverages. She catches the four children and insists they go back, but George flashes his bag of money for bribery and so the owner lets them stay and play in the pool and be waited on. Fabrice has time to play with Dudu's "organic footballs" (they are made of inflated condoms from the UN, wrapped in a bag and tied with string; throughout the film, Dudu narrates a fictional quest for the three ingredients for making one of these footballs). As George falls asleep, the owner steals his bag of money and throws them out of the villa; however, they soon retrieve the bag and the money and take Celeste with them.
Using Dudu's business-like tactical skills, they end up in the hull of a ship full of mangoes, bound for Zambia
, where they will continue the journey. Celeste reveals she ran away from her tribal village to avoid an arranged marriage, and Fabrice sees George throw away his gun, which he used to shoot his fellow soldiers earlier on.
The team runs out of money, so Dudu insists they can earn some by giving blood at a local medical centre. Everyone passes the blood test except for Dudu, who is HIV-positive, although he does not reveal this to the others. After crossing the border into Zimbabwe, Dudu exchanges the Zambian kwacha
for Zimbabwean dollars, but Celeste explains the currency is defunct and that he has been scammed. He tries to collect the money after it spills into the water, and the Zambezi
river carries it to the precipice of Victoria Falls
.
During the night, Dudu develops a cough and in the morning he is rushed to a local hospital. There is a school attached to the hospital, and a school teacher Leleti Khumalo
notices Beatrice's intelligence and offers her a place at the school to study for free. The doctor soon explains that, although the medical team have been able to stabilise Dudu's tuberculosis, he has a low CD4 T-cell count (i.e. he is HIV-positive) and needs medication that is out of stock and won't be available for another three days. However, Dudu decides to persevere on the journey and to continues with Fabrice, George and Celeste towards the stadium: Beatrice decides to stay behind at the school to have an education and so try to fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor.
The team arrive at Beitbridge
on the Zimbabwe
–South Africa
border, where an official insists that they are nothing but refugeees. The security guards take Dudu's ball but again the team works together to retrieve it and continue to Soccer City in Johannesburg
for the Cup. Dudu falls ill again and is rushed to the medical facility at the stadium, where he completes his fictional story by saying Fabrice carries the ball God gave to the people of Africa. Except for Dudu, the team carry the ball off into the now roaring crowd.
At the end, Dudu is seen walking off into a light, suggesting that he has died of HIV–AIDS.
, Time Out and Empire
Online all gave the film three stars out of five. The Guardians Xan Brooks found it "irksome and endearing by turns", while Dave Calhoun
in Time Out thought it was "well-meaning but scrappy" and likened it to "an inferior, kiddie spin on the exotic high jinks and low lives of Slumdog Millionaire
".
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Deborah 'Debs' Gardner-Paterson and starring Emmanuel Jal
Emmanuel Jal
Emmanuel Jal is a South Sudanese musician and former child soldier.-Childhood:Born in the village of Tonj in Southern Sudan, Jal was a young child when the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out. His father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army and when he was about seven years old his mother...
, Eriya Ndayambaje, Roger Nsengiyumva, Sanyu Joanita Kintu, Sherrie Silver and Yves Dusenge.
Synopsis
The story begins in RwandaRwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
where young football know-it-all Dudu Kayenzi is teaching a group of children how to make a football (you need an inflated condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
, a carrier bag and a piece of string
String
Generally, string is a flexible piece of rope or twine which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects.Examples of string use include:* For flying kites* string figures, designs formed by weaving string around one's fingers...
). Teenager Fabrice longs to pursue his ambition of becoming an association football legend and is seen breaking the local record for the most continuous football kick-ups. When Fabrice is offered the chance to audition for the opening ceremony
Opening ceremony
An opening ceremony is the official opening of a building or event. The opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are huge events involving thousands of participants and watched by a massive worldwide audience. On a much smaller scale, some ceremonies mark the opening of a...
of the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, he sets off for Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...
, the capital city of Rwanda, with his 'manager' Dudu and Dudu's sister Beatrice. Beatrice wishes to become a doctor and find a cure for AIDS in memory of Dudu. Fabrice tries to express his love of football to his mother, but she simply replies "Africa doesen't need dreams, it needs to wake up".
Fabrice plucks up the courage to sneak out of home early and masquerade as a woman's child with Dudu and Beatrice the following day, in order to get to Kigali. However, they take the wrong bus and on arrival at the end of the bus route, when they look for the auditions stadium, a man states they are in Congo and that the stadium is 1000 miles away in Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
.
Ending up in a refuge camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they meet George Foreman, an ex-child soldier, who agrees to help them escape the camp. Dudu decides that the group will walk the rest of the way to South Africa (almost 3000 miles away) so that Fabrice can play for the "Dream Team" at the World Cup opening ceremony. They leave during the night in a jeep, but George's fellow soldiers catch up with them the following day. They flee the jeep just before it explodes in front of the soldiers. They end up in a dilapidated railway carriage which Beatrice assumes is a "hotel", on account of the shabby living conditions that she and her brother are used to. Dudu discovers that George has a bag full of money that he has stolen from the general of his ex-army.
They find a leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
-like black animal in the train and so make off for the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where they hire a boat to get to Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
on the other side. Fabrice's mother texts and calls him on his mobile (cell) phone, but he finally has enough and throws the phone into the middle of the lake. Eventually they arrive on the other side of the lake at a whitewhased villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
, where Celeste, a sex slave, is working for the white owner by selling beverages. She catches the four children and insists they go back, but George flashes his bag of money for bribery and so the owner lets them stay and play in the pool and be waited on. Fabrice has time to play with Dudu's "organic footballs" (they are made of inflated condoms from the UN, wrapped in a bag and tied with string; throughout the film, Dudu narrates a fictional quest for the three ingredients for making one of these footballs). As George falls asleep, the owner steals his bag of money and throws them out of the villa; however, they soon retrieve the bag and the money and take Celeste with them.
Using Dudu's business-like tactical skills, they end up in the hull of a ship full of mangoes, bound for Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, where they will continue the journey. Celeste reveals she ran away from her tribal village to avoid an arranged marriage, and Fabrice sees George throw away his gun, which he used to shoot his fellow soldiers earlier on.
The team runs out of money, so Dudu insists they can earn some by giving blood at a local medical centre. Everyone passes the blood test except for Dudu, who is HIV-positive, although he does not reveal this to the others. After crossing the border into Zimbabwe, Dudu exchanges the Zambian kwacha
Zambian kwacha
The kwacha is the currency of Zambia. It is subdivided into 100 ngwee.-Etymology:The name derives from the Nyanja and Bemba word for "dawn", alluding to the Zambian nationalist slogan of a "new dawn of freedom"...
for Zimbabwean dollars, but Celeste explains the currency is defunct and that he has been scammed. He tries to collect the money after it spills into the water, and the Zambezi
Zambezi
The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. The area of its basin is , slightly less than half that of the Nile...
river carries it to the precipice of Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
.
During the night, Dudu develops a cough and in the morning he is rushed to a local hospital. There is a school attached to the hospital, and a school teacher Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo
Leleti Khumalo is a Zulu South African actress who played the leading role in the movie Sarafina! alongside Whoopi Goldberg and who starred in the films Hotel Rwanda and Yesterday.-Early life and Sarafina!:...
notices Beatrice's intelligence and offers her a place at the school to study for free. The doctor soon explains that, although the medical team have been able to stabilise Dudu's tuberculosis, he has a low CD4 T-cell count (i.e. he is HIV-positive) and needs medication that is out of stock and won't be available for another three days. However, Dudu decides to persevere on the journey and to continues with Fabrice, George and Celeste towards the stadium: Beatrice decides to stay behind at the school to have an education and so try to fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor.
The team arrive at Beitbridge
Beitbridge
Beitbridge or Mzingwane is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the Limpopo River, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe.-Background:...
on the Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
–South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
border, where an official insists that they are nothing but refugeees. The security guards take Dudu's ball but again the team works together to retrieve it and continue to Soccer City in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
for the Cup. Dudu falls ill again and is rushed to the medical facility at the stadium, where he completes his fictional story by saying Fabrice carries the ball God gave to the people of Africa. Except for Dudu, the team carry the ball off into the now roaring crowd.
At the end, Dudu is seen walking off into a light, suggesting that he has died of HIV–AIDS.
Reception
The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Time Out and Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
Online all gave the film three stars out of five. The Guardians Xan Brooks found it "irksome and endearing by turns", while Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
David L. Calhoun is the Chief Executive Officer of The Nielsen Company He was appointed to this role in August 2006 and is based in Connecticut....
in Time Out thought it was "well-meaning but scrappy" and likened it to "an inferior, kiddie spin on the exotic high jinks and low lives of Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
".