Invictus

I just watched and liked, Invictus. The film is based on events that took place in 1995 in South Africa. Madiba* (Nelson Mandela) was released from prison in 1990 after 27 long years. He was then elected President of South Africa (see ANC) in 1994 in the historic, first multi-racial elections. When he took over, in his efforts to bring a broken nation together, he surpised everyone by supporting the Springboks, the National Rugby Team (which was made up mostly of Afrikaners). The Springboks (definitely the underdogs) went on the win the 1995 Rugby World Cup in what is considered one of the most momentous World Cup victories. Matt Damon plays the Springbok Captain Francois Pienaar. Read more about Invictus on Wiki.

* In South Africa Nelson Mandela is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan. The title has come to be synonymous with Nelson Mandela.

Subsaharska

Here's an interesting Africa-based blog, Subsaharska. Follow Subsaharska's tweets. Read about the afrophile(?) author here.

New Boy

Here is a fantastic short film written by Roddy Doyle. The film is about a Rwandan refugee's first day at his new Irish school. This was my favourite Oscar short last year.

Filmography of the Rwandan Genocide.