Truth be told is a strand of independent journalism. In this knowledge gaps in some subjects in the transition from the foundation to the intermediate phase, curriculum overload in the intermediate phase, insufficient attention to teaching foundational knowledge in literacy and numeracy, and lack of national assessments in the early phases of the schooling system.
The researchers continue to allude that South Africa is likely to keep sliding down in the global competitiveness tables, Â which recently rated our education among the worst in the world, I the country fails to address illiteracy. South Africa ranked 137th out of 139 countries when it came to the quality of education and 125th for the quality of primary school education.
In this documentary we would like to investigate the following, what makes us to rank so low in terms of the quality of education? Is this because of lack dedication and commitment from teachers? How do we move forward as a country when we have conflicting views where others
believe teachers do not care about the quality of education? What future do we have, when only a few end up in tertiary education? When we have grade 10 â 12s who cannot properly read, write or even solve logical problems? series we would like to open viewerâs eyes to whatâs going on in their world. We want to investigate unchartered territories in novel ways. Factual is broadening the notion of what investigative documentaries can cover and think afresh about how they can be made into engrossing stories.
This strand includes:
The State vs the National High Command and Others
Education Fails…Verwoerd Smiles
Saving the Rhino
Swallow This
SâMovana
More detail about each item:
The State vs the National High Command and Others
Language: English
1 episode x 48 minutes
This is a truly a unique South African story that has not been told before. Percy Yutar was the South African governmentâs most notorious prosecutor during the apartheid years. His aggressive arraignment at the 1963 Rivonia Treason Trial, one of historyâs most famous political trials, sent Accused Number One to prison for life. Based on an exclusive series of television interviews with Yutar shortly before his death we will explore his claim that he saved Nelson Mandela from the death penalty. When Mandela was taken in chains from
Pretoria to Robben Island to serve his life sentence, Yutar was lionized in the media as South Africaâs saviour, the defender of civilization against the forces of darkness. He encouraged this image at every opportunity by stoking white fears of an imminent bloodbath. How much of this he actually believes is open to doubt. Yutar was motivated by deep personal insecurity and an ambition to become South Africaâs first Jewish attorney-general. The trial record however, shows that Yutar settled for sabotage only because he lacked the evidence to support a treason charge.
Education Fails…Verwoerd Smiles
Language: English
1 episode x 48 minutes
In this documentary, Hendrick Verwoerd returns like a phoenix to observe the failed education system in South
Africa. After all, he was and architect of the scars we seem to be grappling with today. This film will reveal the shocking realities of high levels of illiteracy and low qualities of education.
The constraints identified are; overload on teachers brought about by the assessment requirements of the NCS,
knowledge gaps in some subjects in the transition from the foundation to the intermediate phase, curriculum overload in the intermediate phase, insufficient attention to teaching foundational knowledge in literacy and numeracy, and lack of national assessments in the early phases of the schooling system.
The researchers continue to allude that South Africa is likely to keep sliding down in the global competitiveness tables which recently rated our education among the worst in the world, I the country fails to address illiteracy. South Africa ranked 137th out of 139 countries when it came to the quality of education and 125th for the quality of primary school education.
In this documentary we would like to investigate the following, what makes us to rank so low in terms of the
quality of education? Is this because of lack dedicati on and commitment from teachers? How do we move forward as a country when we have conflicting views where others believe teachers do not care about the quality of education
What future do we have, when only a few end up in tertiary education? When we have grade 10 â 12s who cannot properly read, write or even solve logical problems?
Shaving the Rhino
Language: English 1 episode x 48 minutes
The purpose of this documentary is to investigate and introduce the feasibility of marketing Vietnam and China. The film explores the âindustryâ in Southern Africa and end users in Yemen, Vietnam and China. We visit the private wildlife reserve that is proposing a new concept of âShaving the Rhinoâ, to examine the practicalities of the concept.
This film focuses on Rhino conservation which needs our attention, not only to protect bio-diversity but also jobs, infrastructure and income generated by wildlife conservation. In 2009, CITES reported that over 200 hundred rhino were poached in South Africa and more than 80 in Zimbabwe. Some poachers have become so brazen that they check into game reserves posing as tourists to poach rhino within these protected areas. It is common knowledge that dealing in rhino horn involves big money. But, if things go wrong, harsh jail sentences and heavy fines await the perpetrator.
Swallow This
Language: English
1 episode x 48 minutes
In this documentary we investigate at how food gets to our dinner plate. We often take for granted the journey travelled by cut of steak or chop. This film takes an in depth look at that journey â from the farm to the table. Is the meat we eat humanely treated or is it handled like timber or plastic thrown from one end to the next?
Food production in South Africa has become more and more a question of economics and less about providing quality products that are naturally in season. The demand for foodstuffs all year round has led to the industrialization of the food industry in which farmers have turned to mass production as a way to meet public demand. This is an investigative TV documentary that unpacks meat production, distribution and consumption in South Africa.
This documentary will educate the nation around what goes into the meat we are eating, where it comes from and what it actually contains. Swallow This! will take a journey for the viewer from farm to slaughter house to supermarket, a journey we never consider as shoppers when we pick our favorite items off the shelf at our local shop. This film will cover three stages of the meat production cycle:
- Farm life of the animal
- Transportation to the abattoir and slaughter, and
- The handling and packaging of food once it is received by
our local supplier.
We will go undercover to get the best out of this film. Swallow This! has the potential to offer South Africans a
chance to uncover and educate themselves about the real state of the South African meat industry, which will have a huge impact in positively influencing the choices our consumers make around the food they buy and what they put in their bodies â a first for South Africa!
SâMovana
Language: Multilingual with subtitles 9 episodes x 48 minutes
âThe journey of South Africa told through the stories of its motor vehiclesâ.
South Africa is a country with a strong car culture. Sociologically cars are important indicators. They are a symbol of social status; they are a realization of passion, they are a symbol of freedom and to a degree, extensions of each ownerâs identity. In townships these cars are named in a particular manner and the connotations attached to these names are as varied as the names given to them (e.g. Gusheshe, Dolphin, Umadunusa, Idombolo, etc). In suburbia however, whether a car is called Nanna or Berite is of no consequence. The fact is these are not just automobiles; they are representations of both freedom and progress, and refer to a particular culture and slice of time in South Africaâs history.
Cars have significant stories attached to them and it is these stories that the documentary series Culture of Cars seeks to uncover. Through the use of a presenter, the series will explore the anthropological, cultural and social elements informing the culture surrounding cars, its naming and the model of ownership as a phenomenon in South Africa. The story of this culture will be seamlessly weaved together using threads from various sub-cultures (music, fashion, politics etc.) delivered in the form social commentary, interviews, archive footage, and shot footage.
