HIS BIG WHITE SELF

I've been looking forward to this for a while.

I remember watching Broomfields The Leader, his Driver and the Drivers Wife when it was first on TV. It is still my favourite documentary of all time.

If you are quick, here is a webchat with Nick Broomfield. I met him briefly at a documentary festival at the ICA and told him I was filming with Hamza and co in Finsbury park. He wished me luck. I had no idea Hamza would be arrested at that point. I've since regretted not trying to get closer to Hamza himself as that would have been a great film.

He shares with Terre'Blanche that "unburstable ego" quality though I cannot guess if he is actually a bad man or not whereas Terrablance is blatantly a bad man and quite a few black people have the scars to prove it. As I've said before the closer to Hamza I got, the more disturbingly mellow people became but then Terrablanche's driver seems like a genuinely nice guy too.

His Great White Self was another masterpiece, cutting up news footage of Terre'Blanche and co's journey through history with wider stuff about the history of South Africa, a retrospective of "The Leader" and footage from his recent visit. Broomfield dresses up as an English eccentric to make sure Terre'Blanche doesn't recognise him. He catches him preaching at his local church, painting himself as a martyr. "The drivers wife" seems to have changed the most, and the film ends with uplifting footage of her stitching up a young black kids foot at the hospital where she works. The little kids smile ends a long story which he may read about one day.

Broomfields films, everything he spoke about at the ICA and everything he says on the webchat is guru like inspiration. Its maybe a shame that I've given up, but I just don't feel like a film-maker anymore. I'm not sure I ever was as I've never finished anything except the edits online here. here are some great quotes from the webchat:

Andrew/Kent: Hi, How difficult is it to make a documentary when the main character seems so opposed to the project?
Nick Broomfield: It's difficult but I think the difficulties make it more interesting. As a film-maker you have to find a way of telling your story and making those difficulties part of the story that will enrich it.

...Making a film is like a voyage of discovery to finding the truth that you believe in...

Kelly: do you think that documentary has the power to create social change? or has become much more entertainment based in our culture today?
Nick Broomfield: I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive. I think documentaries can promote change through understanding. I think films like Supersize Me probably encouraged people to think more carefully about their diet and I think Jamie Oliver's series on schools dinners really had a big influence in changing what school kids ate. I think it's important that films are enteratining as well...

g-man: how do you maintain a distance between you and your subjects? How are you able to maintain a dialogue with people who hold fundamentally repulsive ideas?
Nick Broomfield: I think that human nature is very complicated. Very few people are all bad. The important thing is to understand why they hold the views they hold and, as a film-maker, not to judge them too quickly. Change is all abuot education and I think that comes through understanding...

Nick Broomfield: I think it's important to do films that you believe in because you are working on them for a long time so they are a passionate undertaking. When you get to know people past a certain point things are very emotionally charged

Terre'Blanche's party, the AWB are still alive and well.