I first saw Odette Geldenhuys' film "Being Pavoratti" a few years ago on MPTV. After having forgotten the name I searched endlessly until I found more information on it. I would like to share the synopsis and a link to the full film, which is available at BlackPublicMedia.org .
(From BlackPublicMedia.org)
Being Pavarotti” Dir. Odette Geldenhuys, South Africa, approx. 56 minElton is a boy of 13 who sings opera in Hermanus, a small seaside town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, popular with tourists for whale sightings. His love of opera music begins after his cousin gives him a tape by Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. His passion leads Elton from performing solo stints at open-air festivals to opening acts for established opera singers from nearby Cape Town. Elton Nelson Nkenke Nkanunu is black, poor and one of six children. His unemployed mother often disappears, leaving his grandmother to soldier on valiantly, fighting off despair with both hands. Elton’s quest to become an acclaimed opera singer is set against the backdrop of his life as a young teenager. He and his opera-singing friends are harassed by authorities and beaten by police, who prefer to retain foreign tourists at the expense of local black street performers. Yet his irrepressible talent and love for music bubbles up in him constantly: he belts out Italian arias in the family kitchen, accompanied sweetly and then increasingly raucously by his baby sister; he joins a choir in Zwelihle township; he and his friends sing at school assembly. He jumps at the chance to get voice-training lessons from a music professor, and then from Mthunzi.
about Odette Geldenhuys
Odette Geldenhuys grew up in a small town in South Africa and studied at the University of Cape Town. She trained as a human rights and labour lawyer and worked with the prestigious SA law firm Cheadle, Thomson & Haysom. She has worked with the United Nations and the Legal Aid Board in South Africa. Her client list included farm workers, inner-city housing tenants and workers. In 2002, she decided to follow her passion and become a full-time filmmaker. Being Pavarotti is her first film as director.
A link to the full film (streaming) is located here:
"Being Pavarotti" by Odette Geldenhuys