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Urban LandMark is providing support for the post-production phase of Battle for
Johannesburg, a creative documentary exploring the benefits and consequences of urban
rejuvenation and in particular the right to housing of the urban poor. Developed by Uhuru
Productions in conjunction with Eurodoc, an EU media project, the film captures the changing
face of a city preparing to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup:
| It's a tale of property developers vying for sections of the crumbling city with
renewed excitement, of a city council determined to create a world-class city and
ultimately of how this affects the hundreds of thousands of people who have
made the city slums their home. There is money to be spent, even more to be
made and conflicting interests are at stake. As whole areas around stadiums get
a brush up and the middle classes, black and white, begin to move back in,
beneath the scramble for property and space is a human story of survival”. The
film raises universal questions such as whether urban development has to mean
gentrification, and whether it is possible to create a world-class city for all.
Uhuru Productions
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The documentary aims to inform policy so that housing is seen as a right, and housing in the
city as a real need, due to the high proportions of low wages that the urban poor – who live in
outlying townships and informal settlements across South African cities – spend on transport
costs.
Trailers
Various trailers of the film can be viewed at YouTube,
Uhuru Productions or the
National Film and Video Foundation.
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