Q&A with Teddy Goitom

Afripedia is a five-part documentary-short series produced by the Swedish collective Stocktown. Shot in Kenya, Ghana, Angola, Senegal, and South Africa, each of the five episodes focus on a different group of artists and creators in their respective country.

Kenya
Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe, Kenya/Sweden, 2014, digital projection, 28m
Afripedia, Kenya takes an intimate look at Nairobi’s urban culture scene and its leading personalities and stars. Meet Andrew Kaggia, creator of a 3D-animated political short that offers a glimpse of his futuristic vision of Nairobi and proving that disability is never inability. Afro-futuristic pop band and DIY enthusiasts Just a Band redefine music videos, and visual artist Cyrus introduces us to his remarkable collection of “Boobs,” created solely with found materials.

Angola
Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe, Angola/Sweden, 2014, digital projection, 28m
English and Portuguese with English subtitles
Welcome to Angola, home of heavy electro music known as “kuduro.” Follow us across the pulsating city of Luanda, as we delve into the kuduro revolution and meet the people charting its course. Afripedia, Angola portrays a city bursting with creativity and discovers the capital from an alternative viewpoint. Get swept away by a lineup of emerging talents, such as transsexual superstar Titica, wordsmith genius artist Nástio Mosquito, producer MC Sacerdote, and more.

Senegal
Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe, Senegal/Sweden, 2014, digital projection, 28m
English, French, and Wolof with English subtitles
In Afripedia, Senegal, we meet fashion designer Selly Raby Kane, who sculpts the digital image of a future alien city in an old railway station. Photographer Omar Victor Diop playfully reimagines Hollywood’s most iconic images with a Senegalese twist, while dancer Khoudia Roodia is organizing and building for a future in which Africa dominates street dance. Beatmaker Fanny from the Ivory Coast is defying society’s boundaries to create a future for female artists and organizers.

Ghana
Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe, Ghana/Sweden, 2014, digital projection, 28m
The whispers among those in the know are saying that Accra is the next big hotspot for African cultural production, and Afripedia, Ghana suggests that they’re not wrong. Meet outspoken and androgynous music star Wiyaala, exciting trick-bikers whose BMX skills and flamboyant style have taken neighborhoods by storm. Visual artist Afrogallonism puts on extraordinary outdoor performances that highlight environmental issues. Welcome to Creativity!

South Africa
Teddy Goitom, Benjamin Taft & Senay Berhe, South Africa/Sweden, 2014, digital projection, 28m
Twenty years after liberation, Afripedia, South Africa portrays a diverse new generation of artists. Starting out in in Cape Town, we meet up with the video game–inspired streetwear label 2BOP and the inventor of the new limpop music genre, Gazelle. Continuing on to Johannesburg, we join heavy-metal band Ree-burth for a block party and take a tour around Soweto with the local style-setters Smarteez and their colorful street-savvy fashion.