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East London cinema pulls out of Inxeba screening

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A cinema complex in East London, at Hemingways Casino, has pulled out of screening a local film, Inxeba.

“The reason for the postponement is that we want to re-evaluate the feasibility of screening the film. We want to consult with all the stakeholders,” says General Manager of Hemingways Casino, John M Gregor.

This follows a planned protest against the screening of the film in cinemas in some parts of the country by traditional leaders and cultural organisations.

Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana says the content displayed in the film is misleading and denigrates the age-old ritual custom of initiation.

Inxeba has put South Africa on the international stage. The film was named the Best Foreign Film by the African American Film Critics Association and walked away with Best Film at the International Queer & Migrant Film Festival in Amsterdam.

The film has caused quite a controversy in some quarters. With traditional leaders saying the film is a direct attack on the age-old custom of circumcision.

Contralesa Secretary, Chief Mkhanyiseli Dudumayo, says the film doesn’t reflect the true custom of circumcision.

“On our observations, they don’t even differentiate between a traditional surgeon and traditional nurse; to them it is one and the same thing. So those are the things that reflect clearly to us that these people they write about something, maybe some of them they have never experienced; but if they’re saying to us that is what has happened to them, we are open to say they must share with us and say we’re experiencing this. My traditional surgeon was so and so, he romanced me. So that we can speak what they have experienced, so that we can be on the same understanding.”

The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural‚ Religious and Linguistic Communities or CRL has received complaints about the film.

Traditional leaders, including AmaXhosa king, Zwelonke Sigcawu, Amandebele royal house, Contralesa, and the Man and Boy Foundation have lodged complaints with the commission.

They say the film makers are insensitive to culture and have undermined the custom of circumcision.

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