AiM 2009: Safari Obscura

If the thought of going deep inside the mind of a traveller and experiencing his intrepid memories whilst he enjoys a hallucinogen intrigues you, the short feature Safari Obscura may be of interest. South African filmmaker Anton Kotze has accumulated a vast array of life-snaps and landscapes from his home continent, from scenes of city life to traditional tribal communities, to create a journey that encompasses the mundane, obscure and ritualistically eerie. Recorded image is collaged, reflected and manipulated, mostly in negative colour, creating a trance-inducing kaleidoscope which at times leaves you wondering exactly what it is that you're looking at. Speed and scale are deceptively alternated (people milling about their day to day business look like ants teeming around a carcass) and sound is primitive with recorded noise played like repetitive, hypnotic drum beats. Animism and shamanistic African folklore are key themes and are served well by the unlimited palette and editing process. That's not to say that the uninterrupted sensory overload can, at times, leave scant room for concentration. However, when looking at a colour-saturated rhino as he yawns, mirrored vertically like a Rorschach ink spot, it is impossible not to appreciate the film's meditative quality that leaves everything open to interpretation.