About the Project
Using the new electronic technologies, the Internet, and entries from South African partners, the project has built a database of more than 1,200 South African productions. Each entry contains complex meta-data recorded in the database of the MSU African Media Program (AMP). The 12,000+ item database is an unparalled resource, the largest systematic source of information on more than 1,200 South African films and videos, in addition to productions on Southern Africa or all of Africa that include South Africa. The database contains entries from a variety of South Africa collections including the Film and Video Archive of the South African National Archives and descriptions and reviews from the Center for Communication, Culture and Media Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. For many entries, the meta-data include, in addition to the standard cataloging, descriptive, and bibliographical citations, original “minute-by-minute” inventories of content, reviews, and sources for renting or purchasing the materials.
The partner institutions have cooperated in establishing this database of South African film and videotape to help users find relevant materials for teaching and research. The database contains cataloging and descriptive data about each production. The database also will create the basis for assaying what materials urgently need to be saved from further deterioration.
The Archive of the Project
Copies of selected materials from these collections are being deposited in the MSU Library for access by U.S. scholars either at MSU or through Interlibrary Loan. Ownership and copyright of these materials remains with the South African owners. These materials at MSU cannot be copied for further dissemination without the express permission of the South African owners
Objectives of the Project