African Fusion – a rock odyssey
Fresh Rock Films
Directed by Nic Good and Georgia Court
Running time: 52 minutes
R250 (available from CityROCK shop
and mountainmailorder.co.za)
Review by Tony Lourens
While watching African Fusion I kept feeling an overwhelming sense of pride. This was my home. Those beautiful routes, those alluring mountains and rock walls belonged to the country of my birth. And Alex Honnold and Hazel Findlay, the international stars of this movie, had such amazing things to say about this country and the climbing it has to offer.
African Fusion takes you on a journey to some of the best climbing areas in Southern Africa. It captivates you with sensational climbing. It brings to you, in no uncertain terms, the harshness of the African plains and the beauty of the sweeping granite slabs of the Spitzkoppe in Namibia, the brooding and imposing walls of Blouberg, and the captivating red crags of Waterval Boven in the northern part of South Africa.Then whisks you south to the Western Cape’s wild Yellowwood Amphitheatre, the unforgiving steeps of The Mine and of course to the iconic walls of The Ledge on Table Mountain.
The movie shows Alex and Hazel, along with some of SA’s top climbers, scaling a bunch of the finest routes – trad and sport, single- and multi-pitch. The climbing is nail-biting and brought right onto your face with brilliant and dramatic filming, but what I also like is that it has been infused with a very African flavour by weaving snippets of African life and customs throughout the film.
I also enjoyed the conversations between Alex and Hazel – the bantering and ribbing. It added a somewhat human touch to the movie; a movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout its 52 minutes.
Alard Hüfner, the narrator, did an excellent job in his very ‘Hüfnarian’ style, mixing fact with humour and typical facial expressions, but his final line brought the old gooseflesh to the surface – ‘And the best part about it, it’s my home.’
Africa Fusion Film – Trailer from Fresh Rock Films on Vimeo.
