Screening: Colonel's Stray Dogs. A Film by Khalid Shamis

The Colonel’s Stray Dogs by Khamid Shamis (73 Min)

Part of the programming for the Totalitarian Props exhibition taking place at The Africa Centre. London from 23 June to 14 July, The Colonel’s Stray Dogs is a compelling film that observes a father and son uncovering years of underground military operations, international collusion with intelligence agencies, a family hiding in exile in a South London suburb, a freed country in civil war and a second exile. Seeking an understanding of modern Libya, my father's homeland, Baba cautiously reveals to me his role as a 'stray dog' in its 'liberation' from Gadaffi. The general and specific spaces of exile and a lifetime under a dictator are experienced through memory, archive, observation, and recollection. The film balances a story that explores the deeply political and deeply personal. Khalid is half Libyan half South African, former Londoner.

Khalid manages to both direct and edit documentaries. His work entails guiding first-time filmmakers and consulting on long-form projects in post-production, directing directors, imbibing worlds alien to his, containing and creating another’s vision, manifesting the dreams of the subjects in the films and being taken by the voice of the material itself. He runs his production company, tuba films, from Cape Town.

The Film screening will be followed by a Q&A