Pretoria, South Africa May 25, 2011

... the importance of what you have done cannot be over emphasized. People simply lose their dignity when they are not accepted for who and what they are. The artificial classification of people by governments subverts their humanity and always leads to injustice. Social justice rests on the proposition that people are free ... including the freedom to accept, love and revere their own kind. The "social construct" of all non-whites being classified as "Black' had its place in history. it was, after all a product of rejection by the dominant White group. That time has long passed. White folk have abandoned this rejection and voted a Coloured man to the most powerful position in the world ... seeing and accepting him for what he is ... and exceptional human being ... free to become President.

In May, 2011 a film was screened titled “I'm Not Black, I'm Coloured”, Identity Crisis at the Cape of Good Hope” by Mondé World Films depicting the plight of Coloured folk in the new South Africa, on account of an inherently racist Affirmative Action transformational model. 

Mondé World Films was quickly vindicated when it was revealed that a chief government spokesman had insisted there was an “oversupply” of Coloureds in the Western Cape and suggested they “spread in the rest of the country”. He said their “over-concentration” in the province “is not working for them”. The comments were made in April during a debate about affirmative action that appeared on KykNet’s Robinson Regstreeks show. "

Minneapolis, MN

Central to cinema is giving voice to the voiceless. Your film does that to such a degree that you can see the pleasure, pain, and visceral need to ‘tell’ on the faces of your characters. The telling was that important to them. And the safe space and healthy process you offered seemed greatly appreciated by this community.

As you originally conceived, the story offers a never before seen account of the Coloured peoples of Southern Africa. But it also holds up a fascinating mirror for the rest of the world – including biracial African Americans like myself.

Your voice (literally and figuratively) is also key in this telling. Smart and sensitive, your storytelling structure and style makes the piece work on several levels.
 

“I’m Not Black, I’m Coloured” is a marvelously nuanced examination of the complexities that underpin the formation of Coloured identity in South Africa, particularly the often challenging and contradictory forces involved with forging identities in the pursuit of racial equality. That said, some important historical details were missing, particularly the active engagement on the part of Cape Coloureds in forming a separate Coloured identity in the early part of the 20th century as a means of circumventing, if not completely, forestalling the racial proscriptions that were gradually making their way toward apartheid. This was particularly the case with the African Peoples Organization (APO), which was very proactive in this regard. Moreover, the DNA testing at the end of the documentary left me with some unanswered questions. Yet these “caveats” provide an excellent starting point for further discussion. 

Indeed, this is an invaluable teaching tool for courses on race and ethnic relations. It is also a superb addition to the growing number of resources available for understanding the struggle for identity, agency, and self-determination on the part of multiracial individuals in our increasingly interconnected globalized society. BULLS EYE!

Oberlin Ohio Dec 2010

I’m Not Black, I’m Coloured: Identity Crisis at the Cape of Good Hope is an insightful look at the history of the Coloured community in South Africa. The film delivers on many levels and those with no prior information about South Africa as well as those with much background, benefit from this smartly constructed documentary.  Kiersten Dunbar Chace sheds light on the struggles for full citizen status that South Africa’s Coloured community waged under apartheid, as well as the disappointments that community has experienced under ANC governments. By juxtaposing interviews with those in the Coloured community with historical footage, Dunbar Chace has created a thoughtful and important film about a people still struggling for equal rights and equal access. 

Minneapolis, MN February 2009

...the movie is brilliant. As a South African I was deeply touched at the accurate and very moving way in which you presented the intergenerational suffering and identity crisis of The Cape Coloureds. The historical background was concise and accurate and so well done and provided such a good context for the present suffering. My daughter and I both wept at the end - those scenes of people finding their genetic roots was beautiful - what a wonderful gift. And it was fun to meet Dr. Michael Adams and speak Afrikaans and feel my bond to him as a SOUTH AFRICAN. We all long for the day when we can all call ourselves South Africans, like Americans call themselves Americans instead of feeling in our psyches the difference more than the common unity of our humanity.

Blessings on you Kiersten for this wonderful consciousness raising gift to the world.

October 2011

Having been brought up in the Home Counties of the UK during the 60s and 70s RSA, its history and my culture was always an exotic mystery. It’s been difficult to come to terms with some of the secrecy with which my mother’s family seemed to need to surround our family history - why did my grandfather have such a strong reaction against my brother growing an afro, my Aunty Clarie’s nickname ‘plum-bum, the story of the pale cousin with blue eyes that would force her mother to walk the opposite side of the street because she was dark and had brown eyes. My mum (Cape Coloured) and dad (white european) taught us about black power, we adored 70s black music, my older brother became a fan of Steve Biko. I’m proud to call myself black here in the UK, in a western political context. 

Having seen Kiersten’s incredible film, for the first time I can begin to stop being guilty about calling myself coloured as well despite the risk I still take of being misinterpreted. I cried throughout this film. Partly very selfishly and partly because my mum adored South Africa but died in 1985 never having seen her country become democratic, something she longed for (she left as a teenager in 1949 and never saw RSA again). “I’m not Black I’m Coloured” is essential viewing all over the world. A tale of how we as people had imposed upon us boundaries that never should exist, but that do. And because they do we need to find a way to be proud of who we are, and others need to find a way of not dismissing us or simplifying the politics involved. Thankyou so much for changing my world view.

Sophie Talbot (daughter of Sybil Stevens originally from Wynberg)

FEb 3, 2012

Solveig Film - This film brilliantly captures her artwork and life story. The winter scenery, the ethereal fog, chimney smoke, clouds, vapors... all metaphors of the soft light shining out of Solveig Arneng. Her life story is a testament to her body of work and the film also gives a deserving testament to the love of her life, husband Rudi. Great story! Thank you!

- ARLINGTON, VA MAY 21, 2011

I really like the comprehensive history lesson at the beginning of the film. It gives Americans a great overview of how South Africa got to this point. There are so many parallels to historical events in the states. You'd be surprised how many teachers we see that have either forgotten or blocked from their minds America's history in that regard. Many chalk up the achievement gap to some phantom "cultural differences" without ever acknowledging the role of100's of years of institutionalized racism.

January 11, 2012

With Solveig - The Life and Artwork of Solveig Arneng Johnson, Kiersten Chace has created a hauntingly beautiful look at the life of a remarkable woman. From Solveig’s wartime youth in Norway to her present day life in Northern Minnesota, Chace has woven the threads of the life of artist, wife, mother, and respected Sami elder into a visually stunning tapestry.