A b o u t . Z u l u H o o p s

When documentary filmmakers Kristin Pichaske and John Neely met Ken Mukai in May 2004, they were so captivated by his quest, they soon dropped everything and moved to rural Zululand to capture it all on tape. Their months of fly-on-the-wall shooting enabled them to gather a wealth of priceless, raw observational moments. Combined with stunning images of Zululand and powerful interviews, they create a rare, in-depth look at a little known corner of South African society. (In fact, the filmmakers were the first outsiders ever to venture into the hidden bush communities where their subjects live.)

Packed with quirky, lovable characters, Zuluhoops is a humorous account of the snafus that often result when westerners set their sights on "fixing" African problems. It is also a profoundly moving look at the immense challenges of rural education in South Africa. Delving deep into the lives of Ken's students, it exposes the struggles of a whole generation of South Africans battling poverty, AIDS and ineffective schools. Though they dream of going to college and "becoming civilized," they feel trapped in a world dominated by "the old Zulu ways," a world where the idea of getting a college education is a fantasy as distant and unattainable as playing for the NBA.