South Africa

Steve Kwena Mokwena is a historian, filmmaker and cultural activist. He is the founder of Xivumbeko Media and the Afrikan Freedom Station, an afrocentric multimedia gallery. Mokwena was born in Soweto, South Africa and studied history, African politics and sociology at WITS University. He also holds an MA degree from Leeds University. He is particularly interested in history and memory and has produced and directed numerous films, including A Blues for Tiro (2007), Our Father Who Art in Memory (2008), Biko’s Trail (2008) and Driving with Fanon (2009). In 2012, Mokwena launched Afrikan Freedom Station, an intimate atmospheric jazz cafe and art gallery, to bring art and local jazz back to an area that, 60 years ago, was famed as the soul of the South African jazz scene. Regular concerts, discussion evenings, slam poetry performances, art exhibitions, open-mic nights and film screenings attract an eclectic crowd of local artists, musicians, students and intellectuals.

Filmography

A Blues for Tiro (2007)
Our Father Who Art in Memory (2008)
Biko’s Trail (2008)
Going Home (2009)
Black-Dog-Fire (2009)
Every Birth (2009)
Migrant Dreams (2009)
Driving with Fanon (2009)
Rebirth: What Was Billy Holliday Doing in Brixton? (2012)