Philipstown’s wire cars spark imagination and community growth
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In Philipstown, South Africa, local children will compete in the 16th annual WireCar Grand Prix this weekend, racing vehicles they build themselves.
The event has gained international attention through a documentary on Prime Video and a racing game created by WGP Mobile, which turns the town into a virtual racetrack. The Philipstown WireCar Foundation, a non-profit organisation, supports the race and uses it as a platform for community development.
While the foundation acknowledges the race won’t solve deep-seated issues like poverty or addiction, it provides a positive outlet for children and encourages creativity. One mother described the race as allowing children “to do the work of children,” focusing on joyful, meaningful activities. Alongside the wire car race, the European Film Festival South Africa will screen My Father’s Shadow by Akinola and Wale Davies.
The film follows two brothers in Nigeria on the day Gen Ibrahim Babangida cancelled a presidential election in 1993, a moment that ushered in another period of military rule. The Davies brothers, who grew up without a father, used the film to explore themes of fatherhood and national history, suggesting that in postcolonial Africa, the fate of fathers and nations have often been intertwined.
The film, shot on 16mm celluloid, also expresses a sense of nostalgia for Nigeria and Lagos, reflecting the experiences of the British-Nigerian filmmakers and their connection to the African diaspora in the UK. The European Film Festival South Africa will run from September 17 to 27 in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban.
