Voices of Joburg: Movies for all says ‘Movie Man’ Jacob
JOBURG - It's something that we shouldn't do, but it's, unfortunately, something that most people do to get the latest movies straight off the big screen – buying or producing pirated DVDs – and 'Movie Man' Jacob has all the titles for you.
The city was buzzing on 7 January as the DA unveiled their billboard to fight the plight of unemployment in South Africa, but things got really interesting as City Buzz took to the streets of the CBD to find someone with a story.
‘Movie Man’ Jacob had set up a makeshift stall where he was selling pirated DVDs to passersby in the busy city.
After explaining to him that City Buzz was not part of the police force, we began to ask the man a few questions …
“What are you selling?” City Buzz asked.
“I sell DVDs – good quality,” he said.
We then inquired where he obtained his stock from and the man was not shy to talk about his not-so-legal trade.
“I make them,” he said. “I can take a DVD from a shop of my friend and copy it myself. It’s not hard, and then I bring them here to sell.
“The ones with the writing on are the ones that I make myself. I can’t print the cover. The ones with the cover on them are the ones that I get from other friends who can [print them], or from the Chinaman.”
City Buzz probed, “Do you always stand here?”
“No, I move around. It’s not always safe to sell my stuff here.”
Having taken a look around the area and found that numerous vendors sell the illegal product around the CBD, City Buzz wondered if there was a demand for his stock.
“The people love my stuff because it’s good stuff. They always come back for more and I have the latest movies.”
