Four SA films at Toronto Film Festival
Hold thumbs for four South African stories being showcased this week at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada. Those of you that read our interview with John Barker will know that his film ‘Bunnychow’ is one of them (good luck Johnny, our brother from another mother), two of the other films are also directed by young film makers – Ga…
thering the Scattered Cousins by Akin Omotoso (he’s surely an SA boy by now? His film is a short of 13 mins) and Moekgo and the Stickfighter by Teboho Mahlatsi (short film of 19 mins). The fourth film is ‘Catch a Fire’, a South African story directed by Australian director Philip Noyce featuring Bonnie Henna and Tim Robbins. A friend of ours thought he bumped into Tim Robbins a while ago while stumbling his way out of the mens loo during a blurry night out … he was never sure if it was for real or simply an apparition due to all the tequila’s he’d been wolfing down. Andrew, clearly it was no imposter… Now we know why he was here!
For anyone wanting a bit of clarity on what a BUNNYCHOW is, check out this awesome (although a little neglected) website called QUARTERBUNNY. It’s a site dedicated to finding the best BunnyChow in Durban – we love it! Damn we miss Durban and can’t wait to sink our teeth into a bit of your laid-back lifestyle in summer. Bring on Christmas holidays and all. Anyway back to film. (Never blog when you’re hungry).
GOOD LUCK and CONGRATULATIONS to everyone involved. We hope that the blood sweat and tears you all put into these films bring you fruitful rewards and recognition. Big Ups from Represent and know that we are behind you all every step of the way!
Here’s a synopsis on each film:
BunnyChow
Director: John Barker
Country: South Africa
Year: 2006
Language: English
Time: 90 minutes
Film Types: BW/35mm
Truth and Reconciliation is over. The South Africa of today is all about sex and hanging out. Or hook-ups and ganja. Or maybe just sex. For those who have never been drinking in Johannesburg, a “bunny chow” is a huge mishmash of a sandwich, perfect for the end of the night. It is also a metaphor for South Africa’s cultural mýlange – and slang for a tasty sexual act. All these meanings come into play in Bunny Chow.
Executive Producer: Jeremy Nathan, Joel Phiri
Producer: John Barker, Kagiso Lediga
Screenplay: David Kibuuka, Salah Sabiti, Joey Rasdien, John Barker
Cinematographer: Zeno Petersen
Editor: Sakkie Berg
Production Designer: Kezia Eales, Christal Rees-Gibbs
Sound: Lorenz Romeez, S’Bu Nyema
Music: Joel Assaizky
Principal Cast: Kagiso Lediga, David Kibuuka, Kim Engelbrecht, Joey Rasdien, Keren Neumann, Angela Chow
Catch a Fire
Director: Phillip Noyce
Country: United Kingdom/South Africa/USA
Year: 2006
Language: English
Time: 98 minutes
Film Types: Colour/35mm
The ground war against apartheid was fought with guns and subterfuge, but it also infiltrated families. In Catch a Fire, Phillip Noyce has crafted a rousing political thriller that pivots on the most intimate of betrayals.
Before the real-life Patrick Chamusso became one of the African National Congress’s most respected militants, he was an easygoing coal worker. A foreman at a South African refinery, Patrick (Derek Luke) swallows apartheid’s daily humiliations in order to provide for his family. All that changes when he is accused of bombing the refinery. He is arrested, held for days and mercilessly interrogated; even his wife, Precious (Bonnie Henna), is viciously brutalized to get him to confess. When security police chief Nic Vos (Tim Robbins) finally releases them, Patrick has been radicalized by the ordeal. Precious is broken: just the look in her eyes tells him what the police have done to her. Patrick joins the ANC’s military wing and begins plotting an act that will make him Vos’s most dangerous adversary.
Gathering the Scattered Cousins
Director: Akin Omotoso
Country: South Africa
Year: 2006
Language: English
Time: 13 minutes
Film Types: Colour/Digital Betacam
Producer: Robbie Thorpe
Screenplay: Akin Omotoso
Cinematographer: Akin Omotoso
Editor: Tongai Furusa
Sound: Tony Kgoroge
Music: Selaelo Selota
Principal Cast: Percy Rice, Doreen Rice, Marguerita Omotoso, Bankole Omotoso
In Gathering the Scattered Cousins, Akin Omotoso crafts a memorable elegy to his mother and her extended family on the island of Barbados. Born to a Bajan mother and a Nigerian father, Omotoso talks to his relatives and finds wit and love that straddles continents. Inevitably, there are also secrets.
Moekgo and the Stickfighter
(Sekalli le Meokgo)
Director: Teboho Mahlatsi
Country: South Africa/Austria
Year: 2006
Language: Sotho
Time: 19 minutes
Film Types: Colour/35mm
Executive Producer: Simon Field, Keith Griffiths
Producer: Desiree Markgraaff
Screenplay: Teboho Mahlatsi
Cinematographer: Robert Malpage
Editor: Andrew Trail
Production Designer: Dylan Loyyd
Sound: JJ Le Roux
Music: Philip Miller
Principal Cast: Mduduzi Mabaso, Terry Pheto
Teboho Mahlatsi’s Meokgo and the Stickfighter is a fable that draws equally on Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and the living power of magic in traditional African cultures. Set against the awe-inspiring mountains of Lesotho, this short film uses bold, iconic images to build an elemental conflict worthy of a Sergio Leone western.
