EVERYONE WANTS TO TAKE A BITE OF 'BUNNY CHOW'
By Daniel Dercksen

When I first met John Barker 8-years ago during a Multichoice New Directions filmmaking workshop we both attended, he was cocky, self-assured and really wanted to be a filmmaker.

Now, with the release of Bunny Chow, Barker is still as cocky, even more confident, and a writer-director of note; he made a lot of noise when he produced and directed SA's first music mockumentary, Blu Cheez, and Bunny Chow wowed audiences in America, Europe, the UK and in South Africa.

Bunny Chow has already played successfully at the Toronto International, American Film Institute (AFI) Festival in Los Angeles. It won Best Actor and Best New Director at Sithengi in November last year and recently had its European premiere when it competed in Rotterdam Film Festival's TIGER Awards.

It so impressed audiences that it was snapped up for a UK distribution deal, which will see the comedy screened in London and across Britain.

All of Barker's dedication, commitment and wide-eyed pensiveness to being a filmmaker have paid off.  It is understandable why everybody wants to take a bite out of Bunny Chow.

In the tradition of independent auteurs the likes of Jim Jarmusch, Bunny Chow'' simplistic nature is utterly charming, and aptly captures the essence of a post-liberated South Africa, where our multicultural existence cause for humorous encounters and explorations.

Shot in black and white, giving it a distinctive freshness, the journey of three comedians to an Oppikoppi festival is the journey of all South Africans celebrating their differences and enjoying the thrills of being South African.

"The audiences we have shown the film to are obviously fairly literate and they are use to a certain type of South African film, so for them to see a group of South Africans who are not always talking about politics and the difference between black and white, I think that's refreshing," says Barker. "Our comedy, our language, and the way we think are universal."

For those who are not familiar with the term 'Bunny chow', it's a well known South African cuisine: a loaf of bread is cut in half; the soft inside of the bread is pulled out and replaced with an assortment of curried meats and vegetables.

"I chose Bunny Chow as it is a uniquely South African name and it would be somehow sexy to the international audience," says Barker.

For Barker and his team, Bunny chow is a metaphor for the film as it "represents the melting pot of cultures, religions and sexual preferences of Johannesburg all thrown into a half loaf of bread that's had its insides pulled out. To get to the good stuff you have to peel away the outside layers and mop up the juices. The joy of eating a bunny chow is that it's designed to be eaten by more than one person so the ritual of eating the food is as interesting as the food. It's the poor mans version of the Fondue. "

"Bunny Chow has captured a time in our history, and especially a certain time in Johannesburg," says Barker. "We don't know where we are going from here but at least for our sakes, that part of my life has been recorded. I'm glad that we recorded it in a way that it is successful so that we can move on and make other films."

As a filmmaker John Barker is unashamedly connected to a South African cultural identity, something he really feels proud about.

"When people ask us if we've made this film for the international audience, the answer is no,' says Barker. "There's certain slang words a way of speaking that even some South Africans will find difficult to understand. I think it is very important to represent South Africa with this film."

A refreshing aspect of Bunny Chow is that Barker did not try to emulate a 'Hollywood' film, but delivered a film that is proudly South African, reflecting our unique identity and zaniness.

"I think our audiences deserve that," says Barker. "Young audiences or those who are young at heart need to see our society, our every day living and working reflected on the screen. We have great filmmakers in South Africa who have made very important films, but that aspect of live, the everydayness of things, hasn't been captured."

The road to success for Barker began after the completion of the popular TV sketch comedy show, The Pure Monate Show,when John Barker and Kagiso Lediga formed Dog Pack Films. After a frustrating year of trying to raise funding, Barker and Lediga, along with the top writers from the show  -David Kibuuka, Salah Sabiti and Joey Rasdien - decided to just go out and shoot a low budget film. 

"Taking into account the massive cost of regular filmmaking, from the development of the script, to the pre-production, to the shoot and later with post production, it's no wonder that so few films get made in South Africa, actually it's a miracle that any films gets made at all," says Barker.

"We were very frustrated as it was becoming increasingly clear that possible funders were not interested in comedy that was not crazy Monkey or Schuster. Out of desperation we began a three week crazy brainstorm and writing session."

"We had a pool of very talented writers, performers, cinematographers and editors who very hungry to make a feature film. The talent was never the issue. Trying to convince investors that we would be able to deliver a feature film was."

When their sponsors pulled out the night before they left for the festival, Barker's wife Marilyn joined the team as Executive Producer.

It seems that filmmaking is in the Barker blood.

"My six year old son walks around telling people that he produced Bunny Chow, which in a way, he kind of did," laughs Barker.

For Barker, the most important aspect of a film is "its soul", and that "it has to have an authenticity," he says.

"Whatever story you're trying to tell, don't cut corners. Be true to yourself, true to your art form. That's what people appreciate, even if it's done on a small scale. I'm not in the film industry to make millions, off course I'd like to, but that's not my driving force. I want to communicate with the audience, and a way to communicate with an audience, is to be true to that story, or that group of people, or that love affair, whatever you're trying to say. Just be truthful."

"I'm proud to be a young South African filmmaker. I think it's an amazing time we live in," says Barker. "I really love the challenge, I think it's going to be great to try and put South Africa cinema on the map, and I am very proud to be a part of that."

He hopes that South Africans, who will watch Bunny Chow, will see people that they can relate to, and people that they've grown up with.

"It's 90 minutes of escapism," concludes Barker. "Go and chill out, sit back and watch some South Africans making fools of themselves."

Barker and his team are currently steeped in re-writes of The Umbrella Men, a heist film involving the Cape Minstrels with an 'Oceans 11' plot, and will be shooting the film in Cape Town at the end of the year.

See www.bunnychowmovie.com

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Copyright © 2007 Daniel Dercksen
Published with permission in Weekend Argus, March 10, 2007