Rayda Jacobs' award winning novel "Confessions of a Gambler" has not only received huge local acclaim, winning the 2004 Sunday Times Literary award and the prestigious Herman Charles Bosman Award, but also has touched on subject matters pertinent not only to South Africa but relevant to audiences worldwide.

Confessions of a Gambler is set almost incongruously amidst the Muslim community in Cape Town. It reaches into the depths of Muslim culture and uncovers rich stories that will make you laugh and make you cry.

It's a story that has never been told before, and deals with a previously disadvantaged culture originating from the Malay slave trade whose ancestors arrived on local shores as slaves many years ago. The Cape Muslim community is distinctive from all other Muslim communities worldwide.

Confessions of a Gambler tells the story of Abeeda, a pious Muslim woman who also happens to be a gambling addict. Beeda is feisty, wise and flawed. She's the mother of two grown sons but is still sensuous. She harbours deep hurts, and wrestles with her faith and her gambling habit. She is an unforgettable character as she navigates through her life and family within her community, tackling contemporary issues such as Aids and the scourge of casinos. Most importantly, in a world that is increasingly polarised between Islam and the West, the story provides a vivid insight into the Muslim community, its rites and rituals, beliefs and mores.

Beeda describes herself as "One of those robed women going nowhere... when you pass me on the street, you won't even glance my way."

Jacobs gently draws the veil of such women aside, revealing rich stories, tapping deeply into the South African psyche and tackling many of the taboos inherent within southern African society.

"There is an amazing pool of untapped talent in the Cape, and it is here that I cast my net. I did not look for people to "act", but rather to be, and to be great characters. I chose to make a low budget film with non-professional actors, and thereby achieve a raw authenticity. My experience as a documentary filmmaker, in all aspects of the process (writing, directing, camerawork, editing) has given me an edge, in particular, as far as understanding the psyche of the Muslim community, and my ability to interact with them. The Muslim community in Cape Town is different from any other Muslim community in the world in that we have a slave background, a mixed heritage, and a particular culture. We don't look like the Palestinians, the Arabs, or the Bosnians, but in fact have smatterings of many different races. However, it is the culture and flavour more than anything I wish to capture through the experiences of my characters.

The way the women are filmed in their robes and abayas - Instead of portraying them as frumpy (unless where needed), I am aiming for sensuality: the materials, the sounds, the body language, the camera angles. There are no special effects, and offbeat editing. This is a story about women: their loves, their losses, their friendships, their disappointments, and in particular, the story of one woman's shame and redemption. As the author of Confessions of a Gambler, I lift the veil on the community, and hope to change some of the biggest myths about Muslim women with the film. To show that we have individual identities, that we are fun, that we are pious, that we have addictions, that we sin, and that we are just like any other woman who wants to be loved, and who would do anything for their children."]

Confessions of a Gambler tells the story of a woman struggling with a gambling addiction, and the cast is made up of almost exclusively non-professional actors, which gives the film a real authenticity. "With a film like this, retaining the raw integrity of the story is critical," says producer Ross Garland (Big Fellas, U-Carmen eKhayelitsha).

Executive producer Costa Theo (Out on a Limb, Blind Dating) identified the award-winning novel and was instrumental in securing the project and bringing the film to life, which has been made possible with the assistance of the National Film and Video Foundation and the Sabc.
Jacobs concludes that "Confessions lifts the veil on the Muslim community, and we hope to change some of the biggest myths about Muslim women with this film."

RAYDA JACOBS
Rayda is a highly acclaimed novelist whose list of published works are represented in South Africa by Kwela Books and in the UK by the Charles Little Literary Agency. She is also a documentary filmmaker who has produced, written and directed 5 documentaries about Islam and Muslim women.

PRODUCER ROSS GARLAND
Rogue Star Films is an independent feature film production company founded by Ross Garland. The company is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ross's credits include Co-Executive Producer of THE STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM (Armin Mueller-Stahl, Richard E Grant); Executive Producer / Producer of U-CARMEN EKHAYELITSHA, for which as Producer he was awarded the Golden Bear for best film at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival, the first film from Africa to ever win this prize; producer of CONFESSIONS OF A GAMBLER, based on the award winning novel by Rayda Jacobs about a muslim woman with a gambling addiction; producer / writer of BIG FELLAS, a comedy starring Colin Moss, Hakeem Kae-Kazeem, Cokey Falkow, Kagiso Lediga, Marc Lottering, Louw Venter, Minki van der Westhuizen, Gina Athans, Grethe Fox, Lesley Mongezi.
Rogue Star Films is in development on SPUD, an adaptation of South Africa's best selling novel in history, published by Penguin and written by John van de Ruit; and an adaptation of World War 1 novel IRON LOVE, by Marguerite Poland, written and directed by Ingrid Wylde.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER COSTA THEO
Executive producer Costa J. Theo  is a qualified lawyer with investment banking experience and is now raising finance as an executive producer for film productions out of SA, USA and the UK and specializing in International Co-productions. His first film Out on a Limb, a SA / UK co-production which he was executive producer won best film at the 2004 Wine Country Film Festival. Costa is also associate producer on Blind Dating a US film staring Chris Pine, Eddy Kaye Thomas and Jane Seymour and directed by James Keach, a romantic comedy about a young man born blind and searching for love. Confessions of a Gambler is a South African film about a Muslim woman with a gambling addiction. Costa is the executive producer who identified the best selling novel and secured the finance. He also is an executive producer on Big Fellas. Costa is currently working on a film fund across a slate of South African films.

READ AN INTERVIEW WITH RAYDA JACOBS

READ AN INTERVIEW WITH ROSS GARLAND

VARIETY REVIEW
Confessions of a Gambler
(South Africa--22 December 2007)
By ALISSA SIMON, ALISSA SIMON

A Roguestar Films, Riempie production, in association with SABC2. Executive producer, Costa Theo. Produced by Ross Garland, Zaheer Bhyat. Directed by Rayda Jacobs, Amanda Lane. Screenplay, Jacobs, based on her novel "Confessions of a Gambler."
With: Rayda Jacobs, Nabeweya Scello, Abeeda Scello, Ganlef Marais, Az Abrahams, Ilhaam Rawoot, Nurie Slamdlen, Ebrahim Safler.
(English, Afrikaans dialogue)

A devout woman's life starts to unravel when she becomes hooked on slot machines at the local casino in "Confessions of a Gambler." World preemed at Dubai fest, this gripping story of addiction and faith, set in Cape Town's working-class Malay Muslim community, should develop new fans for Rayda Jacobs, who not only adapted her own novel but also co-directs and stars, creating a sympathetic heroine who's deeply spiritual yet profoundly fallible. Further fest play is assured, with offshore niche distribution and broadcast a possibility for this good-looking low-budget drama.
V.o. narration by middle-aged Abeeda (Jacobs), a fiercely independent, frankly sexual single mother, sets the scene. She's a pious Muslim who wears the Islamic headscarf and prays five times a day, yet she likes risk and enjoyed a wild youth (shown in flashback). Her youngest son, Reza, is gay, a fact she tries to ignore.
Abeeda's social life revolves around the mosque and a close-knit group of women who gossip and play cards. One day, best friend Garaatie (Nabeweya Scello) drags her to the casino, and she hits a jackpot with her first pull on the one-armed bandit. From that moment, she's captivated by a vice her religion proscribes.
After Reza dies of AIDS, Abeeda finds solace of sorts in the numbingly repetitive motion of feeding coins into slots. When she wins, she tries to justify her habit by separating "dirty money" from "clean" in her wallet, but soon her addiction drives her to spend every penny she possesses. Ashamed of her weakness and desperate for cash, she continues to pray, but fears she loves the machines more than she loves God.
Jacobs' tour-de-force turn as Abeeda is backed by convincing playing from the entire supporting cast, who portray rites of a Muslim community in almost anthropological detail.
Although shot on a shoestring, pic features some striking lensing that effectively opposes the flashy temptations of the casino with the soothing serenity of the mosque and solitary Cape Town shoreline. Other tech credits are fine, although the nearly wall-to-wall musical score becomes a tad obtrusive.
Pic would benefit from subtitles, as accented English is sometimes difficult to understand.

PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN FILMMAKING

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