Daniel Dercksen shares a few thought with writer-director Neal Sundstrom, whose latest film FINDING LENNY is guaranteed to make a difference in the state of the South African film industry. 

Born in Johannesburg, Neal has harboured a passion for film as long as he can remember.

As a child actor, Neal worked in stage, film and on early South African television and - at the tender age of thirteen - wrote, directed and acted in his first film, an eight millimetre epic - financed by and starring his high school gym teacher.

With an Artes for Best Director, five NTVA Awards for Best Director, a Daily Mail and an Avanti: Special Mention; Neal's talent, energy and contagious enthusiasm carries him through as one of South Africa's finest.

It was your aim to write and produce and  write a South African comedy. Do you think you have reached your goal with  FINDING LENNY?
Yes , absolutely ... The film has been dubbed a poignant comedy .... you will definitely laugh and at certain times cry.

You identified Barry  Hilton as one of SA's best loved comedians. Was this an importance aspect of  making the film? How did this contribute to the making of the  film?
Barry has a certain charm and character as a comedian .... It was always my intention to exploit those qualities to the maximum . The script was designed around this.The idea and story was always there [ making a feel good south African film] Barry Hiltons inclusion made the main protagonist [ lenny] more specific and helped define the lenny in all of us.

You worked as a team with  Russel Savadier and Terry Vallet in turning the idea into action. Tell me  about this? Did the collaboration strengthen your initial idea and  inspiration?
You cannot ask for a more enthusiastic and supportive producer in terry ... We need more like her in the industry! Russell and myself have worked together for many years .... nothing new there.

You wanted the film to be  uniquely South African and he wanted the story to be heart warming as opposed  to slap stick humour. Explain?
It is time for us to look at ourselves and the country we live in and laugh .... We are unique and we do have issues .... The film looks at these and smiles.

It is great for the film to coincide  with the 2010 world cup soccer fever?
It sure is .... The soccer aspect of the film adds a nice dimension to the colour of the film .... It is also the vehicle to the David and goliath storyline in the film.

Your career started as a child actor,  working on stage, in film and on early South African television and - from the  tender age of thirteen - when you wrote, directed and acted in his first film,  an eight millimeter epic - financed by and starring his high school gym  teacher. What inspired your 'wanting to be in the spotlight'  ?
Its more about telling stories .... Observing people and  their situations than being in the spotlight .... People are us .... I have a total fascination with us!

Tell me about designing and building an  authentic traditional African Village in the middle of  Johannesburg?
We could not afford to travel to the rolling hills of KZN .... We had to build it here [jhb] ... Months of location hunting .... lots of tears and an amazing designer in SAM RAMASUKU ....  .... tough to do .... but we cracked it .... big time!@!

You also turned a grass  meadow into the main soccer field?
We actually built 2 soccer fields. The main game is played on the grass field but the training field in the village was built from scratch. We had architects and bulldozers involved.

Tell me about working with first-time  actors from the neighbouring township of Brazzaville?
Terry and myself were so proud of the talent from Brazzaville! No where else in the world could we have pulled off what we did. The village celebration scenes would have required choreography and weeks of rehearsals were they shot anywhere else. Here in South Africa the background actors took up the drums, started singing and dancing and within 45 minutes we were ready to shoot!

You  mentioned that the most challenging aspect of the film, by far, was the final  soccer match between the Execon players and the Mighty Spears. Tell me about  the challenges?
Thankfully I played soccer as a youth so I understand the game. Nevertheless it is very challenging to choreograph and then play out a soccer match. Especially in 35 degree heat. The Mighty Spears were all actors with limited soccer experience and the Execon team were professional soccer players with no acting experience . So I was challenged on both sides. The guys showed tremendous soccer skills and all the scissor kicks and fouls were done live with no stunt mats etc. Mark Fish and Phil Masinga were wonderful  to work with. They assisted the other players and had tremendous ball skills. Both teams would have to warm up before shooting and then play with full energy.
Although I had 3 cameras, live soccer usually has at least 7 so I had to really concentrate to ensure that all the angles were covered and that we kept the continuity of the game while not alienating the audience that do not understand soccer

Your  views on the South African film industry?
I truly believe that we have the artistic and technical skills in this country to rival any film making nation. We just need to believe in ourselves.
    
What  do you hope audiences will get from watching FINDING  LENNY?
Finding Lenny is essentially a feel good film. I hope audiences leave the show with a sense of pride , with a sense of hope and with a smile on their faces. This is a multi layered film and each individual will take away some different message that will resonate with them

Any  comments you would like to share on FINDING LENNY?
Don't expect a gag a minute slapstick comedy. This is a poignant film with a remarkable ensemble cast.

READ MORE ABOUT FINDING LENNY

READ AN INTERVIEW WITH RUSSEL SAVADIER

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