LUCKY

SOUTH AFRICAN FILMMAKING

Point of View
The exquisitely crafted and skillfully made South African film Lucky will break your heart with its sincere honesty and heartfelt passion.
In the tradition of other memorable local films like Beat The Drum, IZulu Lami, Themba: A Boy Called Hope and Roepman, the film tells its compelling story through the watchful eyes of a 10-year-old boy.
It follows the soulful journey of a rural Zulu boy into the heart of the big city and through his distressing experiences; we discover how the compassion of strangers can unload the hardship of life and shines a beacon of hope to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider in their community or family.
It's inspirational to encounter a local film that is fresh and invigorating, and not loaded with the baggage of historical or political content that usually suffocates the humanity of the story and turns the human condition into a warzone of guilt, persecution and oppression.
Lucky shows that you do not have to be fortunate to bask in the glory of the Rainbow Nation of the New South Africa, but that true happiness and contentment lies in ordinary people who live in the shadow of society and have the magical ability to change the world around them by just being true to themselves and their basic needs. 
In the film Lucky does not find answers from those living in his village or his relatives, but finds a new home in the heart of a discontented Indian woman; their cultural differences are beautifully overcome through a silent communication. The film poignantly shows that there is a huge difference between what we observe and what we experience; sometimes unfamiliar encounters and experiences can unlock the fear that imprisons our hopes and set us free to see the world differently and change our attitudes toward foreign cultures and those we prefer to ignore instead of listen to.
Lucky is an important and much needed film that bridges the gap between the differences in South Africa that divides and causes tension.
There are so many things we take for granted, and Lucky gives us an opportunity to take stock and soon realise that there are people like Lucky who endure affliction without ever becoming victims.
Through the lens of cinematographer Willie Nel and the endearing passion of writer-director Avie Luthra, Lucky opens a hopeful window to life in the real South Africa; Nel perfectly captures the texture of Luthra's meticulously detailed vision, allowing the world that Lucky shows us to vividly burst to life.
Luthra clearly wrote the film from his heart and it is his personal scrutiny and introspection that gives Lucky its soul.
It is film dominated by silent observation that perfectly captures the monstrosity and cold chaos of the big city, magnificently contrasting it with the tranquility of the rural countryside.
Nel allows us to feel the sereneness of Lucky's isolation, and equally share the panic and chaos that erupts during dramatic confrontations.
This is further enhanced by Philip Miller superb music that captures the mood and ambiance of the emotional journey and different mindscapes of the characters; film editor Josh Levinsky allows the pace and tempo of the drama to create suspense and draw us into the action; Chantel Carter's production design perfectly captures the different world and situations that Lucky explores and costume designer Zureta Schulz cleverly uses texture and colour to support the identity and personality of the different characters.
10-year-old Sihle Dlamini delivers an unforgettable performance in the title role, with Jayashree Basavra equally impressive as the Indian granny Padma who becomes Lucky's herald of destiny.
You will never forget the image of the couple sitting in the shade of a tree near Lucky's village; there is an understanding between them that us truly remarkable and brought vividly to life through Luthra's sensitive direction.
It is heartbreaking to experience how Lucky gently demolishes Padma's wall of resistance with his sincerity and that although they cannot understand each other's language; the bond that is built up between them is inseparable and will be etched in your mind forever.   
Just as Padma shows Lucky that there is kindness and love in a cruel and unforgiving world, so does Lucky open up a treasure chest of memories that brings out the young woman in Padma and allows her to smile.
Ultimately, Lucky shows that it is not that difficult to care if only we afford ourselves the luxury to see the world through someone else's eyes.
Lucky is about the people we know (or think we know), people we don't know or want anything to do with; the film will most definitely change your relationship to those you come in contact with.
We definitely need more films like Lucky to not only show that a great film can be made on a shoe string budget, but that film has the power to hold up a mirror and allow us to really take a look at ourselves and the world we live in.
Judging from the audience who remained seated silently after the film and then spontaneously burst into conversation, it is clear that Lucky will be touching the hearts of many more people and unite them through the power of film. .
It is understandable why the world has responded to Lucky with critical acclaim; it is a film that shines through its minimalism, offering a meaningful and thought provoking cinematic experience that you will remember long after you have left the cinema. Review by Daniel dercksen. Rating 5/5

The Story
Lucky is a simple but profoundly moving portrait of humanity in fractious post-apartheid South Africa.
The tale is woven around a 10-year-old rural boy called Lucky who loses his mother to Aids. He travels from his remote Zulu village to the city of Durban, nurturing hopes of going to school and making something of himself. But the selfish, dishonest uncle he turns to for help stonewalls him.
Lucky strays into the home of an elderly Indian woman, Padma, The two do not understand each other's language and Padma makes no bones about her innate distrust of black people. Eventually, she takes Lucky in as she would a stray dog.
However, Padma's motives are not entirely pure. She uses Lucky to obtain a government orphan grant worth two hundred rand a month. When Lucky's scheming uncle finds out, he yanks him out of school, steals the grant money and assaults Padma. But Padma manages to rescue Lucky and take him back to his rural Zulu village.
But the village residents are, at the very least, indifferent to Lucky's return. There's no place for him there, now.
There is a glimmer of hope, however, when Padma learns that Lucky's father may still be alive. Together they go on an emotional journey to see if this man will take Lucky in.
They develop an unlikely and unique bond, which leads to a potentially promising and unexpected future. Despite all the odds, love triumphs over decades of racial segregation

Writer-Director - Avie Luthra
Avie Luthra is an award-winning writer/director who has worked in short films, features, TV dramas, documentary and radio. In 2003 he wrote an episode of the high-profile BBC series Canterbury Tales, and won the Dennis Potter Award for his 60 minute BBC film, Indian Dream.
In 2004 Avie was listed as a 'Star of Tomorrow' by Screen International. His 20-minute short film 'Lucky' (2005) won 42 awards and was nominated for a BAFTA and shortlisted for an Oscar in 2007.
In 2007 he devised the Radio 4 drama 'The Prospect', currently in second series.
His first feature Mad Sad and Bad premiered at the British Gala, Edinburgh Film Festival 2009 and was released into cinemas that year. 'Lucky' is his second feature film. He is currently developing several projects for TV and film.
In 2009 he completed his first feature film and in 2011, he completed his second. He is also a practicing forensic psychiatrist.

Interview: Writer-Director - Avie Luthra

You have a background as a psychiatrist. How and why did you make the transition to filmmaking?
I've always been making films ever since I was a kid. This is not uncommon with filmmakers - it's something in the blood. My parents were very keen for me to have a profession, so I found myself at med school, very torn. The first day I was there I skipped a physiology practical and went to see Betty Blue at the cinema. But medicine is very seductive, and I spent most of my twenties studying it. I was in my early thirties when I went to the National Film and TV School in London and really made a break with medicine.

What inspired you to tell this story?
No-one has made a film about Africans and Indians, and especially about the longstanding racial tensions between them that exists throughout the continent, so that point felt rather obvious and important to make. And I was surrounded by HIV via my medical connections, so it made sense to bring the two together.

What do you hope your audience takes away from this film?
That's not for me to decide. I do hope they feel like they've spent 100 minutes of their time in a place that is real, and is South African.

10-year-old Sihle Dlamini makes his acting debut in this role. How were you able to get such a convincing performance out of him?
Sihle is a natural, so he made it very easy. The hard part was making sure he was looked after well enough, and with good rest time. 26 days is a long shooting schedule for anyone, let alone a 10-year-old boy. My directing style was very simple, and very quickly we developed a language and rapport which worked for both of us. This was, despite his lack of English skills, as well as my command of Zulu being non-existent.

Director's Statement
'Lucky' is a labour of love. The film originates from the short of the same name completed in 2005. On its release, I was struck by the overwhelming audience reaction and felt there was a longer, more complete story to be told. Indeed, I never felt the short film was finished properly and sometimes stories do this - they keep hounding you till they eventually get out.

The genesis of the story
The origin of the idea was always to look at the impact of racial segregation. When I lived in Durban, 10 years post apartheid, the legacy of that regime was still very apparent. The Group Areas Act had done a thorough job of separating Africans and Indians. However, after apartheid, things began to change and previously 'Indian' apartment blocks were becoming mixed. This produced clear tensions, as Africans and Indians were finally mixing after decades of legal and economic segregation. It made me wonder what would happen to an elderly, time-worn Indian if he or she had to confront this new African presence head on.
My other main experience in South Africa made this confrontation possible. In 2003, I was living in rural Natal where the HIV prevalence was close to 40%. If you drove around on weekends you would see coffins being loaded onto bakkies as funerals took place around the province. It was at one of these funerals that I saw a small 10-year-old boy weeping into the grave of his recently buried mother. It was nothing but a brief glimpse into his pain, and then it was gone. But the future of that boy struck me deeply, and made me wonder how he links into all the street children you see at traffic lights in South African cities.
That was how the short film was born. It made a lot of 'noise' and became a bigger story. I wrote the feature script on spec and once it was completed, I set out to raise the budget. Fortune played a big part in putting How Town Films and Out of Africa Productions together and, needless to say, I was pretty lucky. The rest was hard work, the sheer business of reworking the story, and directing the movie to meet the demands of production.

Shooting the film
Of course there were compromises. The biggest was shooting in Johannesburg rather than Durban for budget reasons. My producers convinced me that Johannesburg could offer as much as Durban, and more. And in the end, I believe they were right.
The shoot was 26 days. We had an excellent cast, and my approach was to, at times, ignore the script and 'open out' scenes with as much improvisation as possible. I wanted scenes to feel energised and real. I set them up with big headers and long tails, always keeping an eye on what I wanted. The shooting style matched this. It was all hand--‐held, often walking, sometimes running and invariably, falling. My cameraman and designer set up a sense of chaos and looseness that was exhilarating at times.

Editing the film
Once wrapped, we edited for close to six months, mostly because we had no assistants or other support. It was just the editor and me doing a Final--‐Cut Pro edit job in my home office while the kids played in the next room. It was slow and painstaking, but we both got to know the rushes very well. The last creative stages were done in South Africa with a meticulous sound team who were Foley artists one day, and mixers the next. And of course the music - a beautiful score --‐ was written for exclusively African instruments.
The final film is a remix of the short, but bigger, more energetic and more painful. It was a big sacrifice for all involved, done on a small budget and with never enough time. But for the cast and crew and everyone else, it was a true labour of love.

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