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Listed Alphabetically ADOPTED is a mockumentary / comedy that explores the hilarious lengths to which Pauly Shore (Son in Law; Pauly Shore is Dead) will go to adopt a child during a trip to Africa. Read more THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAMA Local writer-director-producer Karen van Schalkwyk's delightful locally made short film. Mama works as a street vendor in down-town Johannesburg. When she is robbed by three tsotsis, Mama decides to take matters into her own hands. Read more U-CARMEN-E-KHAYELITSHA (CARMEN IN KHAYELITSHA) A groundbreaking opera film - the first of its kind in Xhosa won the Golden Bear at the 19th Berlin Film Festival. This gripping township version of Bizet's opera Carmen is set and mostly filmed in Khayelitsha. Read more BAKGAT The first Afrikaans feature film that were primarily produced for a youth market. Bakgat is a contemporary Afrikaans teen movie about the lives and times of a group of students in high school. Read more BEHIND THE RAINBOW The documentary explores the transition of the ANC from a liberation organization into South Africa's ruling party, through the evolution of the relationship between two of its most prominent cadres, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. Read more BIG FELLAS - BEE all you wanna-bee Two young guys, Zed and Jake, who have made a documentary expose about the modelling industry, go on a road trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg to close a deal to sell their film. One problem - they need a BEE partner, and they need one fast. Read more BORN INTO STRUGGLE Filmmaker Rehad Desai takes on us an intimate journey mapped out by the scars etched into his family's life from having a father who was intensely involved in politics. Go behind the scenes BOY CALLED TWIST Tim Greene's Boy called Twist superbly captures the seedy individuals that survive on the streets of Cape Town as it shadows the timeless tale of Oliver Twist in its own inimitable style. Read more BUNNY CHOW Directed by John Barker, and written by Barker and David Kibuuka, Bunny Chow follows the raucous and often ridiculous journey of three stand-up comedians as they make their way to a popular rock concert, Oppi Koppi. Read more CAPE OF GOOD HOPE A gentle and heart warming film, Cape of Good Hope uses a character driven portrayal of eight socially disparate, yet fatefully intertwined, people to subtly portray the generosity and joy, as well as the underlying racial and cultural prejudices, that permeate all aspects of life in the Cape. Directed by Mark Bamford, CONFESSIONS OF A GAMBLER A haunting and captivating journey into the soul of a Muslim woman in South Africa. Set almost incongruously amidst the Muslim community in Cape Town, it reaches into the depths of Muslim culture and tells the story of Abeeda, a pious Muslim woman who also happens to be a gambling addict. "With a film like this, retaining the raw integrity of the story is critical," says producer Ross Garland (Big Fellas, U-Carmen eKhayelitsha). Read more CONVERSATIONS ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON Matabane ingeniously uses non-fictional elements in the telling of a fictional story of Keniloe (a superb Tony Kgoroge) who searches for Fatima, a refugee he used to encounter each Sunday at the park. Read more COSMIC AFRICA A unique 72 minute High Definition feature length documentary film that both explores and sheds new light on traditional African astronomy and in turn global understanding of the world's oldest science. Read more DISCREET explores how well two people from complete opposite sides of the moral spectrum can really get to know one another in 80 minutes of real time. In a society that promotes sexual promiscuity and where true honesty is a rare commodity, Monique and Thomas take the audience on a funny, poignant and brutal journey of self-examination. Read more DOLLARS AND WHITE PIPES It marks the first feature film of director, Donovan Marsh, who wrote the script in collaboration with Bernard Baaitjies, and is based on the true life story of Bernard Baaitjies who grew up in Hanover Park. It is a rags to riches story which follows Bernard's journey from the drug and gang culture to emotional and moral independence as he overcomes issues of race, education, addiction and racketeering and finally becomes a well respected and law abiding business entrepreneur - which he still is today. Read more DRUM A bewitchingly evocative chronicle of South Africa in the 1950s, Drum depicts the blithe interracial hedonism of Sophiatown as it becomes aware of the insidious escalation of Apartheid. Read the director's statement FAITH LIKE POTATOES Frank Rautenbach leads a strong cast as Angus Buchan, a Zambian farmer of Scottish heritage, who leaves his farm in the midst of political unrest and racially charged land reclaims and travels south with his family to start a better life in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Read an interview with Frank Rautenbach Read an interview with Regardt van den Bergh Visit the website FAITH'S CORNER Directed by Darrell James Roodt and starring Leleti Khumalo follows Faith and her two young sons Siyabonga and Lucky who live on the streets of modern day Johannesburg. With the little money she makes she tries to raise her children as best as she can though they often go to sleep hungry and scared. Faith must not only combat the apathy of the wealthy elite that pass her everyday but also the distrust and danger of the locals. Read more FINDING LENNY This local comedy directed by Neal Sundstrom follows a series of misfortunes that befall its lead character, Lenny, (played by Barry Hilton) and his triumphant return to happiness when circumstances (and soccer) collide to provide him with some interesting new options in life. Dubbed 'a comedy with balls', Finding Lenny is a big screen debut for well-known South African comedian, Barry Hilton (also known as The Cousin). Hilton is joined by a cast that includes Russell Savadier, Yule Masiteng and Catriona Andrew, with cameo performances by Mark Fish and Phil Masinga as themselves.. Read more THE FLYER The uplifting story of a young coloured kid saved from the mean streets of Cape Town by an old trapeze great, and indoctrinated into a gravity-defying world - trapeze flying! Read more FOOTSKATING 101 Vince, a poor miner's son, sets out to save his small town from exploding, his family home from the government, and his granny's lungs, all by inventing the new extreme sport of footskating... which is skateboarding for those who can't really afford a board. Read more FORGIVENESS In this film, we take a non-manipulative, you might say necessary 3rd world approach to camera, light and composition and storytelling - We promote the use of simple character and story development and avoid where we can, the use of artifice to heighten dramatic effect. Read more CONFESSIONS OF A GAMBLER 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). Read more GUMS AND NOSES When a colleague has a nervous breakdown, aimless James is unwittingly launched into the cutthroat, fickle, false and highly pressured career as an advertising creative. Desperately unsure and insecure, James is terrified of his new boss, Mike, who constantly challenges him to present unique, "award winning" ideas. Paralysed by fear, James' cannot deliver and so he experiments with drugs. When the inspiration begins to flood through him his boss is pleased, his clients are pleased and his bank manager is ecstatic.Directed by Craig Freimond, starring: Anthony Coleman, Lionel Newton, Tony Kgogore, Faye Peters, Sean Taylor HANSIE South Africa is poised for what is to be one of the biggest local movies ever produced in this country. The man behind the big budget film HANSIE, about the dramatic life of former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronjé, is none other than Hansie's older brother Frans Cronjé. After the success of his first movie, Faith like Potatoes, in 2006, Frans's production company Global Creative Studios (GCS) is making its mark internationally as a production company committed to "telling stories that inspire". Read more HEAVEN'S HERDS In telling the story of the Nguni cattle and people, the film investigates controversial issues, says director James Hersov. "Modernity is juxtaposed with tradition around questions such as cattle as bride wealth, polygamy, the status of women, stick-fighting and Zulu masculinity, HIV/Aids, the value of virginity, cattle rustling, witchcraft and the ceremonial animal killing," he says. Read More HIDDEN HEART Hidden Heart is a film about two men, glamour, injustice and uprising. Cape Town 1967: Christian Barnard transplanted the first human heart in a country where racial segregation was entrenched as nowhere else in the world. But behind him stood an unknown black man: Hamilton Naki. Read more HITCHHIKER Filled with romance, jealousy, passion, old money and a bit of international crime to boot, HITCHHIKER follows two parallel love stories from the Highveld bush to the winelands of Stellenbosch. Read more HOND SE DINGES *** A unresolved murder. A lost diamond. A radio interview that digs up a few real and imagined skeletons. A guilty conscience. This reignites the conflict between the De Langes and Coetsees. It gets out of hand. And that over dinges diamonds women. or both. In Afrikaans with English subtitles. Go behind the scenes Read an interview with producer-writer-director Johan Heyns and screenwriter Johann Potgieter IN GOD'S COUNTRY Based on a short story written by Dirk Fourie, with the screenplay adapted by Dirk Fourie and Daniel Dercksen, the short film was co-produced by The Writing Studio and provided an exciting training opportunity for future filmmakers. When a seashell is uncovered on a farm it leads a young man to redemption and acceptance and forces him to reconcile with his fragmented family. It was selected to be included in competition for the 6th Apollo Film Festival in Victoria West.Read more INGRID JONKER: HER LIVES & TIME Documentary which includes Sir Laurens van der Post's last interview before he died in 1997 and Jan Rabie's final interview before he succumbed to Alzheimer's disease. Narrated by Marius Weyer, the documentary also includes an unprecedented access to Ingrid Jonker's diaries, private letters, home recordings and unpublished photographs, as well as the first public disclosure of Jack Cope's diaries.Read more IN MY COUNTRY An African-American journalist, Langston arrives to cover South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission with preconceived ideas. Anna is an Afrikaans poet. Closeted from the insidious machinations of Apartheid, she is deeply shocked and horrified by the dissolute cruelty of her fellow citizens. of the people who live through them. Go behind the scenes. Read More INTONGA The heart warming story of Siviwe, a young man from Fort Beaufort, and his fight for acceptance when he and his mother move to the city after his father dies. This stick fighter from Fort Beaufort is confronted by a local champion boxer "Knuckles", after his girlfriend Thando shows too much interest in Siviwe. Read more IZULU LAMI/ MY SECRET SKY A young girl and her little brother leave their rural homestead for the city when they are orphaned, and meet up with a gang of street kids. Hoping to fulfil their mother's dream, in the end they find their own. Read more JERUSALEMA explores the will of the entrepreneurial spirit to assert itself in the face of degradation and decay. It looks at how law and order are viewed in a country that's deeply suspicious of the police. A legacy not easily shorn after so much pain. Chronicling the rise to power of a self made millionaire from the slums of Soweto, the film shows how crime has come to pay in the new South Africa. Freedom is slavery, change is opportunity and property is theft. Welcome to the Promised Land… Read more JOZI James is a successful comedy writer. There is only one small problem, he lives in Johannesburg and has completely and utterly lost his sense of humour. Crime, politics, pessimism and feather duster salesmen have invaded every cell of his body causing him to lose the very spark of humour which enables him to earn his living. Written and directed by Craig Freimond. Read more KARATE KALLIE - DIE HELE MOVIE Being the new kid at school? Well it can be difficult to fit in - especially if it is clear you probably didn't fit in at your previous school either. Add a rather odd psychotic bully and your prospects become more than frightening. Written and directed by Wimpie van der Merwe. Read more MAMA JACK Leon Schuster's first major motion picture since that overwhelming success and, like Mr Bones, a break-away from the candid camera style. Read more MAX AND MONA Max and Mona is a rare treat; an entertaining, perfectly balanced combination of grief, love, and death all bound up in an inimitable African comedy. Max is the treasure of his village. Though still young, he has inherited an extraordinary gift as a professional mourner. Read more MORE THAN JUST A GAME The dramatic and inspiring story of organised soccer played among prisoners on Robben Island from 1966 to the mid 1970's. This documentary is told through the stories of five former prisoners.: Mark Shinners, Anthony Suze, Lizo Sitoto, Sedick Isaacs and Marcus Solomon (all of whom were at the press conference). The film tells the story of how political activists sent to Robben Island in the 1960s rise above their incarceration by creating a football league, the Makana Football Association, and find an outlet for their passion and commitment to discipline through soccer. Director: Junaid Ahmed. Read more MR.BONES 2: BACK FROM THE PAST The eagerly await sequel. Read more NUMBER 10 A human triumph story chronicling the life of a provincial rugby player as he tries to earn a place on the national team. We follow James (Colin Moss) as he battles the toll that the punishing sport of professional rugby is taking on his body as well as the difficult relationship with his estranged father who is appointed as his Provincial coach. The audience will share James' joys and setbacks and experience the pressures a professional athlete is exposed to. They will feel his frustrations and celebrate his victories. Supporting Colin is South Africa's music superstar, Mandoza. Mandoza who also will be contributing musically to the soundtrack of the film. It is directed by Darrell Roodt OH, SHUKS I'M GATVOL "Oh Schucks, I'm Gatvol!" combines Leon Schuster's greatest strengths - that of a great storyteller and his special talent for candid camera. Few South African filmmakers are as in touch with South Africa's collective funny bone as what Leon Schuster is. With Gatvol, he has created a thoroughly contemporary comedy that probes the surface of our angst-ridden South African society, exposing our fears as well as the irritations that fill column inches in daily newspapers and keep radio talk shows alive. Read more OIL ON WATER A deeply affecting, beautiful film about loss and personal change. It traces five months in the life of an artist, Max and his girlfriend, Anna as he begins experiencing strange symptoms and how the idyllic life that they have led up to that point begins to disintegrate, tearing them apart. The aim of the film, according to Producer Elle Matthews, is to uncover one of the world's most heartbreaking and afflictive secrets - the effects of schizophrenia on those who suffer from it, and on those who love and live with them. Read more OUMA SE SLIM KIND The first Afrikaans language feature film for cinema release since Paljas. Told by young Afrikaans voices this landmark production aims to invigorate the South African Afrikaans film industry. Originally a short film, Ouma Se Slim Kind, was well received at the Toronto, Africa in picture, Chicago, Manchester and several other European film festivals. It tells the triumphant story of a young mentally handicapped boy who transforms the fabric of his society, and emerges as a heroic icon. The story plays off in the 1940's and unfolds against the often harsh, yet strikingly beautiful rural South African landscapeRead more POENA IS KONING The first feature film on high definition digital for director/producer team of brothers Willie and Pieter Esterhuizen. Read more PREY follows an American family who travel to Africa for their dream holiday. During their drive in a game reserve they get lost in a maze of dirt roads. While driving around to find their way, they encounter a pride of persistent and very hungry lions which begin to stalk them. The family desperately tries to outwit the lions, marking the beginning of their African nightmare.Director: Darrell James Roodt; PROMISED LAND Bringing Promised Land to screen has been a long and hard-fought battle for producer Moonyeenn Lee who acquired the rights to Schoeman's acclaimed novel, "Na Die Geliefcle Land," in the late 80's. Lee met Jason Xenopoulos prior to his departure for New York University (NYLI) to study for a Masters in Film, and introduced him to the book. He set about adapting the novel whilst in his third year at NYU and on his return to South Africa, producer David Wicht entered the frame and they began to set up the film. Read more PROTEUS Based on a true story, Proteus is set in South Africa in the eighteenth century. A young Khoi herder, Claas Blank, is arrested and imprisoned for attempting to retrieve cattle taken by white colonizers. Unjustly convicted of theft, he is sentenced to hard labour on Robben Island, Cape Town's penal colony. Read more RAINBOW SKELLUMS Security guards, pizza delivery men, motorists, a bride, restaurant owners, taxi passengers, businessmen and Kurt Darren 'bites the dust'' in the new candid camera movie Rainbow Skellums. Read more RUNNING RIOT The new comedy feature starring Bill Flynn (Heel Against the Head), Paul Slabolepszy (Heel Against the Head) and Vanessa Harris will hit local screens in December 2006. The feature is based on the original stage play by award winning playwright Paul Slabolepszy and is directed by Koos Roets (Paljas) and is produced by Ster Kinekor Pictures and Andre Scholtz in association with Forecast Investments. The country's biggest rugby supporters, Crispin (Slabolepszy) and Tjokkie (Flynn) set their sights on the Comrades Marathon in this hilarious comedy. When Crispin is forced to accept a challenge to run the Comrades, the stage is set for yet another adventure and the hapless Tjokkie has his hands full preparing an out of shape Crispin for the race of a lifetime. SARAFINA! The Musical Drama follows a young girl, Sarafina (Leleti Khumalo), who, like other young students, adopted a campaign of resistance against the police presence in their schools. She imagines the support of her role-model, Nelson Mandela - who is her inspiration to survive - and her rebellious history teacher, Mary (Whoopi Goldberg) - who encourages the children to be proud of who they are, and to be aware of the political forces that rule their lives. Read more SKIN Ten year-old Sandra is distinctly African looking. Her parents, Abraham and Sannie, are white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. They are shopkeepers in a remote area of the Eastern Transvaal and, despite Sandra's mixed-race appearance, have lovingly brought her up as their 'white' little girl. Skin, was shot in and around Johannesburg from September to November 2007 and co-produced with Margaret Matheson (Bard Entertainments, UK) and Genevieve Hofmeyr (Moonlighting Films, RSA). It stars Sophie Okonedo (Oscar-nominee for Hotel Rwanda and Golden Globe nominee for Tsunami, The Aftermath) Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano), Alice Krige (Chariots of Fire, Star Trek), Tony Kgoroge (Hotel Rwanda, Hijack Stories) and newcomer Ella Ramangwane. Read more SOLDIERS OF THE ROCK Vuyo (Vuyo Dabula), a young black economics graduate decides to do some soul searching by doing a vacation stint at the gold-mine in which his father was crushed to death by a rock-fall-the father which he hadn't seen or heard from for over 20 years ,but the father who had provided the funding for his son's schooling and university training. Read the full story SON OF MAN Son of Man was filmed in the township of Khayelitsha and on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. This new and adventurous interpretation of the New Testament was filmed by Mark Dornford-May in collaboration with the pioneering Dimpho Di Kopane theatre troupe and choir network. Read more SOPHIATOWN It celebrates the great popular jazz music of the 1950's in South Africa, a rich tradition deserving international attention. Director Pascale Lamche, traces the music, uncovers the artists who created it and the unique culture in which it thrived, concentrated in Sophiatown, Johannesburg's own Harlem, which fuelled by liberation politics until its destruction by the Apartheid regime. Go behind the scenes and discover the music of Sophiatown STORY OF AN AFRICAN FARM Often hailed as the Bible of contemporary feminists and a cause celebre when it appeared in London, "The Story of an African Farm" transformed the shape and course of the late-Victorian novel. Read more THREE CIGARETTES "Three Cigarettes, testifies to what is possible when a group of young filmmakers get together and decide to make a film."(Stephen de Villiers, the Writer/Producer/Director of Three Cigarettes.) Read more 34 SOUTH A locally made road-movie about sex, drugs and ballroom dancing in the New South Africa. It tells of Frank September and his mates, who are desperate to leave Cape Town and get to Jo'burg. Unfortunately, they have no money, no transport and no contacts in The City of Gold. Not put off by mere technicalities, the crew set out on the ride of their lives. Read more TORNADO AND THE KALAHARI HORSE WHISPERER Tornado is a true life story of patience, endurance and passion. Directed by Regardt van den Bergh, the picture tells the story of two damaged souls: Pierre, a depressed and damaged young man and Tornado, an emotionally tormented horse. Read more TRIOMF After six years of hard slogging, acclaimed Zimbabwean film director and novelist Michael Raeburn is finally about to start shooting the film version of Marlene van Niekerk's award-winning novel Triomf. Read more TSOTSI Written and directed by Gavin Hood, and based on the novel by Athol Fugard, marks the first South African film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. It traces the last six days in the lonely, violent life of a ruthless, young gang leader, who gradually rediscovers his humanity, dignity and capacity to love through having to take care of a baby accidentally kidnapped during a car hijacking. Go behind the scenes uMALUSI An introspective riches to rags drama about a spoilt brat, Malusi Mati (Sivu Nobongoza) who has to learn life's lessons the hard way. Read more VAATJIE SIEN SY GAT! a brand new Afrikaans comedy written and directed by Willie Esterhuizen. It is a spin off from "Poena is Koning" but not a Poena 2. Read more WHITE LION The adventurous journey of a rare white lion cub, who rises above many challenges to become one of the most powerful and revered lions in all of Africa. Read more WHITE WEDDING *** Rapulana Seiphemo and Kenneth Nkosi, the stars of the highly rated movie Jerusalema, have joined forces as writers, producers and actors - something both are doing for the first time in their careers. The White Wedding marks the directorial debut of Jan Turner. Read more YESTERDAY "I've been making a lot of American genre films for the last few years," says director James Darrell Roodt. "And realizing all the time that's not really where my heart is. My heart is with South Africa--in fact, more than ever before and we should be telling our own stories." Read more ZULU LOVE LETTER A keen and insightful psychological drama, Zulu Love Letter presents the desperate and emotional journey of two mothers searching for their daughters. Director - writer Ramadan Suleman talks about Zulu Love Letter HOME
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