The all new comedy drama, Baby Mamas, is coming soon to SA Cinemas, after it featured at the Durban International Film Festival.

Set in Johannesburg, Baby Mamas revolves around the daily lives, loves and drama of four professional women who are all in different stages of their own real-life baby mama drama. Sharing similar experiences, a sisterhood develops among these four very different women, they find in each other the strength and courage it will take to navigate the treacherous waters of the relationships, good and bad, that they have with the men in their lives.

The film is written and directed by Stephina Zwane who also wrote and directed feature film; Love and Kwaito. Zwane co-produced Baby Mamas with Salamina Mosese, under their production company, Sorele Media. The SAFTA winning actress, Mosese is also a lead in Baby Mamas along with sought-after actresses Kay Smith, Thembisa Mdoda and Dineo Ranaka.

Having travelled the world to cities such as New York, the African Premiere is a critical milestone for any film, as it makes the journey toward its local country release. The film promises to make you laugh, cry and show you a different side to modern-day Baby Mamas.

As part of the Emerging Black Filmmaker’s Fund, the film is set to release across cinemas in South Africa on October 12^th 2018.

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South African film ‘Inxeba’ (known internationally as ‘The Wound’) has won the Best Film Award in the International New Talent Competition, at the Taipei Film Festival, which runs from 29 June to 15 July. The festival screens 160 films from more than 40 countries to around 100 000 visitors each year and is recognised as the most influential showcase of international cinema in Taiwan.

This is a latest in a string of awards for the film, which explores tradition and masculinity, and the clash between age-old rituals and modernity. Described by Variety magazine as “a milestone in South African cinema”, the film stars musician and novelist Nakhane Touré as Xolani, a lonely factory worker who joins the men of his community in the mountains of the Eastern Cape to initiate a group of teenage boys into manhood. When Kwanda (Niza Jay Ncoyini), a defiant initiate from the city, discovers his mentor’s secret, Xolani’s entire existence begins to unravel.

At Cinema Jove, the Valencia International Film Festival, held in Spain from 23 June to 1 July, ‘Inxeba’ was awarded the Luna de Valencia for Best Feature Film, as well as the Best Actor Award for Nakhane Touré.

At one of the world’s longest-running film festivals, the Sydney Film Festival, held from 7 to 18 June, ‘Inxeba’ won the Audience Award for Best Feature, with ScreenDaily describing it as “a measured consideration of class, race, self-loathing and self-assertion”.

At the 41st Frameline, San Francisco’s international film festival, held from 15 to 25 June and where 147 films were screened, ‘Inxeba’ won the First Feature Award.

Shortly before that, it was awarded the prize for Best Feature Film at the 32nd Lovers Film Festival, an LGBTQI festival held in Turin, Italy from 15 to 20 June.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubSlj-G4P6I&t=3s

In April, the film received the Jury Prize for Best Narrative at the 19^th annual Sarasota Film Festival in Florida, in the US. The festival is known as a world-class platform for thought-provoking films from some of the best known and emerging independent filmmakers. At the MOOOV International Film held in March 2017, in Belgium, it garnered a Special Mention.

‘Inxeba’, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and later opened Berlinale Panorama, was a 2014 Durban FilmMart project. This initial pitch enabled the team behind it to obtain funding from a number of international financiers, resulting in a co-production between South Africa, France, Germany and The Netherlands.

According to a Sundance review, “John Trengove’s hard-edged but beautifully wrought study of clashing Xhosa models of masculinity will be an eye-opener to outsiders — and some South Africans too.”

‘Inxeba’ will have its African premiere in competition at the Durban International Film Festival (13 to 23 July), screening at The Playhouse on 14 July.

‘Inxeba’ is the first feature from writer-director John Trengove, and is co-written by Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana and Malusi Bengu. The Xhosa initiation ritual which forms the landscape of the film is also the subject of ‘Inxeba’ co-writer Mgqolozana’s novel, ‘A Man Who Is Not a Man’.

‘Inxeba’ will continue to travel around the world, having been sold to 19 countries for theatrical release thus far, and will be distributed in South Africa by Indigenous Film Distribution.

“The release strategy for South Africa ensures that the film will qualify as a strong contender to represent the country in the Foreign Language Film nominations for the 2018 Oscars,” says Helen Kuun, MD of Indigenous Film Distribution. “We are excited about ‘Inxeba’ as it is an authentic South African story that has gained traction globally.”

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DIS EK, ANNA TO DEBUT AT DIFF 2015

Palama Productions will debut their latest feature film Dis ek, Anna at the Durban International Film Festival this year.  Based on the fictionalised autobiographical best-sellers Dis ek, Anna and Die Staat teen Anna Bruwer by Anchien Troskie, written under the pseudonym Elbie Lötter, and adapted for screen by Tertius Kapp, the film is produced by Niel van Deventer (Suurlemoen, Anderkant Gister) and directed by Sara Blecher (Ayanda, Otelo Burning). 

The film is a harrowing, but ultimately uplifting story of a young woman who finds the strength to pick up the pieces of her shattered world and forge a new life.  Anna Bruwer is sexually abused by her stepfather over a period of 8 years.  Unable confide in anyone, she is rendered voiceless and inhabits a shadow world of shame, foreboding and secrecy, until she is finally able to break free from her tormentor.

Dis ek, Anna stars Charlenè Brouwer (Vrou Soek Boer, Erfsondes, Binnelanders) in the title role with Marius Weyers (Faan se Trein, Die Wonderwerker), Nicola Hanekom (Hollywood in My Huis, Faan se Trein), Izel Bezuidenhout (Agent 2000), Morné Visser (Long Walk to Freedom, Skoonheid), Eduan van Jaarsveldt (Fanie Fourie’s Lobola,Long Walk to Freedom) and Drikus Volschenk (Long Walk to Freedom, Skoonheid).  Rounding out the cast is Dawid Minnaar, Elize Cawood, Hykie Berg, Kara van der Merwe and Fezile Mpela.

“Bringing this film to screen has been a labour of love,” says producer Niel van Deventer.  “It is very important to me to find projects that have the potential to become films that transcend the borders of our language and country.  Anna is certainly such a story.”

“We are thrilled to have Dis ek, Anna as part of our slate of films for 2015.  It is a remarkable film that raises the bar in terms of quality and performance,” says Driki van Zyl, General Manager: Times Media Films. “

Times Media Films will release Dis ek, Anna limited release on 18 September before the official opening at cinemas nationally on 23 October 2015.

TIMES MEDIA FILMS INITIATE PROCESS WITH FPB TO REVIEW DIS EK, ANNA CLASSIFICATION

Times Media Films, distributor of the Afrikaans language feature film, Dis ek, Anna has initiated the process with the Film Publication Board (FPB) to review the earlier classification imposed on the film.  This was the first viewing by the FPB and geared towards clearing the film for screening at the Durban International Film Festival in July.  The film was given an 18L (SV) classification. 

The final music score and sync on the film has now been completed as well as the addition of information cards to the film’s end credits and the FPB has requested a second classification session of the final version of the film.  In early September, a new classification committee will watch the film and make its recommendations. 

Dis ek, Anna is produced by Niel van Deventer of Palama Productions, helmed by Sara Blecher and stars Charlené Brouwer in the title role, along with Marius Weyers, Nicola Hanekom, newcomer Izel Bezuidenhout as the young Anna, Morné Visser, Eduan van Jaarsveldt, Drikus Volschenk, Ilse Klink, Elton Andrew, Hykie Berg and Elize Cawood. 

The film is based on the best-selling fictionalised autobiographical novels Ek, Anna and Die Staat teen Anna Bruwer by Anchien Troskie written under the pseudonym Elbie Lötter and describes the sexual abuse suffered by young Anna Bruwer at the hands of her stepfather from the age of 12.  While Blecher has handled the rape scenes with great sensitivity, she does not shy away from showing the impact that the abuse has on the young Anna.  “The whole point of the film is expose the damage that sexual abuse causes.  I think that it is important that this film be made accessible to 16 year olds, because they are a vulnerable age group and we have to let them know that they are not alone and they do not need to endure abuse”, says Blecher.

Van Deventer’s primary reason for making the film was to address the rampant abuse suffered by children in South Africa and offer hope to victims.  “This is a taboo subject that nobody wants to talk about, but we cannot simply ignore the situation while more and more girls and boys are abused, often by people known to them.  If this film can make a difference to just one victim or create a greater awareness of sexual abuse, we would have succeeded”.

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