SA film goes to the Oscars
2005-01-26 10:07
Cape Town - Local film Yesterday has been nominated for a 2005 Academy Award in the category Best Foreign Language Picture.
Written and directed by veteran director Darrell James Roodt (Place Of Weeping, The Stick, Sarafina!, Cry, The Beloved Country), Yesterday features an all South African cast and stars Leleti Khumalo of Sarafina! fame, Kenneth Kambule (Backstage, Generations) and newcomer Lihle Mvelase.
The production of Yesterday saw key South African film industry players in Videovision Entertainment, M-Net and The National Film And Video Foundation, team up with the Nelson Mandela Foundation to produce the first-ever commercial isiZulu feature film.
"Truly inspiring" (Nelson Mandela), "powerful" (Archbishop Desmond Tutu) and "resonating with power" (Oprah Winfrey), Yesterday is a story of courage, compassion and hope.
Set in the rolling hills of Zululand, it follows the life of an illiterate Zulu woman and mother named Yesterday who contracts HIV/Aids from her migrant husband worker who refuses to accept this and leaves her.
Yesterday is left to fend for herself and her young daughter, Beauty, hoping that she will survive long enough to see her child go to school.
The film recently scooped the Best Film award at India's Pune International Film Festival and had fantastic reactions at the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals.
To download the trailer, read reviews, find out more about the film and meet the cast, visit Yesterday's official website.
Or book your tickets online now.