SA film in line for US award
2004-12-01 14:47
Cape Town - The groundbreaking isiZulu feature film, Yesterday, has been nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Foreign Film.
The Independent Spirit Awards - regarded as the art-house version of the Oscars - are held annually under the auspices of the Independent Film Project (IFP).
The United States based organisation is dedicated to providing resources, information and avenues of communication for its membership of independent filmmakers.
The Independent Spirit Awards Ceremony will be held on February 26 in Santa Monica, California. In September, Yesterday was selected to be South Africa's official entry for Oscar Consideration in the 77th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language category.
Yesterday is the first South African film to be nominated and it is the first time that a film has been nominated without having a confirmed release date in the United States.
Other films nominated for the Best Foreign Film Independent Spirit Award are the Spanish films, Bad Education, directed by Pedro Almodovar and The Sea Inside directed by Alejandro Amenabar; the South Korean film, Oasis, directed by Lee Chang-Dong and the French film, Red Lights directed by Cedric Kahn.
"We are delighted with the nomination of Yesterday in the Best Foreign Film category of the IFP Independent Spirit Awards. We are thrilled to be the first South African film to have received a Spirit Award Nomination.
"The nomination has come as a complete surprise as Yesterday has not been released in North America yet. We hope that this nomination is the beginning of a successful Golden Globe and Oscar campaign for Yesterday," producer Anant Singh said.