SA pins hopes on Tsotsi
2005-09-14 07:59
Cape Town - Local film Tsotsi, South Africa's official entry for the 2006 Academy Awards, will be screened as part of the official selection at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival.
Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood, is the first film in more than seven years to win both the Standard Life Audience Award for most popular film, and the Michael Powell Award for Best Film at the 58th Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) in August.
"Toronto is the truest test of any film's prospects because the festival is about audience reception," said Helen Kuun of Ster-Kinekor Distribution Marketing.
"The festival is for people who love cinema, so this will be a key test for Tsotsi. Given its reception so far, and its selection as South Africa's entry for the Oscars, we are confident it will do South Africa proud."
"For a film to be selected and win international awards there is no room for mediocrity in any department. I am enormously proud of the entire cast and crew of Tsotsi," said director Hood.
Stiff competition
Tsotsi stars Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Zola, Kenneth Nkosi, Mothusi Magano, Rapulana Seipemo and Zenzo Ngqobe among others.
The film faces some stiff competition in Toronto. Screenwriter David Ayer (Training Day, S.W.A.T.) is raising the curtain on his directorial debut, Harsh Times, which stars Christian Bale (Batman Begins) and Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under).
Other top titles include Joshua Michael Stern's Neverwas; Adam Rapp's Winter Passing, starring Zooey Deschanel, Will Ferrell, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan; Little Fish with Cate Blanchett; Bart Freundlich's Trust the Man; Dave Chappelle's Block Party, directed by Michel Gondry; and Guy Ritchie's latest, Revolver, starring current box office star Jason Statham (Transporter 2).
Based on the only novel written by Athol Fugard, Tsotsi follows the story of a young boy orphaned at the age of nine and forced to claw his way to adulthood alone in the sprawling townships of Johannesburg.
In the violent world he inhabits, Tsotsi lives forever in the moment. An impromptu hijacking resulting in the accidental kidnapping of an infant forces him to confront his own humanity. The film is an emotive journey in which the central character learns to confront the demons of his past while also coming to terms with the reality of his own destiny.
Ster-Kinekor will be releasing Tsotsi in South Africa on February 3 2006. In order for the film to meet the Academy's criteria for entry, this release will be preceded by a weeklong commercial run at Cinema Nouveau Rosebank screened by Jameson's from September 16 this year.