'We are overwhelmed'
2006-03-15 13:59
Cape Town - It was a real red carpet event - the moment Tsotsi director Gavin Hood and members of the cast arrived at a Cape Town hotel for a local press conference - with an actual red runner rolled out over the steps.
The Oscar they won last week in the Best Foreign Language Film category in Los Angeles was plucked from a wine cooler bag, prompting everyone to burst out laughing.
"I'm really, really happy, of course, and it hasn't completely sunk in yet," admitted Hood later while speaking to the media about the movie's phenomenal success. Scooping accolades and released all over the world, the movie about a young gangster's journey from a life of violence to searching for redemption and forgiveness, has got a life of its own, doing "far better than we'd hoped", said Hood.
He said he first realised what a hit Tsotsi would be in September 2005 at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film won the People's Choice Award.
'Thought it was a mistake'
"It hit me like a freight train. My knees went weak, I thought it was a mistake!" Since then, there has been hardly a moment when the director and cast have not been travelling all over the world to promote the film.
The film is based on the novel by Athol Fugard although the script was adapted to the present day and not the original Sophiatown of the 1950s. This was partly a budgetary decision but also because the film relates so well to present day issues in post-Apartheid SA.
Hood admits he was surprised by the film's success but attributes this to how easily people are able to identify with the characters and the story, which is told in a non-judgemental way. He says the film speaks to people of different backgrounds and tells a universal story that could have been set in any city.
To this end, a black family was cleverly chosen as the victims of the hijacking-gone-wrong, to avoid the movie being seen in terms of race. He says SA is often mistakenly seen as a one issue country, when there are in fact many issues to address.
'Overwhelmingly positive'
He didn't want to portray stereotypes but wanted to tell stories that challenged people into thinking about their own lives and that they could identify with. He believed the film was able to inspire and uplift people and said the response to Tsotsi has been overwhelming positive.
Presley Chweneyagae, whose riveting performance was credited largely for the film's success, admitted that filming Tsotsi was often gruelling. Half of the film was shot at night and in winter as well. He had to sleep during the day and doing draining emotional scenes was exhausting.
Terry Pheto, the beautiful actress playing the part of Miriam, said she was nervous doing her first film, but added that the crew was very supportive. She said her part - of a poor, single mother trying to raise a child on her own - was one that most women could relate to.
Though initially wanting to be a soccer player, Chweneyagae said his mother dragged him to drama classes, leading to a career of acting, and eventually Tsotsi.
But it all paid off, with him hitting the big time now and offers coming from Hollywood for US parts. But when asked about them he laughed coyly like a big star and said he "couldn't talk about it yet".
Since opening on the 3rd of February, Tsotsi has grossed over R4m in SA and has already proven itself a box office hit. It has also done extremely well in American cinemas, where it outperformed other so-called independent films during its opening week. Athol Fugard was delighted with the film version of his book and has said that he thinks the film will be seen as one of the best to come out of SA
On Thursday 16 March, the Tsotsi director and cast will participate in a street parade through the city centre of Cape Town and ending at the Civic Centre where they hope to see city fans.