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'Holding thumbs' for SA Oscar
26/01/2005 21:23 - (SA)
Pretoria - Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan on Wednesday congratulated Yesterday, about Aids, which has earned an Academy Award nomination.
He said the "powerful performance" of actress Leleti Khumalo as a rural African woman helped offer understanding to the many layers of the HIV/Aids pandemic.
"We are hopeful that this will be the first of many to come for this trail-blazing team led by producer Anant Singh, director Darrell James Roodt, and Khumalo," he said in a statement.
Jordan further congratulated Roodt's decision to film in isiZulu.
"(It) has a special significance that opens new avenues to the future of film-making in South Africa.
"It underscores the potential of the African languages to communicate across the barriers of culture and geography.
"Even though the story is uniquely South African, it articulates a message about humanity which has universal resonance."
Yesterday was among 49 non-English language films that qualified for the Oscars.
The Democratic Alliance said the nomination provided a "wonderful boost to an extremely specialised industry".
Arts and culture spokesperson Dianne Kohler-Barnard said the industry deserved to be moved off the governmental back-burner and "on to the high priority hot plate".
"Durban Producer Anant Singh is the sort of person who will, I have no doubt, receive an Oscar one day for his contribution to the film industry," she said.
"I'll be holding my breath and both thumbs for them all at the Oscars on the February 27."
- SAPA
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South Africa
