Prolific South African production company/ distributor Videovision Entertainment (Yesterday, More Than Just A Game, Mr Bones) has acquired of some of the most hyped films at the Cannes Film Festival, including Adoration (directed by Oscar nominee Atom Egoyan), which screens “in competition’ at Cannes on 22 May.
“We are delighted to have acquired Adoration from Maximum Films prior to its Cannes premiere. Our previous Atom Egoyan acquisitions for South Africa are Where The Truth Lies and The Sweet Hereafter, which were also Cannes Film Festival premieres.’
Videovision Entertainment has also acquired Two Lovers, The Burning Plain, and The Road from 29229 International, and The Wrestler from Wild Bunch. These films, as well as Adoration, will be released by Videovision Entertainment through United Pictures in early 2009. Both The Burning Plain and The Road star South African Oscar winner Charlize Theron.
Adoration stars Scott Speedman, Rachel Blanchard and Arsinee Khanjian. It tracks a teenager who translates a news item on terrorism from French to English and is inspired to take the story online as his own, using the lives of his family members as a backdrop.
Two Lovers, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow and directed by James Gray (We Own The Night) has been selected to screen “in competition’ in Cannes on 19 May. It follows a wayward 30-something’s life being turned upside down when he has to choose between a gorgeous, but wild neighbour and the safe girl next door.
The Burning Plain explores the mysterious connection between several characters separated by time and space, who help each other find redemption, forgiveness and love. The film stars Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger and is written and directed by Guillermo Arriaga (the writer of Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel).
The Road tells the story of a father and son trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world and is based on the 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men). The film stars Viggo Mortensen, Robert Duvall and Charlize Theron and is directed by John Hillcoat (The Proposition).
Starring Mickey Rourke, Evan Rachel Wood and Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler is directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream). The film follows a once hugely successful professional wrestler in the late 1980s, Randy “The Ram’ Robinson now ekes out a living performing for diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centres around New Jersey. Estranged from his daughter, unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show, the adrenalin rush of combat and the adoration of his remaining fans.
Singh added, “Although The Road, Burning Plain and The Wrestler are not yet complete, we were very impressed with the selected scenes we viewed and immediately acquired the films for distribution in South Africa.’
