Ster-Kinekor Select, the new distribution arm of Ster-Kinekor Theatres (SKT), was originated from the demand in the South African market for film titles that are not always picked up by the major distributors. It aims to source the world’s best independent cinema for exclusive release on SKT screens.
Says Ster-Kinekor Select acquisitions executive Paul Burton: “Our intention is to complement the market with titles ranging from kids’ product such as Antonio Banderas’ Missing Lynx, to the espionage thriller Traitor, to Pauly Shore’s mockumentary, Adopted. The latter will have its world premiere on the SKT circuit, before it goes on worldwide release.”
Ster-Kinekor Select also has a few highly anticipated Cinema Nouveau-titles lined up – such as Phedre, The Audition, Spirit of the Marathon, and recent Oscar-winner, Departures.
Produced by Antonio Banderas, Missing Lynx (releases 12 June 2009) chronicles the misadventures of a group of animals as they avoid being kidnapped by an unscrupulous hunter hired by a benevolent millionaire, Noah. But even the most experienced hunter will face endless problems trying to capture tje animal heroes led by Felix, a jinxed lynx who ultimately prevails by commanding a rag tag bunch of brave animals. The hunter and the preys confront each other in this exciting game of survival, friendship and heroism.
Academy Award-nominee Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) stars alongside Guy Pearce (LA Confidential) in the taut international thriller Traitor (releases 19 June 2009), set in the treacherous world of covert counter-espionage operations. When FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former US Special Operations officer Samir Horn (Cheadle). A mysterious figure with a complex web of international connections, Horn has a knack for emerging on the scene just as a major operation goes down and disappearing before the authorities can question him. Traitor is the new film from the director of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, Jeffrey Nachmanoff.
Comedy star Pauly Shore returns with the politically incorrect and controversial Adopted (releases 24 July 2009). For hundreds of years, Africa has existed in a state of despair. Famine, civil wars and rampant disease have left the continent without hope, but for the efforts of Western do-gooders. At first, they arrived with food, bibles and the magic of penicillin; more recently they have hosted rock concerts and sent plane loads of grain. And in the last decade of the 20th century they arrived and took babies home with them. First there was Angelina, then Madonna, and now… Pauly Shore!
Phedre (two shows only on 15 & 23 July at 8pm) is taken from the live performances presented at the National Theatre in London. This riveting drama follows the story of a woman consumed by an uncontrollable passion for her young stepson and believing Theseus, her absent husband, to be dead. She confesses her darkest desires and enters the world of nightmare. When Theseus returns, alive and well, Phèdre, fearing exposure, accuses her stepson of rape. The result is carnage. Acclaimed Oscar-winner Helen Mirren (The Queen) takes the title role in this savage play by Jean Racine, translated into muscular free verse by the late Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes;
The Audition (releases 24 July) is a masterfully filmed documentary going behind the scenes during the final weeks of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a coveted event where only five to six of the thousands of talented entrants will win $15,000, a chance to perform on the Metropolitan Opera’s stage, and the possibility of launching an operatic career;
Human Contract (releases 7 August), written and directed by Jada Pinkett Smith, follows a successful corporate type harbouring a deep, dark secret. He befriends a free-spirited stranger who encourages him to ditch his stuffy lifestyle and live life in reckless abandon.
Spirit of the Marathon (releases 21 August) is an epic movie chronicling Kenyan runner Daniel Njenga participating in the 30th running of the Chicago Marathon. This film is the winner of the Audience Choice Award 2007 at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Departures (releases 6 November) – this 2008 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film tells the gripping story of an unemployed cellist, who takes the job of preparing the dead for funerals.
All Ster-Kinekor Select releases will be screened exclusively at SKT and Cinema Nouveau screened by Fish Eagle cinemas nationwide.
Visit www.sterkinekor.com for more information.
