South Africa’s entry into the foreign language film category of the Oscars, White Wedding, won the Audience Award for World Cinema at the 32nd Mill Valley Film Festival in San Raphael, US, on 18 October. White Wedding shared the award with the UK film, An Education.
This is White Wedding’s first international outing. The film, which is described as a hip, road trip comedy, was a big box office success locally, making R5m. It attracted audiences across the cultural spectrum when it opened in South Africa earlier this year.
The producers of the film – Stepping Stone Pictures’ Jann Turner, Rapulana Seiphemo and Kenneth Nkosi – are understandably delighted about the overseas response. “We feel part of the global community and are thrilled that US audiences have related so positively to a story that is about everyday South Africans,’ says Turner.
Lead actress Jodie Whittaker attended the Mill Valley Film Festival and received the award on behalf of the filmmakers.
