The Germany / Netherlands / South Africa co-production, Black Butterflies, is one of 12 films that will compete in the World Narrative Feature competition of the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Directed by Paula van der Oest and written by Greg Latter, Black Butterflies is the true story of the late, tragic South African poet, Ingrid Jonker. Carice van Houten stars as Jonker and Rutger Hauer as her pro-apartheid father. In English.
Also competing is Rwanda’s first feature-length narrative film, which is co-produced with Australia. Grey Matter (Matiere Grise) is directed and written by Kivu Ruhorahoza. When his grant falls through a few days before production, a young filmmaker hides the bad news from his team and continues preparations on his film, The Cycle of the Cockroach, without financing or equipment. Reality blurs as scenes from the script suddenly begin to materialise. In Kinyarwanda, French with English subtitles.
Then there is the Egypt / United Arab Emirates co-production, Cairo Exit (El Korough), directed by Hesham Issawi and written by Issawi and Amal Afify. When 18-year-old Amal becomes pregnant, she struggles with the choice between absconding to Greece with her beloved Muslim boyfriend and staying in Cairo with her Coptic Orthodox Christian family. But when her motorbike gets stolen and she’s fired from her job, Amal must reevaluate her future options as an unmarried young mother in Egypt. In Arabic with English subtitles.
Films in this section compete for the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best New Narrative Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.
The 2011 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival takes place from 20 April to 1 May. Legendary actor Robert De Niro is one of the founders of this festival, which was established in 2002 response to the 9 / 11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighbourhood. (Source: IndieWire)
