A new feature film from the producers of the hit Bakgat! franchise aims to continue the
winning streak of recent Afrikaans films at the South African box office when it is
released this month.
Superhelde sees misfits and wannabe superheroes Albert and Peet, played by Ivan
Botha and Neil Sharam, try to save their beloved comic book store from being turned
into a parking lot by their high school nemesis JJ van Tonder and his father.
“The movie is colourful, fun and very funny. It is packed with cool graphics and
transitions and it is very different to any South African movie made to date,’ says
producer and Film Factory director Danie Bester.
The film is directed by Stefan Nieuwoudt and co-produced by Lucia Meyer.
Despite the title and premise, Bester says the film is not filled with spectacular stunts.
“Superhelde is not a superhero movie per se; it’s about discovering the hero within each
one of us.’
The primary target market for the film is 13 to 18 year-olds and the secondary market is
19 to 26 year-olds, leaning slightly towards a majority male audience. However Bester
feels there is also strong cross over potential to a market younger than 13.
He agrees that the momentum from the success of recent Afrikaans movies at the local
box office, and specifically the success of the Bakgat! movies, may contribute to
attracting audiences to Superhelde. However he feels strongly that filmmakers should
commit to quality films.
“I think to some degree audience trust in local content has been restored in the past
year or so. It is of cardinal importance that producers respect their audiences and create
content that is of a high standard. Distributors should be strict about what they allow
into cinemas, one bad local movie destroys the good work done by 10.’
According to Bester the film was conceived by Bakgat! star Ivan Botha.
“He had a concept for a script that he pitched to me about two bumbling security
guards who try to save their mall from demolition by Chinese businessmen. The concept
and script for Superhelde developed from that initial idea and was penned by Ivan and
Andrew Thompson,’ says Bester.
The film was shot in February 2010 on a Canon 5D in and around Johannesburg. Bester
says the film was shot on a modest budget, which means that most elements of the
shoot were micro managed. He says all cast and crew members had to put in a lot of
effort since they couldn’t solve problems by throwing money at them.
However he adds that they had a dedicated and committed team that made the filming
process fun.
Graphics and text elements were added during post-production to retain a comic book
feel and to create seamless transitions between scenes. Bester says there is also “a lot
of hand drawn animation and cool titling’ created by Quinn Lubbe and his team who
raised the movie to a new level.
Post-production was done at Film Factory’s sister company Fix Post Production by CA
van Aswegen, editor of Bakgat! 1 and 2, Night Drive, Hanna Hoekom and Getroud met
Rugby, with sound design by Basiami Segola.
The film is distributed by Ster-Kinekor and will release in 40 cinemas across South Africa
on 21 April. Bester says they are also finalising plans to take the film on a road show
through small town South Africa.
Superhelde was financed as part of a three picture slate called “The Launch Sequence’
that includes Bakgat! 2 and Night Drive. Bester says it was financed in this way to
mitigate risk, expand into the international market and to create a possible break out
success with Night Drive.
