New South African short film Elegy for a Revolutionary – from director Paul Van Zyl and Market Street Productions (MSP) – has won a prestigious Award of Merit from the www.bestshorts.net competition in Los Angeles. The competition recognises film professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change. Entries are judged by highly qualified professionals in the film industry.
Van Zyl describes Elegy for a Revolution as a unique South African story. “It’s about two friends who get arrested for political subversion and who sacrifice their friendship and ideals as they struggle towards a non-racial society and democracy in South Africa. The film is loosely inspired by the novel Elegy for a Revolutionary by CJ. Driver, which was banned in South Africa for many years, and is based on a true story. It’s a personal journey through the war of apartheid and centres on the personalities of two friends who are both traitors and paradoxically heroes.’
During apartheid a small group of white South African students dreamed that they could help topple the apartheid regime by blasting down electric pylons and radio masts. They called themselves the African Resistance Movement.
In winning the Best Shorts laurels, MSP joins the rank of other high profile winners of this internationally respected award. Thomas Baker, PhD, who chairs the Best Shorts Competition, had this to say about the latest winners, “Best Shorts laurels are not easy to win. Entries are received from around the world. The Best Shorts Competition helps set the standard for craft and creativity. Our judges were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of entries. The goals of the Best Shorts Competition are to help winners achieve the recognition they deserve’.
Elegy for a Revolution also won the title as Best Short Promoting Human Rights in the AIFF competition. Upcoming festival screenings will take place in Las Vegas, Monrovia, California, Tampa, Florida and at the Isle of Wight Film Festival in the UK.
The film stars Brian Ames, Martin Copping, Steve Humphries and Michael Enright. Key crew includes Stacy Owens Eckstein (producer); Christopher Ekstein (director of photography), Yeva McCloskey (production designer) and Michael R Miller (editor).
Says Van Zyl: “The South African film voice has always been closely linked to the society, which has been influenced by politics and struggle. And as a South African, I’ve always felt that it is important to look at history, to look back to where we came from, in order to know where we are going, particularly with Nelson Mandela’s vision of the new South Africa.
“When apartheid began to fall to pieces, it seemed I had entered into world where conquest had to be undone and I became interested in stories which provided a unique biography for South Africa. It makes great spiritual cinema. I plan to make a feature which will lift the veil on this remarkable breed of white South Africans who operated during the frenzied mayhem of apartheid. Little is known of their dilemma and this story will bring to public view the tremendous debt of their contribution during a country’s fragile transition from suppression to freedom. Audiences will discover questions of what they did and how they handled themselves. Oh, and, by the way, Elegy does not condone terrorism but rather questions whether violence can be justified as a way of opposing tyranny.’
