From Friday 2 August to Thursday 8 August highly acclaimed South African documentary Jeppe on a Friday screens at The Bioscope Independent Cinema in Johannesburg and The Labia in Cape Town.
Jeppe on a Friday was filmed in one day in Johannesburg and traces the ups and downs of life in one of the city’s neighbourhoods, Jeppestown.
Co-directed by Shannon Walsh and Arya Lalloo the film explores a different Johannesburg than the one usually portrayed in local and international media. The filmmakers reveal a city that beats in the hearts of people who live there and what follows is an intimate, quiet portrait of five men from Jeppestown as they grapple with the existential and mundane of one day’s existence.
The movie’s characters show the city’s specific textures, but also universal human experiences. Familial love is behind restaurateur Arouna’s success, nostalgia binds Ravi to his dusty framing shop, ambition drives JJ’s property development, tradition is at the heart of Robert’s all male Zulu choir and everyday philosophy gives urban recycler Vusi his momentum.
“Jeppe on a Friday exposes the heart of urban South Africa, where wealth collides with poverty, the old makes way for the new and neighbours remain strangers whether they want to or not,’ says co-director Lalloo.
International success
The film had its South African premiere at the 2013 Encounters South African International Documentary Festival in June and has received international acclaim over the last few months.
Deemed as “an African film to watch out for in 2013’ by the Guardian UK, the movie has shown at the Montreal International Documentary Film Festival (RIDM); the Big Sky Documentary Festival in Montana in the US; the Beijing International Film Festival; the Vues d’Afrique Film Festival; the New York African Film Festival; the Festival del Cinema Africano; the d’Asia e America Latina in Italy; the La Rochelle International Film Festival and the Paris Cinema Film Festival in France before its screening at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF).
The movie also shows at the Festival Cinemas d’Afrique-Lausanne in Switzerland in August 2013 and at the Pompidou Center BPI in Paris in October this year.
Jeppe on a Friday was co-produced by Parabola Films in Canada and Urucu Media in South Africa.
Local screenings
The Bioscope Independent Cinema: Johannesburg
2 August at 20h00
3 August at 18h00 and 20h00
4 August at 19h00 and 21h00
5 August at 19h30
6 August at 19h30
8 August at 19h30
Visit www.thebioscope.co.za for more information or call 011 039 7306. The Bioscope Independent Cinema is situated at 286 Fox Street in Johannesburg.
The Labia: Cape Town
2 August at 14h00 and 18h15
3 August at 14h00 and 18h15
4 August at 14h00 and 18h15
5 August at 14h00 and 18h15
6 August at 14h00 and 18h15
8 August at 14h00 and 18h15
Visit www.labia.co.za for more information or call 021 424 5927. The Labia is situated at 68 Orange Street, Gardens in Cape Town.
