The South African French co-production City of Violence released
nationally in cinemas on 10 October 2014. The crime-thriller, based on the novel by
Caryl Ferey titled Zulu, is set in a post-apartheid South Africa, where
two detectives are on the hunt for a killer operating in Cape Town. In the process
they uncover a new illegal drug, are forced to face their own demons and are made to
grapple with the concept of forgiveness.
Director Jerome Salle commented, “This isn’t just a story about South Africa. Why I
fell in love with this story is that it’s universal and really a movie about how difficult
and important it is to forgive – otherwise you can’t move on. This is the perfect place
to tell that story. We had the release in Japan last month and we had great review
and numbers. Japan is a totally different culture but they were really interested in
what the film was talking about and I was really proud of that.’
The film stars Hollywood actors Orlando Bloom and Forrest Whitaker along with both
professional and non-professional South African actors. Salle recalls casting Randall
Majiet (Cat), who plays the role of a gang leader operating in the Cape Flats, in the
film. “There were many non-professional actors on set because I wanted it to feel
South African so for example the guy who played Cat – we met at a street casting. He
was in a rehab centre at the time.’
City of Violence is a co-production between French production
companies Eskwad, M6 Films and Pathe and South African production company
Lobster Tree.
Visit the City of Violence
website for more information.
Watch the City of Violence
trailer.
