SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: Safe Bet, an action
comedy flick by South African director Bonginhlanhla Ncube (known as “Mr. B’), has
been nominated for three Global Independent Film Awards in the following
categories: Best Choreography, Best Action Sequence and Best Supporting Actor.
The film tells the story of a bookkeeper who is persuaded by his friend to steal his
boss’s money and bet it on a fixed boxing match. Safe Bet stars
Wandile Molebatsi, Luthuli Dlamini, Nandi Nyembe and Macks Papo, and will be
release in local cinemas nationwide from 19 February 2016.
“When my filmmaker friend Carl Roddam sent me the first draft of the story, I was
hooked,’ said Mr B, who also developed the screenplay and co-produced the film
with wife Nokuthula Sakhile Mguni. “I had to do the screenplay because I had to add the typical kasi (location) flavour to the story, the smallest element
that may have been missing because my writer is Irish.’
The film was funded primarily by Mr. B’s production company, Sukuma Media with
an additional contribution received from the Gauteng Film Commission which
enabled its completion in post-production. Mr. B had also applied for funding from
the World Cinema Fund, an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and
the Berlinale, to develop and support films in countries with underdeveloped film
infrastructure, but was not able to secure this backing. Said Mr. B, “That’s okay,
rejection is very common in our industry and it doesn’t always translate to the
quality of your film or story.’
The film was shot by cinematographer Denford Dzingire with a Sony FS-700 and a
Canon 5D Mark 3 at the end of 2013 in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. Mr. B
said the combination of both cameras suited the nature of filming and explained,
“The Sony has a brilliant dynamic range and great picture quality due to its full
frame sensor size while the 5D M3 excels in low light and is very portable hence
suitable for those action sequences.’ Additional key crew include writer Carl
Roddam and editor Michael J. Rix.
Mr. B believes his film will resonate with audiences in Africa and has hopes that it
will travel abroad. “I think the film truly works for an African audience, our lead
character is the sole breadwinner and young as he is, he is drowning in debt
because of huge medical bills emanating from his father’s ill health. A lot of African
brothers and sisters are in this dilemma, from paying their sibling’s school fees to
feeding their own parents. I think the story has a very strong identity in Africa and
maybe worldwide,’ he concludes.
