Indigenous Film Distribution Press

SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:

Regarded as the boxing mecca of South Africa: Mdantsane township has produced over 17 boxing world champions since 1994.

Award-winning filmmaker Jahmil X.T. Qubeka grew up in Mdantsane, and for him – like many young people living in the vast and poor Eastern Cape township – boxing remains a treasured sport. “I have always loved boxing. Growing up in Mdantsane you cannot avoid it as it permeates most aspects of that society’s day-to-day grind. I grew up amongst pugilists and a lot of them were hardly average prize-fighters. These guys were some of the best in the world and yet here they were roaming the streets of my hood,” comments Qubeka.

Produced by Yellowbone Entertainment for Mzansi Magic as part of the channel’s premium film package, Knuckle City delves into the mindset of a fighter and provides an authentic glimpse into street life in one of the oldest and largest townships in the country. Written and directed by Qubeka alongside producer and editor Layla Swart, the film explores themes of toxic masculinity, wasted dreams and fractured family ties.

“Knuckle City as a concept has been gestating in my head and heart for years,” explains Qubeka. “It was not until Layla and I became partners that the project blossomed and found a home at Mzansi Magic, who were determined to enter the premium feature film market with some prestige projects. In the Mzansi Magic team we found partners who shared our desire to grow indigenous cinema-going audiences.”

As part of the research phase of the film, Qubeka immersed himself into the lives of some of the country’s greatest boxers and their families. He and his team worked with several boxers from the region alongside the acting talent. “It was not difficult for me to delve into the required research because I already have such a passion for the sport,” explains Qubeka. “We reached out to a lot of professionals for assistance and many of them came to the party. From the likes of trainer extraordinaire, Vido Madikane, to current world champion Xolani Tete’s stable, where I had the honour of working with the likes of former SA champion Loyiso Mtya and former two-time world champion ‘Showtime’ Yekeni,” he adds.

In the film, lead character Dudu Nyakama, played by Bongile Mantsai (Inxeba: The Wound), is a down-and-out ageing boxer who is adamant that his days of throwing punches are still far from over.

There are three ways out of Knuckle City – through the ring, in the back of a cop car, or in a pine box. Nyakama’s days are numbered in the boxing ring, and – as a last resort – he enlists the help of his criminal brother, Duke Nyakama. Together, they fight against all odds to make it through the ring but are haunted by the ghost of their father. Dudu soon realises that his unresolved inner conflict and fractured family life is far more challenging than any opponent he can possibly face in the boxing ring.

Speaking about the Dudu character, Qubeka says: “It is an honest portrayal of a man on a downward spiral perpetuated by toxic habits he picked up from his own father. His struggle is one that most adult males are faced with today. The ironic part of it all is that despite the extreme level of discipline that the main protagonist applies to his daily training regime, he ultimately fails to put it to use in his home life.”

To prepare for the role, Mantasi was trained by the great Xolani Tete at his boxing academy. Qubeka expands: “I knew of no better place than to throw him into the lion’s den that is Mdantsane, and thanks to Xolani Tete’s Last Born Boxing stable, he trained with champions.”

Knuckle City is shot in Mdantsane township and in the Buffalo City metro. The film marks the first production to partner with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation.

To further incorporate the community of Mdantsane and East London into the production, locals were given the opportunity to rent out their properties to the crew for the duration of the shoot. Furthermore, budding actors and aspiring filmmakers assisted the crew behind-the-scenes as well as on-screen as extras.

“Making the film was definitely a homecoming for me,” affirms Qubeka. “Having grown up in the same streets that I was now shooting a major motion picture in was exhilarating. The support and love we got from the people of Mdantsane and Buffalo City was amazing and deeply humbling. It was evident right from the get-go that the community was making this film with us.”

Knuckle City was shot in 21 days, with DoP Willie Nel capturing the visuals on an Arri Alexa Mini with Zeiss Master anamorphics, “with an incredibly wide 1:66 aspect ratio,” says Qubeka.

For the fight sequences, Qubeka wanted to give viewers an immersive experience so they would feel as though they were inside the ring with the fighters. For this, he says he drew inspiration from PlayStation fighting games. “I wanted to give viewers a visceral experience of what it’s like to be punched repeatedly. So choreographing the fights I referenced an old PlayStation game called Fight Night. In it, there is a point of view mode that gives you a really dynamic perspective of being the actual fighter in the ring. I applied the same technique to the cinematography and the results have been splendid.”

In post-production, Layla Swart edited the film while Bladeworks handled online. The sound was done by Guy Steer and final grading completed by Craig Simonetti.

Knuckle City had its local premiere at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in July as the opening night film and its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September this year.

The film is distributed in South Africa by Indigenous Film Distribution (IFD) and internationally by AAA Entertainment.

Qubeka says that he can’t wait for South Africans to view the film and for the people of Mdantsane to get an opportunity to see what they were so intrinsically a part of. “I’m hoping audiences will see how we have all had a role to play in the propping up of what I term the ‘pseudo identity of the macho man’ that is shaped around toxic habits and ways of being,” he concludes.

Knuckle City will be releasing in local cinemas on 28 February.

Watch the trailer.

KEY CREW

Writer/director: Jahmil Swart

Producer/editor: Layla Swart: Producer

DOP: Willie Nel

Sound: Guy Steer

SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:

Set in the early-80s, the heart-warming feature film Kings of Mulberry Street follows the adventures of Ticky and Baboo, two nine-year-old misfits who take on the town bully.

Written and directed by Judy Naidoo, the film is set in the fictionalised Sugarhill District – inspired by the KwaZulu-Natal towns of Verulam and Tongaat. Naidoo, who grew up in Verulam, holds the film particularly close to her heart: “Whilst pursuing a short filmmaking course in New York City, a lecturer who saw some potential in my work encouraged me to tell my own stories,” she shares.

“He encouraged me to tell stories that were personal to me. At that stage I had no ideas brewing in my mind, but on the long flight back from the US the story for Kings of Mulberry Street emerged. I dreamt up the characters of Ticky and Baboo – they were largely inspired by the weird and whacky kids I once knew growing up. And being a strange kid myself, I could see myself in both those characters. The rich and colourful world of the Indian community in the 80s, as well as Indian cinema and songs from that era, all provided the inspiration for this story.”

Kings of Mulberry Street tells the story of two unlikely friends, the young Indian boys Ticky and Baboo, who have to find a way to overcome their differences in order to defeat the local crime lord, Raja, who is threatening their families. Spirited and fearless, Ticky escapes the realities of his daily life by living in a Bollywood dream-world. Baboo, on the other hand, is timid, academic and apprehensive. “It is a universal story about innocence and a tribute to the love between friends,” says Naidoo. An old-fashioned, colourful comedy misadventure made for the whole family, “the story of Kings of Mulberry Street is akin to a matinee feature,” she says.

Making their acting debuts are the brilliant young talents, twelve-year-old Aaqil Hoosen (Ticky) and nine-year-old Shaan Nathoo (Baboo), who play the leads in the film. “Casting the two leads took approximately six months,” says Naidoo, who was very hands-on in the process.  “We found the Baboo character quite early in the casting process, although we only cast the role a couple of months later.” Casting Ticky proved to be more of a challenge, sending Naidoo and her team to public schools across KwaZulu-Natal, where they eventually found the perfect fit after a lengthy process and many call backs. Interestingly, he (Hoosen) happens to be from Naidoo’s hometown of Verulam.

Rounding out the cast are Thiru Naidoo, Rizelle Januk, Amith Sing, Neville Pillay, Keshan Chetty, Hamish Kyd, Kogie Naidoo, Kimberly Arthur and Chris Forrest.

Shot on location (Verulam, Tongaat and surrounding areas) in KwaZulu-Natal in just 29 days in June 2018, Naidoo says that as with most films, budget and time were the biggest challenges encountered when producing Kings of Mulberry Street, especially when you factor child leads into the equation. The lead child actors underwent an intense six-week acting and dance rehearsal period to prepare for the film’s dance scenes. “There are strict time constraints when working with children, and it makes scheduling particularly challenging,” comments Naidoo.

Drawing inspiration from the vibrant and interesting lives led by the Indian community residing in KwaZulu-Natal in the 80s, as well as Bollywood cinema and songs of the same era, Kings of Mulberry Street is visually dynamic and rich in colour – “in a retro way,” says Naidoo.

“Between DOP Greg Heimann and myself we had decided on a certain look for the film, but we were very open to things developing organically from there, which they did. We had very specific references in mind, which we referred to from time to time, but we were flexible and adapted to what was required on location.”

Shot on the Red Dragon, Naidoo describes the shooting style as “largely free and loose” to allow the actors some degree of freedom, especially the child actors. “At times it was very challenging as the spaces we worked in were tiny and to fit the actors, the crew and the equipment in one room was a bit of a mission to say the least. We also shot on rooftops a lot, so safety was a big concern for us,” adds Naidoo.

Kings of Mulberry Street was edited by Quinn Lubbe (5:25 Productions), while sound design and final mix was undertaken by Janno Muller (On-Key Sound), with C.A. van Aswegen (FiX Post Production) handling online and grade.

As a multi-award-winning filmmaker, Naidoo is no stranger to the local and international festival circuit. Her debut feature, Hatchet Hour (2016), scooped numerous awards, including Best Director and Best Picture at the New Hope Film Festival in Pennsylvania, as well as the Best Foreign Film Award at the LA Femme International Film Festival. Her plans for Kings of Mulberry Street are no different, with the intention being to have the film travel to festivals worldwide.

Kings of Mulberry Street is a film that ultimately inspires children to be themselves, to believe in themselves, and to understand “that we are not limited by our circumstances,” says Naidoo. “It is a universal story about innocence. It is a tribute to the love between friends. While the antics of Baboo and Ticky will impress and amaze the children watching it, it will profoundly reconnect the adult viewer, via nostalgia revisited, to how cinema informs childhood. Like the movies that took our breath away as kids, Kings will sweep us off out feet and make us all feel young again with its cracking Durban-Indian wit meets hilarious Bollywood mimicry and some of the oddest dance moves in cinema history,” she concludes.

The film has enjoyed a successful theatrical release in South African cinemas beginning 28 June. Kings of Mulberry Street is distributed in South Africa by Indigenous film Distribution.

Key Crew

Director: Judy Naidoo

Producer: Judy Naidoo

Co-Producer: Bianca Isaac

Line Producer: Alan Shearer

Director of Photography: Greg Heimann, SASC

Production Designer: Edward Liebenberg

Editor: Quinn Lubbe

Sound Designer: Janno Muller

Music Composer: Brendan Jury

1st Assistant Director: Francois Coetzee

SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE:

On average, 14 to 18 men die of suicide every day in SA – this is the headline of a City Press article, published in November 2018.

“We’re alarmed by the increasing number of men who take their own lives in South Africa and around the world,” said founder of the Men’s Foundation, Garron Gsell, in the same article, which goes on to state that the number of South African men dying by suicide every day is three times more than the number of women – while, globally, three out of four suicides are men.

It’s not that women are not struggling with depression and mental illness. The difference is that women are more likely to talk about their problems and ask for help, while men very rarely seek help.

Palama Productions producer, Niel van Deventer, is hoping that Skemerson – a new feature-length film, written by Pietie Beyers, and co-produced by van Deventer and Beyers – will change this narrative, or, at the least, spark much-needed conversation on the subject.

Based loosely on Beyers’s struggle with his own mental health, the film follows a young man who decides to take his own life. He stands on the Bloukrans Bridge, about to meet his fate, when he hears a laugh. This is the beginning of a weekend that changes three lives forever, when a woman, her frail mother and the young man meet serendipitously.

“It is about a weekend in the lives of three people. A young man battling mental illness contemplating ending it all, an older woman, dying of cancer, and her daughter, with whom she is ticking off a lot of bucket list items,” says van Deventer. “They meet by chance, but the wisdom bestowed upon him by this wise old women ultimately makes him change his mind and helps him to make the decision to seek help with his problems. It is a story of facing your fears, accepting your fate and coming to the realisation that there is help if you just seek it.”

Having previously produced the critically-acclaimed 2015 film, Dis Ek, Anna – which deals with child sexual abuse – van Deventer has since chosen to attach himself to films that highlight under-represented social ills. “I think we have a platform and a voice and we should use it wisely,” he comments. “The impact that Dis Ek, Anna had made me decide that I will forever try and be involved in projects that can make a difference, even if it is just in the life of one person who sees what we have done and decides to seek help or comfort.”

Pietie Beyers stars as the troubled young man, Anneke Weidemann plays the young women he meets, with Elize Cawood as her ailing mother. Van Deventer explains that there was no official casting call held, all three talents were selected by the team beforehand: “We knew what we wanted and what all of these people can bring to the project, so we approached them with our script and were very thankful when they agreed to join us.”

“Because it has been a dream of Pietie’s to make this film,” van Deventer continues, “he was attached to star in the lead from the outset. Supporting him is the timeless and brilliant Elize Cawood and Anneke Weideman, who we last saw in Katinka Heyns’ Die Wonderwerker and who has actually given up acting and pursued her dream of becoming a doctor. We were very fortunate that she decided to come out of retirement and grace our project with her presence.”

Principal photography took place over just three weeks in October last year. Shot by DOP William Collinson, on location in the Eastern Cape, Skemerson marks Philip Rademeyer’s feature film directorial debut. “I approached William Collinson – a very talented, young DOP – to collaborate and I am so glad that I did so. He used the beauty of the scenery to our absolute advantage creating feelings of loneliness and isolation so craftily,” comments van Deventer, who describes the film as “a visual feast”.

Collinson shot the film on the Red Dragon with Zeiss Prime lenses. “It [the Red Dragon] is extremely versatile and we were able to shoot in 6K, which helped with the vastness of the landscape we tried to capture,” says van Deventer. Editor Christiaan Scheepers oversaw the post-production process, with online done by Shaun De Ponte at Oxyg3n Media in Johannesburg, and sound design and final mix by Paul Vermaak.

An independent production, Skemerson was financed with the assistance of leading South African pharmaceuticals company, CIPLA. “They are a pharmaceutical company that really cares and they were developing a campaign to bring over a similar message and us approaching them to get involved was almost serendipitous. Their support throughout the process has been incredible and hopefully we can do some similar projects together in the future,” comments van Deventer.

“The local industry currently is in a volatile state,” he continues. “There aren’t many avenues to explore to get films funded and made, and the ones that there are, will obviously be looking to make more commercially viable films. This might be changing soon, though, with at least two SVOD platforms coming here soon and starting to commission. The true value of a culture lies in its arts. I firmly believe that the only way for us to take our films further is by doing more ‘artsy’, hard-hitting productions, with moving scripts that are done on a world-class level and packaged and sent to festivals all over the world.”

Van Deventer says that the message of the film is that it’s okay not to be okay. “Every single person that I know has at one point or another in his or her life been affected by mental illness. If we can get the message across that you are not weak when you seek help, that will be something that resonates with everyone,” he concludes.

Key crew

Director: Philip Rademeyer

Producers:  Niel van Deventer, Pietie Beyers

Executive Producers: Niel van Deventer, Pietie Beyers, Wouter Lombard, Charlenè Brouwer

DOP: William Collinson (SASC)

Line-Producer: Mischa Bornman

Associate Producer: Gawie Myburgh

Editor: Christiaan Scheepers

Online Editor: Shaun De Ponte

Sound Design and Final Mix: Paul Vermaak

Production Design: Christian Joubert