Local films scoop Cape awards
29 November 2005
Oscar hopeful Tsotsi received the Critics Jury Award for Best South African feature film at the Cape Town World Cinema Festival on Saturday night.
The Critics' Jury gave special mentions to two other local films, uCarmen e Khayelitsha and Faith's Corner, saying that Darrell Roodt, director of Faith's Corner, "went to the gutters to find a jewel."
'Sublime'
The panel of critics handed the SA crown to Gavin Hood's Tsotsi for "sublime" filmmaking that utterly captivated its audience.
Hood was not in Cape Town to receive his prize because he had just embarked on the long 2006 Oscar-nomination lobby in Hollywood, beginning with a screening of Tsotsi for the Foreign Press Association.
Earlier in the week, Tsotsi nabbed the prestigious American Film Institute (AFI) Audience Prize. More silverware from Edinburgh and Toronto world cinema festivals, and news of a breakthrough 400-print release in the US in February 2006, had also fuelled hopes for victory on home soil.
Best feature film
Honours for Best Feature Film in the festival's official selection, however, went to Private, a film that the jury described as "a master class in how to work with limited resources." Italian director Saverio Costanzo received a rousing ovation from World Cinema delegates in Cape Town for his film that, the main jury said, "explored the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in all its complexity."
A second film that also "scaled the high walls of religion and culture" struck the jury. They picked out Le Grand Voyage by Moroccan filmmaker Ismael Ferroukhi for Special Mention (in the Best Feature Film category). His powerful drama offered "a rare vantage point on one of the pillars of Islam."
South African cinema's 'bright future'
Young, black and gifted South
African actors yet again proved their world-class calibre when Presley Chweneyagae, in Tsotsi, and Mpumi Malatsi, in Zulu Love Letter, scooped Best Actor and Actress awards ahead of tough international competition.
At the red-carpet gala night at the Artscape theatre, the festival jury praised Chweneyagae's "ability to draw his audience into the soul of a despised character. This actor brought an impressive mix of compassion, rage and naiveté to his performance. We believe he has a bright future in South African cinema," said head juror, South African poet Wally Serote.
Mpumi Malatsi, who cannot hear or speak, stole the audience's hearts when she gave a brief "speech", a radiant smile and a skyward wave of thanks that expressed her joy at winning Best Actress. The jury was moved by Malatsi's "heartfelt emotive performance. Without words, this young woman spoke volumes."
Momentum
A special spotlight was cast on the
talents of South African director Khalo Matabane. He won unanimous praise from jurors and earned the Lionel Ngakane Prize for Most Promising Filmmaker. Matabane's film, Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon, "marks the arrival of an original new voice on the world stage, and new possibilities for South African cinema," they said.
They encouraged South African film industry to "build on its current momentum by seeking out and supporting stories told by black South African filmmakers."
SouthAfrica.info reporter and Sithengi
