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Crumbs: award-winning African sci-fi film now online

24 November 2016

Bypassing the traditional route of commercial cinema and DVD releases, the acclaimed Afrocentric sci-fi film, Crumbs, is now available to watch online on Vimeo, following two years of building its reputation on the international film festival circuit as one of the most innovative and entertaining independent films of the last two years.

Watch the Crumbs trailer:

Directed by Spanish-born, Addis Adaba-based filmmaker Miguel Llansó, Crumbs blends an apocalyptic science fiction narrative with a touching love story, incorporating visual elements of Afro-futurism, surreal Romanticism and Western pop culture touchstones.

Ethiopian Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Film ‘Crumbs’ Now Available for Streaming Worldwide https://t.co/axlIXGgEAZ pic.twitter.com/iHYbt5nvOg

— Okayafrica (@okayafrica) November 17, 2016

The film tells the story of Gagano (Daniel Tadesse) and Birdy (Selam Tesfaye) and their journey of exploration (both physical and metaphorical) deep into a dystopian wasteland. Along the way, the pair tackles witchcraft, aliens, Nazis and, most bizarrely, Father Christmas, all building towards an epic confrontation between forces of good and evil.

Tonight, 13th! Ethiopian Sci-Fi post-apocalyptic film "CRUMBS" in COPENHAGEN!https://t.co/0v2azwDyaf pic.twitter.com/Jyd6cNrznp

— Lanzadera Films (@LanzaderaFilms) July 13, 2016

The 70-minute, low-budget production, completed in 2015, earned a Nightfall Jury mention at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature Film at Montreal's annual Fantasia International Film Festival. It has been shown at various festivals across Europe, Africa and the US.

Crumbs was "stunningly shot", according to the New York Times, whose critic admired the film's lo-fi charm and quirky humour. Highlighting its outlandish and imaginative style, the Hollywood Reporter compared Crumbs to films such as District 9 and ET, saying it did more with its meagre resources – it had a budget of less than $250,000 (R3.5-million) – than most Hollywood blockbusters could do with multimillion-dollar budgets.

Ethiopian sci-fi film #crumbs tonight and tomorrow @FilmhuisCavia in Amsterdam. Event here: https://t.co/wvTrF0uycS pic.twitter.com/Krn3uViKOS

— Lanzadera Films (@LanzaderaFilms) March 31, 2016

Its growing reputation among sci-fi geeks and cult movie fans, thanks in part to an engaging organic social media campaign by producers, has built up considerable word-of-mouth buzz around the film, to the point where the time is right to give Crumbs a wider release using the power of the internet.

Crumbs is now available to stream and download for less than $10 on Vimeo. For something more permanent, fans can also order it on DVD featuring behind the scenes action as well as two additional short films by director Llansó.

Watch the opening scene of Crumbs below:

Source: OkayAfrica

SouthAfrica.info reporter