'Red Dust' rises in Toronto
17 September 2004
South African cinema made a triumphant entry into the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival this week with the world premiere of the gripping Truth and Reconciliation Commission drama "Red Dust".
In attendance were the film's stars, Oscar winner Hilary Swank ("Boys Don't Cry"),
BAFTA nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Dirty Pretty Things") and Jamie Bartlett ("Isidingo", "Beyond Borders"), director Tom Hooper and producers Anant Singh, Helena Spring, David Thompson and Ruth Caleb.
"Red Dust" received an overwhelming response from the capacity audience.
The film was chosen for a special screening along with another movie by Singh's company Videovision Entertainment, "Forgiveness" - and seven other South African films making up the festival's national cinema programme, "South Africa: Ten Years Later".
"'Red Dust' tells one story of the Truth And Reconciliation Commission, but it also represents the tens of thousands of cases that the commission heard across South Africa and the healing process of the commission", said producer,
Anant Singh.
"The film is enhanced by the great performances of both the international actors
and our local actors, among whom are Marius Weyers, Ian Roberts and Jamie
Bartlett", Singh added.
Early reviews coming out of Toronto have been positive, with Canada's national daily newspaper declaring the film "a nuanced and engrossing court-room drama", and the Hollywood Reporter saying it "maintains a lively pace, and the story contains enough twists and turns to sustain interest".
"Red Dust", the directorial debut from Tom Hooper, is based on Gillian Slovo's novel of the same title, with a screenplay by Troy Kennedy-Martin ("Italian Job", "Bravo Two Zero"). The
film was shot on location in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape and in Johannesburg.
A suspense-filled courtroom drama set in Smitsriver, "Red Dust" explores the effects of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, one of the most significant healing instruments of South Africa's young democracy.
New York City prosecutor Sarah Barcant comes home to Smitsriver to represent the interests of the local community in a commission hearing for Dirk Hendricks, a former local police officer.
Key to Barcant's case is the testimony of Alex Mpondo, who was tortured by Hendricks. She hopes that Mpondo's account will force Hendricks to reveal the whereabouts of a missing man in the community, and bring others involved in the case to justice.
Mpondo, however, is uncomfortable with his position of victim and witness, and is reluctant to participate. He is now a promising politician, and fears not only reliving his painful memories of this time, but also facing the unknown
truths that lie within them.
"Red Dust", a Distant Horizon and BBC Films production in association with Videovision Entertainment and the Industrial Development Corporation, will be released in South Africa in January 2005 though United International Pictures.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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