A couple of weeks ago our Africa-AICN Editor/reporter Dr. SOTHA contacted ol' Father Geek here and requested Full Access Press Passes for one of the finest film festivals in the world, the ROTTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. I immediately fired off a series of letters to get the job done, and man I am glad I did. He has not let us down, scoring many uber cool interviews as well as film reviews and peeks at the life of an international jet set film lover. Here's the 1st of his reports...
The DAGKRANT'S cover headline screamed...
Crazed South African Movie Geek Set Loose Upon The International Rotterdam Film Festival
De vulgaire, platte, domme en blasfemische... De schrik van journalistieke...
Crazed South African Movie Geek Set Loose Upon The International Rotterdam Film Festival
De vulgaire, platte, domme en blasfemische... De schrik van journalistieke...
DR.SOTHA here for a very special AFRICA-AICN report from this years capitol of Europe, Rotterdam - Holland. No its not the yearly Needle Probe Association Gathering (NPAG), although there were some startling findings (none more so then a new syringe that is attached to a patient's abdomen that self injects every 5 minutes to devastating results - more I can't offer, I may even be killed for mentioning this.) No its this years International Rotterdam Film Festival. So there I was at 6 am in the morning in front of Rotterdam's Central station feeling bewildered by this new world I had walked into. Armed with two heavy bags (medical equipment I don't go anywhere without) thinking what my next plan of action would be.
I though I'd catch an early coffee at this quaint 24 hour deli. I paid 10 Gilde for a capuccino and chocolate croissant. What's with these diminutive cups I thought, they remind me of urine sample bottles. But the coffee and croissant was as fresh as Philip Seymore Hoffman's acting ability. I flipped through a Screen International, and was annoyed to see that there was absolutely no mention of Sotha's groundbreaking arrival into this nether city. I shook it off as some editorial slip up, and moved to find myself a taxis in the bike-infested streets.
The taxis driver recognized my Hypocratic Oath certificate that I had pinned on my whites, and pulled over immediately, ready to attend to my every whim. 'Just to the Novotel Hotel, for now kind sir', I said with authority, and with that we were speeding off to Bruin Park. I checked into the hotel, and made sure there was some porn pay-tv in the room, only to reassure myself of the hedonistic lifestyle that I've heard these here Dutch people lead. Suspicion Number one confirmed. Took another taxis back to the Doele (the registration building), and went up to register with the press officer. They snapped a picture of my sculpted self, and handed me my official press pass. Flipped though the film program, and started to convulse with excitement (a condition I can go into much like method acting by observing patients). 'MAMA AFRICA', 'STATE AND MAINE', 'PLANET ALEX', WALK THE TALK', 'SOIF', 'KEEP THE TIMBILA PLAYING', 'JALLA JALLA', 'BATTLE ROYALE', 'DOLE', 'MEMENTO', 'OUR LADY OF THE ASSASSINS', 'BATTU' I shouted in the hall like some deranged Abel Ferrara creation. The security guard came to escort me out, but I quickly rummaged through my pockets and flashed my doctor's ID. 'I'm officially sane, you brute' I yelled, and he backed off. Walked to the box office to book the films, and set out on my first mission, to schmooze like a germ among cells.
Fucking hell, that's Swedish film guru Roy Anderson (Songs from the second floor) walking around in the flesh. Tried to walk past Canadian filmmaker Don Mckellar nonchalantly but I accidentally slipped on my white overalls, which then lead to some organizer confiscating my blood pressure gauge. What did he think I was going to do, attach it to Ang Lee's hand and lower his blood pressure, just so I could get an interview? I then caught sight of Battle Royale director Fukasaku Kinji, and broke into a stride to try and catch his attention, either he thought I was from the loony bin (I only work for them), or he was deep into role playing because he disappeared like some graceful ninja. Ahh heck, I'll get you sooner or later.
I looked at the delegate list, and found Jeremy Nathan's name. One of the foremost producers of South African film of the last 2 decades. That's a good start, when I find him, there'll be no escape. After releasing a gas (homemade) into the atmosphere which draws on people's intuitions, Jeremy appeared at the foyer, ready to answer any question I posed. Just a quick word on who Jeremy Nathan is before you neophytes and mercenary talkbackers start to rape my dignity. He is a maverick producer that has made visually uncompromising portraits of Africa with co-producers from all over the world. For close to 2 decades he has had his hand on the pulse of African cinema, and in many ways is one of the pioneers of culturally significant pieces of celluloid that have traveled the world over. If you don't know who the man is, you soon will.
Searching For Jeremy Nathan
DR.SOTHA: Jeremy Nathan producer extrordinaire from South Africa.
JEREMY: Why thank you
DR.SOTHA: Give us a rundown on some of the films that you've produced over the years, and how you came into film as a South African.
JEREMY: I started in 1986, I've been producing films, shorts and documentaries for 15 years. I started out with an ultra low budget feature film called 'Shotdown' which was with the director Andrew Worsdale which we made in 1986, which immediately got banned. It was only unbanned in 1993. Very much looking at what the young white community were doing at the time in Johannesburg in a particular era. Very much a feature film, but using documentary like techniques to create a vivid portrait of the time. Andrew Worsdale was a student then at UCLA and it was his thesis film. From that point on I've made 5 feature films the latest one being 'Boesman and Lena' with Pathe in France starring Danny Glover and Angela Basset, which has just been released in North America in about 15 cities. Soon to be released in France, the UK and in South Africa.
DR.SOTHA: Its based on an Athol Fugard play?
JEREMY: The most famous Athol Fugard play and its a challenging film because its really only got two people in a solitary landscape, directed by the American veteran, Hollywood veteran, John Berry.
DR.SOTHA: Who came from the Mercury theatre as assistant to one Orson Welles?
JEREMY: Came from the Mercury theatre and was one of the Hollywood ten and was blacklisted by McCarthey, and lived most of his life outside of America. It was an incredible experience to work with him, with actors with the caliber of Danny and Angela. It's not a film for everybody, but I think its really about men and women, and can a man and a woman actually love, and its not everybody's commercial cup of tea, but I think if you see it in that light, its an extremely interesting an evocative piece of cinema. The other film was 'Jump the Gun' which I did with David Orkin at Film Four directed by Les Blair. We workshopped the actors.we had no script. We workshopped for 17 weeks. All local South African actors, and at the end of that, Les wrote a sort of script, shot it for 8 weeks. Shot by Shames Magabe who is doing exceptionally well at the moment as an international director of photography. It did really well in South Africa, and I believe it performed to good reactions in the UK.
DR.SOTHA: It was one of the most critically acclaimed films to come out of South Africa?
JEREMY: Certainly, it won 6 of the M-NET all Africa Awards in that year.
DR.SOTHA: It was taken to Cannes?
JEREMY: Not in competition, but it was in the market segment. It made its world premiere in Berlin. And it's been very well received at home because it was very much an insightful slice of life look into urban lifestyle. Black people, white people. What was going on in Johannesburg at the time in 1996. A lot of fun to make, extremely fun with the actors, with Les and Shamus. The video was hot in South Africa
DR.SOTHA: An interesting sidebar, I read somewhere that the soundtrack was a big seller.
JEREMY: It had a Kwaito soundtrack by a young musician called Joe Nina, who was one of the biggest Kwaito acts at the time, who was 25 years old when he did the composition. A lot of Kwaito in the film, and extremely popular with the township youth. I decided at the end of 94, I had worked in a collective group making political documentaries. Documenting the struggles in South Africa after the first feature in 86 and 87 through to 94. And I decided then to start my own catalyst films really to go to the birth of cinema working with new, up and coming South African writers and directors, because it being such a polticized industry in South Africa in particular the money was going to white male Afrikaans filmmakers and not going anywhere else. Things have changed now. What I decided to do was to start at the beginning making short films, and in that period since 94, I've made about 16/17 short films with all new directors, most of them black directors. One of the series I'm very proud of is called 'Africa Dreaming' which was 6 short films about love. Each film in a different country in Africa.Senegal, Tunisia, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The Senegalese film won best short film at Venice in 97.
DR.SOTHA: What was the name of that film?
JEREMY: 'So be it' by Joseph Garimaka. They were all different in narrative terms with writers, directors and producers from their native countries. There were about 12 co-producers on board. Generally the money came out of France, South Africa, Holland, Scandinavia. A very difficult project, but one that has traveled exceptionally well internationally. Seen in about 40 different countries around the world including America, and the videos have continued to do well. A small theatrical release with three of the films in South Africa. Difficult to release an ensemble series of shorts.
DR.SOTHA: With Short films its difficult to platform them isn't it?
JEREMY: That's right, which is unfortunate, but the festival route gave them their just exposure. It was a great experience. If you see all of the films together, as they were shown on television, one a week for 6 weeks you get a very nuanced insight into the different cultures in Africa with sophisticated young filmmakers. After Africa Dreaming I did a project with Film Four again called 'South African Shorts and Curlies', which was 5 eleven minute shorts by new directors and new writers on 35mm. 3 of the films worked out remarkably well for me. One was in main competition in Cannes called 'Husk' directed by Jerry Handler, who studied in America as well. Came back to South Africa. Another one called 'Portrait of a Young Man Drowning' which won the silver lion for best short film at Venice in 1999.
DR.SOTHA: Which saw the emergence of Teboho Mahlatsi as a filmmaking force in South Africa.
JEREMY: His first film as it were, who is I believe one of the, if not the most talented black African filmmakers to come out of South Africa. He also did 'Yizo Yizo' which is a 13 part television drama that became the most popular television series in South Africa, and he's just finished completing the sequel 'Yizo Yizo 2'. And I'm looking to do some work on his feature debut called 'Streetbash'.
DR.SOTHA: He collaborate's with Angus Gibson?
JEREMY: That's right, on the short he wrote and directed on his own. I've done a whole lot of other documentaries.
DR.SOTHA: You did a Chinese film?
JEREMY: A South African film with a Chinese girl in the part called 'Mumlambo' (spelling may be wrong - apologies) about a relationship between a young, black street kid and a young Chinese prostitute about shape shifting, which was part of the Africa Dreaming series. Several documentaries. The one I most like is the 'Uli Mamba Lingishoni' (again spelling will be the death of me - DR.SOTHA) A 5 hour history of the ANC (African National Congress) from 1910 to 1990 which has only been seen inside South Africa, and it was shown in 93 just before the elections, exceptionally popular, gives you a meticulous overview of the history and struggle in South Africa. The most exciting television I've done is really a documentary I did called 'In a time of Violence' (incidentally, reviewed by our very own Rigobert Song - DR.SOTHA) which was a 3 hour TV drama, which was again a co-production out of Europe with Channel 4, ZDF.
DR.SOTHA: There was some controversy over that, was it banned?
JEREMY: It wasn't but it was controversial, because after the screening of the first episode the Incata Freedom Party lobbied the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) to take it off, sent them death threats. Consequently the SABC pulled it, but the whole country demanded the whole film be shown. The SABC bowing to popular demand, showed all 3 hours on a Saturday night, and we had about 17 million people watch that.
DR.SOTHA: That's staggering for a country like South Africa
JEREMY: The sponsors were incredible. And really now, subsequent to that, what I'm starting now is a project called DV8, which is 8 low budget digital feature films with directors and writers out of Southern Africa. Maximum budget roughly $150- $250,000. The financing is going relatively well at the moment. We are looking for financing in Europe and America, essentially because its not an aesthetic decision because its to try and make any film possible in Southern Africa because the Government doesn't have big money. The distributors are not investing in films (content to feed us American mainstream), and the broadcasters historically have not. So what we're trying to do is to turn it around and do it in such a low budget manner that makes the films financially viable for the people who do put up the money. We're looking to get 60/70% from South Africa and the rest from Europe or America. And just working with best talent available that have emerged over the last 6 years. Oliver Schmidtz who made 'Mapantsula' (reviewed by Rigobert in the last Africa-AICN) arguably one of the best South African features ever made, and his second feature has just been completed called 'Hi-Jack Stories'. Ramadan Suluman (Spelling as you know is not my strong suit- DR.SOTHA) who did 'Fools'. Fariah Sevenso (I'm doing my best God-damnit - DR.SOTHA) who did one of the Africa Dreaming films. In going in the low-budget approach for us its 2 million Rand, which is not a small amount of money, but its going to allow the filmmakers the voice, because I think that's what digital does. The costs for us are radically important to be low, otherwise we're not going to make any films, and in doing so the product of that is the ability to reveal the individual voices of the directors and writers, which is really what interests me. The rest of the world is waiting for our new directors to come, because they're coming from everywhere else, and why aren't they coming from Southern Africa?
DR.SOTHA: Especially when it comes to establishing bonds with producers and distributors in Europe and North America, to allow a window of opportunity for our industry to reap the rewards. Allow South Africa to introduce the Lee Tamahori's, George Millers, and Paul Verhoeven's of the world.
JEREMY: Definitely, I've just come from London and met with a lot of the broadcasters and produces, and people are really interested and wanting to know who the next Spike Lee is, when's the next Wong Kar Wai going to emerge from the doldrums of the South African Film Industry. Our directors spend too much time worrying about the money, and not about the mise-en-scene, and I'm really interested about changing that equation, whereby the money doesn't become the issue anymore. Digital gives us that freedom, and then the discussion becomes where're we putting the camera, lets concentrate on performances.
DR.SOTHA: Because that's what it should be, that's what film is all about. Telling a story that captures the imagination, and not having the constraints of money.
JEREMY: Completely, and that's really my mission at the moment, to get away from our dependence on our, you know.we've also been at fault in a way, going to look for budgets that are big for films coming out of that region. We need to start embrionically, almost the trajectory of developing short films. There are now a lot of people who've done short films in South Africa. There must be 30 people, some of which have done exceptionally well. Who are now really ripe for feature filmmaking. Not a lot, but some who are very very promising. And that's really my plan with this; to move them into a global filmmaking culture where the films are universally appealing, but locally supported as well. That have relevance locally and find an audience. In any language that exists.
DR.SOTHA: Do you think we can take a feather out of the cap of the Danish, Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterburg, and the whole Dogma 95 revolution? The way they've gone about making their films and getting exposure with their gritty and winning narratives?
JEREMY: Absolutely, but the difference is that they have a mature film industry, and an industrial infrastructure toward the financing of films, so they have the luxury to argue the aesthetic of the film, which I think is why Dogma has been so successful. I think we have to deal with both the fact that its got to be made very cheaply, and the importance to discuss the aesthetics of cinema, because in Southern Africa the artistry of cinema is seldom discussed in the making of a film. If you get to make a film you get awards in Southern Africa, because of the fact that its been made, which is ludicrous, and we need to move way beyond that, and look at what people in Latin America have done, Cuba, the Eastern Block and every other continent really.
DR.SOTHA: Thanks for taking time out, I hope that readers on AICN get a broader perspective of what it's like to be trapped in a country so beautiful and resourceful and not have the financing to breed local filmmakers. We'll resume this conversation in a few months down the line, and hopefully we'll be a step closer with your project.
JEREMY: Thank you and goodbye.
