No one will argue the fact that 2010 is South Africa’s year.  Not only is the country the host of the FIFA World Cup, but approximately 20 local films are releasing during the second half of the year, including one of the three stereoscopic animated features being produced by local studios.

On 10 June 2010, UIP released Pete Travis’ political drama Endgame, which was produced by Film Afrika. The film is based on the book The Fall of Apartheid  by Robert Harvey and stars a host of A-listers playing key South African political players, including William Hurt as Willie Esterhuyse, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Thabo Mbeki, John Kani as Oliver Tambo, Clarke Peters as Nelson Mandela and Johnny Lee Miller as Michael Young.

Franz Marx’s popular soap opera, Egoli, returned as a feature film on 16 June 2010, continuing where the soapie left off.  The film, being released through Nu Metro, was directed by Bromley Cawood, who helmed the series.

Egoli, the movie version, explores the friendship, as well as the murky pasts of leading men Niek (David Rees) and Joe (Darren Kelfkens). The story of the film is self-contained, so moviegoers who didn’t watch the series will still be able to follow the plot. The film was produced by Franz Marx and Brigadier Film Studios.

On 25 June 2010, Nu Metro released The Fourth Kind, directed by Nigerian filmmaker Olatunde Osunsanmi, which sees well-known local actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Hotel Rwanda) play a professor of ancient languages, who helps leading lady Milla Jovovich figure out what is behind the recent alien abductions plaguing Alaska.

On the same day, Ster Kinekor released Pixar’s Toy Story 3, featuring the voice talents of South African radio personality Jeremy Mansfield. In the South African theatrical and DVD release of the film, Jeremy voices the character of Lifer, a Chatter Telephone.

UIP will be releasing both For Better For Worse and London River on 2 July 2010. Three years in the making, For Better For Worse is the local equivalent of a Bollywood romantic comedy. Directed by Naresh Veeran and produced by Ross Garland, the film tells the story of Anisa Khan’s (Raeesa Mohamed) search for the perfect husband in Durban. The film marks Naresh’s directorial debut and was produced by Bright Side Pictures.

London River is a British drama directed by Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb. The film stars Burkinabé actor Sotigui Kouyaté and Brenda Blethyn as parents of children who went missing after the 2005 terror attack on London. 

South African/German production Themba opens on 16 July 2010 through Ster Kinekor. The film was produced by DO Productions and directed by South African-born Stefanie Sycholt (Malunde), who now lives in Germany. The film was adapted from Lutz van Dijk’s book Crossing the Line, which was based on his experiences running a children’s home in Masiphumelele in Cape Town.

Themba follows the life of a dirt poor young boy (played by both Emmanuel Soqinase from Mthatha as the younger Themba and Junior Singo [Beat the Drum] as the older) who aspires to one day play for Bafana Bafana. 

Ster Kinekor is releasing Shirley Adams on 13 August 2010. The film is the debut offering of Cape Town director and photographer Oliver Hermanus, who recently returned from the Cannes Residence Programme. DV8 Films produced the film.

Shirley Adams stars Denise Newman as a woman who loses her family to violence and poverty, but gains her own sense of self worth. The film won the SAFTA for Best Film, as well as a string of other awards such as the Muhr Asia Africa Award at Dubai International Film Festival; Best First Film, Best South African Film and Best Actress at the Durban Film Festival; and the Golden Unicorn Best Feature Film Prize at the 29th Amiens Film Festival in France, among others.

 Die Ongelooflike Avonture van Hanna Hoekom, which also opens on 13 August 2010, is based on the young adult novel of the same name by popular South African writer Marita van der Vywer. It tells the story of a girl with an overactive imagination who rebels against her artistic mother by being a plain Jane.

Die Ongelooflike Avonture van Hanna Hoekom is directed by Regardt van den Bergh (Tornado, Hansie, Faith Like Potatoes) and is a joint production by kykNET and Spookasem Productions. Nu Metro is the distributor. The film stars Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Gys de Villiers and Anneke Weidemann as Hanna. The Unforgiving, being distributed by Helen Kuun’s new company, Indi-genous Film Distribution, is the third local film releasing on 13 August 2010. This independent South African horror is directed by Pro Cut Productions’ Alastair Orr and produced by Kamikaze Motion Pictures.

The Unforgiving stars Ryan Macquet, Claire Opperman and Michael Thompson as the survivors of a terrifying spate of attacks on rural South Africa.

District 9’s Sharlto Copley returns in Smokin’ Aces director Joe Carnahan’s The A-Team, based on the 1980’s television classic.

Sharlto will play the part of H.M “Howlin’ Mad” Murdock, an insane but gifted pilot.  The film also stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel.

The A-Team opens 20 August 2010 through Nu Metro. It isn’t the only action blockbuster that month. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures, the team behind Pirates of the Carribean and National Treasure, brings us The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, based on the classic Disney Mickey Mouse film and starring Nicholas Cage and our  own Alice Krige (Skin). The film opens on 27 August 2010 through Ster Kinekor.

Three releases are scheduled for September.

Bakgat 2 sees the return of Wimpie (Ivan Botha) and Katrien (Cherié van der Merwe), who are now at Tshwane University of Technology, where Wimpie’s in the u21 rugby team. British crooner Simon Schofield sings a love ballad on the soundtrack. Bakgat 2 was written and directed by Henk Pretorius, who also helmed the original. Produced by The Film Factory, it’s scheduled to open through Ster Kinekor on 16 September 2010.

Bakgat 2 will be competing against Nu Metro’s same-day release of South Africa’s first stereoscopic 3D animated feature, The Lion of Judah, which is a re-interpretation of the Easter story as seen through the eyes of a bold lamb (Judah) and his animal friends.

The film features the voice talents of Scott Eastwood (son of Clint), Michael Madsen and Ernest Borgnine, among others.  The Lion of Judah was directed by Derryck Broom and produced by Cape Town animation studios Character Matters and Sunrise Productions.

Another film coming from Franz Marx Films and Brigadier Film Studios is Susanna van Biljon, directed by Egoli’s Bromley Cawood. This quirky Afrikaans film is the “story of Susan Boyle but in South Africa” and stars Afrikaans music stars Karen Zoid and Kurt Darren with Nico Panagio (Survivor and Top Billing) and Shaleen Surtie-Richards (Fiela se Kind, Egoli).  Susanna van Biljon is scheduled to open  on 23 September 2010 through Nu Metro.

Night Drive, another offering from Indi-genous Film Distribution, hits our screens on 15 October 2010. Written and directed by Justin Head and produced by Film Factory, Night Drive stars Chris Beasley, Brandon Auret, and Antonio David Lyons as tourists who find themselves trapped in a Bushveld nightmare.

The Afrikaans romantic comedy musical, Liefling, releases through Indi-genous Film Distribution on 19 November 2010. Set in Hartebeespoort, the film chronicles the love triangle of three university friends, played by Lika Berning, Bobby van Jaarsveld and Marlee van der Merwe. The film is directed by Brian Webber and produced by Hartiwood Studios.

Arguably the most anticipated movie of the year is Spud, based on the best-selling novel by John van der Ruit. The film is a co-production between Ross Garland’s Rogue Star Films and Brad Logan’s BLM Productions and is directed by Donavan Marsh (Dollars and White Pipes).

British comic legend John Cleese plays the role of The Guv, while Wolverine’s South African-born Troye Sivan will play the lead role.

The Crazy Eight, as well as the rest of the young cast, were chosen through nationwide casting auditions. The film is set at Michaelhouse in Durban. Spud opens through Nu Metro on 26 November 2010.

On 10 December 2010 Ster Kinekor will release Willie Esterhuizen’s Stoute Boudjies, based on the popular television series Stoute Boude. The film, whose plot follows that of the series, features a debut performance by Survivor South Africa winner GiGi.

To view the trailers, click here.
Sally Fink