And Nu?, in association with Johannesburg-based Brave Bunny Productions, has announced the commencement of pre-production for the feature-length film production of 'The Search For a South African Husband'.
The comedy-drama marks the feature directing debut of Elan Gamaker and stars up-and-coming French starlet Mélodie Abad.
It covers 48 hours in the life of a French woman who, after being caught working illegally in South Africa by Home Affairs, must find a husband in two days or face having to leave the country.
By showing the diversity of the men who come to meet the woman in order to marry her, the filmmakers hope that the search for a South African husband becomes a search for South Africa itself.
Other cast members include renowned stage and television performers Keren Tahor (Scandal, Second Skin), David Isaacs (SOS, Meet Joe Barber) and Daniel Browde (Promised Land). And those signed onto the production side include Director of Photography, Justin Youens; Production Designer, Julia Rosa Clark and Costume Designer, Bridget Baker.
The film will be shot in a unique visual style that includes several formats including a new HD-Digital technology that records footage as data, removing the need for tapes.
It will be shot entirely on location in Cape Town commencing September 2006, including an 'interview day' (Sunday, 17 September) wherein members of the public (along with actors) are encouraged to take part and attempt to be the chosen 'South African Husband'.
Also in the pipeline are theme-related events and an original soundtrack album featuring several up-and-coming South African artists recording their interpretation of love in South Africa and the diversity encountered in the country.
NOTES
- The film is due for release in 2007
- For more information on the filmmakers of the project call Grant Abrahams, Production Manager (076 604 5275) or see www.andnu.co.za
- For more information regarding marketing, sponsorship and contra-deals call Marketing Manager, Karabelo Mokoena on 076 217 2687
PO Box 15710
Vlaeberg
8018
www.andnu.co.za
SYNOPSIS
Fatima Ronquillo (29), a French émigré working illegally in a trendy Cape Town restaurant, is busted by Home Affairs in the middle of a shift. They tell her she has 48 hours in which to gather her possessions and return to France. In an ironic twist of colonial fate, this child of the First World is now not allowed to stay in the Third World.
For Fatima this is a living nightmare. Having fled a terrible domestic situation she has nothing to go back to in France. What's more, returning represents to her a restriction of movement, something that entirely contradicts her near-obsession with personal liberty.
Desperate, she has one option. At first uttered in jest but soon her only way to escape this bureaucratic inevitability, she must get married. Problem is (the ticking clock notwithstanding) that she neither has a boyfriend nor knows anyone prepared to tie the knot, even in the case of a 'visa marriage'. With nothing coming to mind and her bags half-packed, she stops in her tracks as a personal announcement is read out on a local radio station. She calls them up immediately and makes her own announcement.
As Fatima goes through her last rituals in the country in case her plan does not work, the announcement is read out to Cape Town's bachelors: in it she says she is looking for a husband, and that anyone interested in marrying her should meet at the restaurant in question the following day. There they will have 10 minutes in which to charm her, and at the end of the day she will make her decision.
The day comes. She is back at the (closed) restaurant. It's empty, a far cry from her last shift. Men soon arrive. Fatima emerges and asks for the first to come in. She insists that the men remain anonymous, for she does not want to be swayed by the inevitable weight behind South African names. We see the interviews of various random guys, but in most details see those of men One, Twenty-Two and Thirty-Eight.
She has specific questions relating to her view of the world and particularly freedom. Of all the initial men, none is suitable. Finally, Forty-Four comes in and is perfect. He answers all the questions just as she hopes and seems to understand her intimately and instinctively. She has made her decision and sends the other men home.
But there is one problem. He does not have a South African passport, and if she is to be with him it must be out of the scary freedom of love and not the safety of restriction.
This commitment terrifies her, and she flees to Number One's house. He is of course highly unsuitable, and she soon accepts how, subtly, any of her options will in effect imprison her.
After visiting an old friend, the reincarnation of Sophia Loren, she begins to sense for the first time the danger of living in two worlds, of ignoring reality, of avoiding love and remaining afraid. The next day she is back with Forty-Four, having decided to take the risk of love even though she has to leave. We realise she must indeed leave the country, but know that she has achieved her own, personal liberation.
Posted on Thursday 20 Jul 2006
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