Old Rhodian’s short film wins 21 awards

ELEGY FOR A REVOLUTIONARY ( www.elegy-movie.com ) a true narrative short film based on the African Resistance Movement in South Africa has won eleven best short awards.

Other awards include three runner-up, best director, best acting ensemble, two film competitions, one honorable mention, eleven nominations and three wins for best supporting actor, best costume and best makeup.

The story is loosely based on the novel of the same name, written by C. J. Driver www.jontydriver.co.uk (which was banned in South Africa for many years) and uses the experience of underground political action in South Africa during the 1960’s, when, encouraged by his friend, a young, idealistic journalist joins the African National Congress (ANC) to protest apartheid.

When their acts of sabotage turn to murder, their relationship falls apart. The notoriously brutal police are hot on the trail. When captured, do these two friends turn on each other for survival or remain quiet, facing torture and death? Then one of them cooperates with the security police and becomes a witness for the state.

With a country divided and loyalty strained, two men are forced to choose sides — and suffer their fate. Who is the real traitor? Only one thing is certain: Betrayal knows no limits. The film examines the motives of a group of young white “liberals” who turn to violence to oppose the repressive Nationalist Government.

At the core of this account is one question: “Can violence be justified as a way of opposing tyranny? Says, director, “I hope to educate and entertain the audience with questions like these, and explore the divide between left and right, black and white, loyalty and treachery.

I grew up in South Africa. I detested apartheid but loved my country. When the “great plan” of apartheid fell to pieces, I set upon stories that exposed social injustice, expressed the inhumanity of authoritarian regimes, and demonstrated human resilience against adversity.

The director, graduated from Rhodes University in South Africa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech & Drama. In South Africa, he did projects with the South African Broadcasting Company, Elton John and Michael York. Independently, he has directed for the stage. In the United States, he completed the Directing program at American Film Institute and interned with David Cronenberg, Karl Shenkel and Curtis Hanson. On stage, he reprised Stillborn, which he also directed as a film.

He has worked with Fries Entertainment, New World Productions and on projects with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Martin Sheen, Lauren Hutton, Dennis Hopper, Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand.

Source: SA Creatives, Sunday, November 4, 2012