Mthunzi gets distracted on his way back from the store.
Mthunzir returns home when he sees a woman convulsing in an alley. Her niece then asked him to help to take her home and he found himself involved in a world to which he did not belong.
starring Nala Khumalo, Jamie-Lee Money, Inge Beckmann, Russell Crous
a film by Tebogo MALEBOGO
South Africa, 2019 | NARRATIVE | 9' | 4:3 | ENGLISH LANGUAGE | SUBTITLES: ENGLISH / FRANÇAIS / ESPAÑOL / 中文
3rd short film
Based on real facts.
Title: MTHUNZI Year:2019 Type: NARRATIVE Duration: 9' Ratio: 4:3 Language: ENGLISH Subtitles: ENGLISH / FRANÇAIS / ESPAÑOL / 中文
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT The working title for our film was "Proviso". A proviso is an addition or qualification attached to a statement, gesture or agreement. I feel all people have provisos attached to how they live. How they should act, talk, stand, dress, etc in order to be accepted in certain environments. A woman in an all-male workplace. A homosexual man who'd have to hide his orientation. A mixed-race person depending on what side of family they're with. Mthunzi, our protagonist, is being reminded of his proviso. Despite being in this home to help, his race takes a forefront. Partially autobiographical, it's a young man's reminder of society's snap-judgement of people who look like him. The idea first came to me when I was walking through a suburban neighborhood and saw a lady faint in her doorway. I helped her grandson carry her inside and on my way out, one of her other family members questioned why I was in the house. I had to explain to him what had happened to his own family member. Even after explaining, there was an unease that stayed in the air, it clouded the whole scene and prevented us from seeing each other as anything more than society had conditioned us to see. He appeared ready to defend his family from me, a cue their dog took as it snarled at my feet on my way out. As I sat on that moment, I began to think about the real fears we face in a country like South Africa. How we are conditioned, without it being our fault. I became interested in exploring those spaces, finding the limit. What happens if someone who looks like this enters this space? What are the stakes? How much explaining needs to be done? We hope this project will be a way to interrogate these ideas. To use a form as malleable as filmmaking to interrogate a small part of our own place in the world, not only so that we can understand others, but for others to look into themselves and reconsider their own surroundings.
CAST Nala Khumalo Jamie-Lee Money Inge Beckmann Russell Crous
Executive Producers Tebogo Malebogo, Petrus van Staden Screenwriter & Director Tebogo Malebogo
Producer: Petrus van Staden Co-Producer: Jamie Petersen 1st AD: Walter Mzengi Production Assistants: Hannah Innacio, Suné Burger Director of Photography: Pierre De Villiers 1st AC: Fuad Casker 2nd AC: Alexandre Ortscheit 3rd AC: Nicolas Faure Loader: Chantelle Potgieter Gaffer: Warrick le Sueur Grip: Justin Vallay DIT: Emile van Straaten Script Supervisors: Adam Hansen, Amy Stohrer On-Set Sound: Ruan Pienaar, Juandré Viljoen Art Director: Lara Hattingh Art Dept. Assistant: Danielle Erlank Make-up: Hiroshi Adaniya, Sune Burger, Hannah Inacio
BTS Photographer: Gabriella Achadinha Poster Design: Matthew Bradley Editor: Petrus van Staden Composer: Elu Eboka Sound Editors/Mixers: Edward King, Greg Albert, Alex Smillie Grade: Franscesca Verveckken at Priest Post Special Thanks Panavision Panalux GIB Insurance Phillip & Nicholas Doble
FESTIVALS SELECTIONS * Oscar Qualifying Film Festivals
2019 Locarno Film Festival 72 * Festival Internacional de Cine Rengo 15 New York Film Festival 57 MikroFAF International Festival 10 Thess International Short Film Festival 13 Chicago International Film Festival 55 * Uppsala International Short Film Festival 38 * ACT Shorts in the Museum San Jose International Short Film Festival 11 Carthage Film Festival 30 Lobo Fest: Part 1 11 AFI Fest 33 * Hainan Island International Film Festival 2 Bogoshorts 17 * Tapiales International Film Festival 16 Lobo Fest: Part 2 11
2020 Arthouse Asia 4 Flickerfest 29 * Le Cinéma Club Minimalen Short Film Festival 32 Yountville International Short Film Festival 3 Santander Independent Film Festival 3 Carta Blanca: Felipe Montoya at Tabakalera Palencia International Film Festival 29 Tampere Film Festival 50 * SXSW 32 * ImagineIndia 19 Ramsgate International Film Festival 4 Palm Springs International ShortFest 26 * Seattle Black Film Festival 17 Gimli Film Festival 20 International Festival Signs of the Night 18 San Francisco Black Film Festival 22 Bengaluru International Short Film Festival 9 * Black Community Foundation Nuremberg Afrika Film Festival Köln 27 Silwerskermfees Webinar Quibdó África Film Festival 3 Encounters Film Festival 25 * Arizona International Film Festival 29 Drunken Film Fest Oakland Shnit Film Festival 18 El Paso Film Festival 3 Adelaide Film Festival 7 Hollyshorts Film Festival 17* Interfilm Berlin 36* Uruguay International Film Festival 38 Griot Film Festival Russian Indie Film Festival 3
2021 Dakar Court Short Film Festival (Senegal, Dec) Vilnius International Short Film Festival 14 Mecal Pro 23 Film O'Clock International Film Festival 1 Black Diaspora Short Film Festival Borrego Springs Film Festival 6 Humans of Film 2
AWARDS * Best Actor Award (Prix de la Meilleure interprétation masculine) - Nala Khumalo /// Dakar Court (Senegal, 2021) * Special Jury Prize: Live Action Short Film /// AFI Fest * Bronze Award : Best Short Film /// Carthage Film Festival - JCC 2019 (Tunisia) * Best International Short Film Jury Prize /// Gimli Film Festival * Best International Short Film /// Quibdó África Film Festival * Best World Narrative /// Drunken Film Fest Oakland * Best Editing /// Russian Indie Film Festival * Silver Award : Best Short Film - Social Awareness /// Queen Palms International Film Festival * Nominated : Best Actor - Nala Khumalo /// Queen Palms International Film Festival * Best Short Cinematography (Sept'19): Pierre De Villiers /// European Cinematography Awards
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