SA Film tops US box office!

SA-made Sci-fi action thriller District 9, about a colony of space aliens stranded in South Africa, landed atop the North American box office with an estimated R300 million its first weekend, distributor Sony Pictures said on Sunday.



The film was directed and co-written by South African native Neill Blomkamp, making his feature directorial debut after a career of doing commercials. The movie cost roughly R240 million to make - a modest budget by Hollywood standards.

The cast of unknowns stars South African newcomer Sharlto Copley as a bureaucrat leading the forced eviction of alien creatures from a Johannesburg slum, District 9, where they have been settled since their ship stalled over the city 20 years earlier, marooning them on Earth.

Umalusi opens in the Eastern Cape

Umalusi, a local film shot in the Eastern Cape, has officially launched in East London. It opens at selected Ster-Kinekor and Nu-Metro cinemas from July 10.

Co-written by Jhamil Qubeka and Mlandu Sikwebu, and shot in the East London suburbs of Vincent, West Bank, Duncan Village and Mdantsane, Umalusi is the tale of a “privileged” young man living in an upmarket suburb who panics and goes on the run when a friend dies from a drug overdose.



The self-funded film was shot in the township with most of the small crew and extras drawn from around East London and Mdantsane. Qubeka says the film will teach South Africans to do things for themselves: "It will hopefully inspire people to tell their own stories."

Eastern Cape Production named Film of the Year

Did you know that Wild Ocean - a 3D movie shot in the Ocean off the Eastern Cape, was selected as the 2009 Earthwatch Film of the Year? How cool!



Wild Ocean celebrates the annual feeding frenzy in the oceans of South Africa as billions of sardines migrate up the Wild Coast, causing breaching whales, frenzied sharks, herding dolphins, and diving gannets to compete in an epic struggle for survival.

Written, directed, edited, and scored by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas (the UK-based, Oscar and Emmy-nominated creative duo behind the internationally acclaimed Stomp), Wild Ocean was a finalist for two Panda Awards (otherwise known as "The Green Oscars) at the 2008 Wildscreen Festival: "Best Film-Theatrical" and "Best Music".

It's only a little whinge, but if only Eastern Cape filmmakers could have gotten to this story first......

Viral Marketing and the new District 9 Movie

Re. Digital (again) - here's something to look out for - the online viral marketing campaign for the new SA Sci-Fi movie District 9. It's produced by Peter Jackson (yes, he of Lord of the Rings fame) and has a clever but also quite relevant story about the integration of aliens. In this case, alien aliens, but there's a lot of apartheid in there, and a lot about the attacks on refugees last year. It looks like it might be the kind of SA tale that works without a lot of finger wagging and point scoring.....



So visit www.d-9.com and play around with the very cool interface and various websites that have been setup to give you an introduction to the origins, look and hardware/technology on the "non-human" aliens that are the focus of Neill Blomkamp's film.

And how does Viral Marketing work? well, just like this actually; I see something I like and send it on to all my friends. It's the kind of word-of-mouth advertising that money can't buy...... Another reason for us to start building a database of Eastern Cape movie audiences.

SAFTA Awards open for Eastern Cape Entries

The South African Film and Television Awards have opened for entry - click here for the entry details. Hopefully we can get Eastern Cape entries in just about every category??