Plaaslike Misdaadriller Bekendgestel By Internasionale Rolprentfees | Starburst Music
Plaaslike Misdaadriller Bekendgestel By Internasionale Rolprentfees
Friday, February 2, 2018 - 10:31
NOMMER 37, ’n rolprent deur Gambit Films, word gedurende die week van 9 tot 16 Maart 2018 op die grootskerm bekendgestel by die SXSW-rolprentfees in Texas. Dit is een van slegs 44 films, deur debuutfilmmakers, wat hiervoor gekies is uit 8 160 inskrywings van regoor die wêreld. Die kortfilm is reeds in 2016 bekroon met ’n SAFTA-toekenning vir Beste Kortfilm en dié projek beloof voort te bou op hierdie sukses, plaaslik en oorsee.
“Wanneer ’n fliek se naam NOMMER 37 is en in ’n fiktiewe area van die Kaapse Vlaktes afspeel, is dit maklik om aan te neem dat dit oor bendes gaan – maar dit doen nie. Dit is deur-en-deur ’n misdaadriller wat elke oomblik meer spanningsvol raak. Dit gaan oor alles wat vir ’n paartjie kan skeefloop wanneer depressie, nuuskierigheid, gierigheid, vrees en slegte keuses saamgegooi word,” sê regisseur en skrywer Nosipho Dumisa oor haar debuut-speelfilm. Nosipho wat oorspronklik van Durban af kom, maar tans in die Kaap woon, was al die regisseur van verskeie advertensies, televisiereeks- en realiteitsreeksvoorskoue, leefstylprogramme en kortfilms. Sy het onlangs ook die regie behartig van twee episodes van danZ vir kykNET & Kie en is een van die vervaardigers van die gewilde kykNET-sepie, Suidooster.
NOMMER 37, wat afspeel in ’n fiktiewe woonstelblok genaamd Haven Mansions in Dumisa se weergawe van ’n buurt op die Kaapse Vlaktes, bied ’n kykie deur die oë van ’n verbitterde eks-krimineel wat deur die wêreld waarvan hy eens so deel was opgekou en uitgespoeg is. “As kind, het ek graag na rillers, gruwels, aksie- en romantiese flieks gekyk. Dit was vir my opwindend om aan ’n rolprent te werk wat belangrike sosiale temas in ons gemeenskap onbeskaamd ondersoek, en net so onbeskaamd weergee as vermaak,” vertel Nosipho verder.
Irshaad Ally speel die rol van Randal Hendricks wat onlangs deur ’n ongeluk gestrem gelaat en nou rolstoel- woonstelgebonde is. Hy is kniediep in die skuld by ’n sosiopatiese geldskieter met die naam Emmie (Danny Ross), wat sy pond vleis eis. Wanneer sy toegewyde meisie, Pam (Monique Rockman), vir hom ’n verkyker present gee kan hy sy bure dophou en sien hy op ’n dag hoe ’n gevaarlike bendeleier, Lawyer (David Manuel), ’n moord pleeg en besluit om hom af te pers vir geld. Met verraad en gierigheid om elke hoek en draai, neem die gebeure wat volg hulle op ’n lewensgevaarlike reis, soos wat die wêreld rondom hom verder en verder in chaos gedompel word.
Irshaad Ally, wat bekend is as Rhafiek in Suidooster en Gasant in Four Corners, is baie opegwonde om deel te wees van hierdie produksie. “Ek is al deel van hierdie projek sedert die kortfilm in 2014 vervaardig is. Sedertdien was daar baie uitdagings om te oorkom, maar vier jaar later word die fliek uiteindelik vrygestel. Die gevoel is onbeskryflik,” deel hy. Oor die rol wat hy speel, sê hy: “My een swaer is ’n parapleeg en ek was daar toe hy deur sy depressie gegaan het en my sussie wou los, net soos wat Randal vir Pam wou los. Hy het baie vriende, wat oor die jare deel geword het van ons gesin. Hulle is ’n wilde klomp rolstoelgebonde ouens, met skerp tonge, wat vir my soos ouer broers is. Om voor te berei vir my rol, het ek hulle persoonlike en intieme vrae gevra oor hoe dit vir ’n man is om ’n parapleeg te wees, en dit is beantwoord met grappies en trane. Dit was terselfdertyd wonderlik en aaklig, maar ek sal dit enige tyd weer doen omdat ek so baie geleer het. Nosipho is ’n wonderlike regisseur en dit was lekker om saam met haar te werk!”
Die storie, wat hoofsaaklik vanuit Randal se woonstel vertel word totdat die speurder opdaag, is slim saamgestel om die bouende spanning en gevoel van disfunksie in die fliek enduit te handhaaf. Die talent van verskeie plaaslike akteurs, waaronder Sandi Schultz (Binnelanders, Noem My Skollie), Deon Lotz (Hansie, Faan se Trein), Elton Landrew (Die ek, Anna, Dryfsand, 7de Laan), Ephraim Gordon (Class Act), Danny Ross (Broken Vows, Suidooster), David Manuel (The Outsiders, Noem My Skollie) en Amrain Ismail-Essop (This Life, Forgiveness) word ten toongestel, terwyl Monique Rockman ook beïndruk in haar eerste hoofrol op die grootskerm.
NOMMER 37 is ’n spanningsbelaaide grootskerm-ervaring, wat kykers op die punte van hulle stoele sal hou tot en met die laaste toneel. “Ek hoop dat alle Suid-Afrikaners hierdie fliek sal gaan kyk, want die tema is universeel terwyl hulle ook meer sal sien van ’n wêreld wat aan die meeste van ons onbekend is. Teen die tyd wat fliekgangers die bioskoop verlaat, sal hulle vermaak en verras voel... en dalk ook sommer lus wees om ’n verkyker aan te skaf,” meen Nosipho.
Die rolprent is vervaardig deur Gambit Films in samewerking met kykNET Films, M-Net en Die Departement van Handel en Nywerheid (DTI). Dit word plaaslik, op 1 Junie 2018, vrygestel deur Ster-Kinekor Entertainment en sal ook internasionaal versprei word deur XYZ Films.
Local Crime Thriller To Premiere At International Film Festival
NOMMER 37, produced by Gambit Films, is heading for the international big screen and is set for its World Premiere at the SXSW (South by South West) Film Festival, in Texas, during the week of 9 to 16 March 2018. It is one of only 44 films, by first-time filmmakers, that were included from the 8 160 submissions they have had from across the world. The short film version of this gripping tale has already won a SAFTA Award in 2016 for Best Short Film and promises to continue making waves in the film industry – both locally and abroad.
“With a title like NOMMER 37 and set in a fictional Cape Flats area, you would think that this is a film about gangsters – it’s not. What it is, is an out-and-out crime thriller that tightens the screws of tension with every minute. It’s about everything that could go wrong for a couple when depression, curiosity, greed, fear and horrific bad decision-making collide,” says director and writer Nosipho Dumisa about her debut feature film. Originally from Durban but based in Cape Town, Nosipho has directed countless commercials, television pilots, reality TV pilots, lifestyle shows and short films. She has recently directed two episodes of danZ, featured on kykNET & Kie, and is also one of the producers of the hit kykNET soap opera, Suidooster.
Set in Haven Mansions, a fictional block of apartments in Dumisa’s imagined suburb of the Cape Flats, NOMMER 37 looks through the eyes of a former petty criminal, who has been spat out by the very world he once thrived in and left to observe it from the outside. “Having grown up watching genre films like thrillers, horrors, action and romance, it was exciting to work on a film that unapologetically explored important themes that confront us as a society today, through equally unapologetic entertainment,” she adds.
Entrapped in his apartment, Randal Hendricks (Irshaad Ally), a recent paraplegic, is given a gift of binoculars by his devoted girlfriend, Pam (Monique Rockman). But he is in financial debt to Emmie (Danny Ross), a sadistic loan shark, and when he witnesses a powerful gangster, named Lawyer (David Manuel), commit murder while observing his neighbours through his binoculars, he initiates a dangerous blackmail scheme in an attempt to settle his debt. With deception and greed around every corner, what follows is a thrilling ride that puts both their lives in mortal danger… as the world around Randal deteriorates further and further into chaos.
Irshaad Ally, who is best-known as Rhafiek in Suidooster and Gasant in Four Corners, is thrilled about starring in the film. “I have been involved with this project since we made the short film in 2014 and it has faced a lot of obstacles since then. Now, four years later, the feature film is being released and the joy is inexplicable,” he shares. About playing Randal, he adds: “I have a brother-in-law who is a paraplegic. I’ve lived with him through his depression and wanting to leave my sister just like Randal wanted to leave Pam. He has many friends who’ve become part of our family. A rowdy, foulmouthed bunch of wheelchair bound guys who are like my older brothers. I sat them down and asked intimate questions about what it felt like being a disabled man and it was met with tears and laughter. So that’s how I prepped basically. It was both a wonderful and terrible experience, but I’ll do it all over again because I learnt so much. I absolutely loved being directed by Nosipho!”
The story, mainly told from Randal’s apartment until the detective shows up, is cleverly constructed to highlight and maintain suspense and an aura of dysfunction throughout the film. It also boasts a very talented cast, including an impressive performance by Monique Rockman, who makes her big screen debut as leading lady, Pam. Sandi Schultz (Binnelanders, Noem My Skollie), Deon Lotz (Hansie, Faan se Trein), Elton Landrew (Die ek, Anna, Dryfsand, 7de Laan), Ephraim Gordon (Class Act), Danny Ross (Broken Vows, Suidooster), David Manuel (The Outsiders, Noem My Skollie), and Amrain Ismail-Essop (This Life, Forgiveness) can also be seen in the movie.
NOMMER 37 is a thrilling big-screen cinematic experience that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats until the credits start rolling. “My hope is that this film will be seen by all South Africans because the story is so universal and relatable, whilst giving us a peek into a world that’s familiar to some but unknown by most through the lens of a voyeur. By the time the audience walks out of the cinema, they will have been thoroughly entertained, surprised and quite possibly (though questionably) looking to buy a pair of binoculars,” Nosipho concludes.
This Gambit Films Production was produced in association with kykNET Films, M-Net and the DTI, and will be distributed by Ster Kinekor Entertainment locally, in cinemas across the country, on 1 June 2018, and by XYZ Films internationally.