FILM.
ISANGO ON THE BIG SCREEN
Films created by Mark Dornford-May and the ensemble include u-Carmen eKhayelitsha, Son of Man, Unogumbe – Noye’s Fludde and Breathe – Umphefumlo. The films have met with popular and critical acclaim, playing at festivals including The Berlin International Film Festival, LA Pan African Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and others in Australia, the USA, the UK, Europe and Africa. They have won the Golden Bear at The Berlin International Film Festival as well as several Best Feature Awards.
‘Arthouse genius’
The Times, UK
‘This was basically the best idea ever.’
Village Voice, USA
‘Colourful, vivid and exotic’
The Guardian Guide, UK
‘Vibrant and visually exhilirating’
Financial Times, UK
‘An amazing piece of work’
The Mail On Sunday, UK
One man’s journey of love, deception and betrayal in contemporary South Africa. Based on the New Testament. Awarded
LA Pan African Film Festival, Best Feature, Traverse City Film Festival – Founders Award, Sundance Film Festival – Grand Jury Prize nomination “World Cinema”, BFI London Film Festival – Official Selection, River Run International Film Festival – Best Director, San Francisco Black Film Festival – Winner “Best World Cinema”
Unogumbe follows the plot of Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde opera closely but moves the action from medieval England to present-day South Africa, where the background and poverty of the township is a striking metaphor for man’s inhumanity to man. Sung in Xhosa, with subtitles in medieval English, it is completely re-scored for African instruments. The opera is a tale for children; however the threat of global warming and its consequences make the flood seem a closer reality.
Students Mimi and Lungelo fall in love and dream of a future together. But their happiness is tested to the full: their daily lives, and those of their fellow students, are defined by the struggle for food, accommodation and medical treatment. Mimi’s need is especially great because she is suffering from tuberculosis, something she at first conceals. When her condition worsens, she breaks up with Lungelo but finds a friend she can rely upon in Zoleka.
