Previously banned SA film travels to international festivals

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Previously banned SA film travels to international festivals --

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 09:02

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In 1973 the South African film Joe Bullet was banned by the apartheid government after its second screening at the Eyethu Cinema in Soweto. Though the ban was later lifted, producers never pursued another release until 2013 when producer and writer Tonie van der Merwe brought one of the two existing prints to the attention of Benjamin Cowley, CEO of the Gravel Road Entertainment Group. It was from here that the Gravel Roads Legacy Initiative, which aims to restore South African films from the 1970s and 1980s, emerged.

The film premiered at the 2014 Durban International Film Festival and will feature at the To Save and Project Film Preservation Festival in New York on 8 and 13 November. In December, it will screen at the Carthage International Film Festival in Tunisia, after which it will travel to Germany for the 65th Berlinale Film Festival in February 2015.

Cowley comments, To have our Legacy Initiative s tent-pole project selected for these prestigious festivals and to be recognised for our accomplishments in the restoration of this and many other lost films by the international industry is an absolute honour. Special mention must go out to the incredible restoration team at Waterfront Film Studios, as well as the Gauteng Film Commission. Without their support this would not have been possible. This is only the beginning for many African titles to come back from the past and getting them the recognition they deserve.

Van der Merwe adds, I never in my wildest dreams thought that this would even be possible.

Joe Bullet tells the story of a soccer team which is taunted by a gangster a week before their final championship. The team turns to Joe Bullet to save them, and their chance at winning. The film stars the late Ken Gampu, Cocky Two Bull and Abigail Kubeka.

Veiw the unrestored Joe Bullet trailer or the Before and After video.

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