10 October 2024 Johannesburg, South Africa - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is proud to announce that the film Old Righteous Blues has been selected to represent South Africa in the Best International Feature Film category at the prestigious 97th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars). This remarkable achievement reflects the immense talent and creativity of the South African film industry, as well as the resilience of storytelling that transcends borders.
The decision was made by the South African Academy Awards Selection Committee after an extensive judging process, which included scored reviews and in-depth deliberations. This year's committee comprised of a diverse panel of seasoned industry professionals from various fields within the film industry, who were submitted to and approved by the Academy. Each submission was rigorously evaluated following the Academy Awards' Best International Feature Film eligibility criteria.
Old Righteous Blues is a deeply moving narrative about a young man's journey to overcome personal limitations and rise above the ghosts of the past to unite a fractured community. Set against the backdrop of a divided town, the film follows the protagonist as he attempts to restore the once-glorious Old Righteous Blues Christmas Choir Band (Kerskoor) to its former stature. However, he is confronted with the long-standing consequences of a bitter feud started by his father two decades earlier, which split the choir in two and devastated the community. For twenty years, street battles ensued, families were torn apart, and loyalties were tested as the two rival bands claimed ownership of the town's Kerskoor with destructive and violent consequences.
Award Winning Director Muneera Sallies says It is an intense glimpse into the life of a young man, a family, and a community. More than that it is an intense glimpse into a journey and into the heart of brotherhood, tapping into immense stores of pain, love, dreams, and courage.
I was drawn to this project from the very first moment I had first picked up the script. I was intrigued and captivated by the characters and their stories within this little community, so much so that I immediately decided to visit and experience the streets of Bo-Dorp Robertson.
Speaking on behalf of the NFVF, ACEO, Lebogang Mogoera expressed the foundation's pride in the selection of Old Righteous Blues for the Oscars submission. This film is a testament to the exceptional storytelling talent within South Africa. We are honoured to have Old Righteous Blues' represent us on such a prestigious global platform, and we believe its universal themes of redemption, community, and overcoming the past will captivate audiences worldwide.
Distributed by Indigenous Film Distribution and pre-sold to kykNet, Old Righteous Blues is a powerful reflection of the complex and often painful dynamics of community, legacy, and redemption. The film, which has been a passion project of Writer Carol Shore for 30 years, is expected to resonate deeply with international audiences, offering a unique and poignant South African perspective on unity and hope amidst division.
Nomsa Philiso, CEO of General Entertainment at the MultiChoice Group, stated, Old Righteous Blues is a powerful reflection of the complex and often painful dynamics of community, legacy and redemption. The film's setting is truly local and the mesmeric writing offers a unique and poignant South African perspective on unity and hope amidst division, she says. MultiChoice is dedicated to telling African stories - produced and told by Africans - and taking them to the rest of the world, where they stand shoulder-to-shoulder alongside other would-be Academy Award contenders .
The world which unfolds in Old Righteous Blues is magical and unique to the rural Western Cape towns where the movie was filmed. The story highlights the richness of South African heritage, while also exploring universal themes of resilience, and identity. These Christmas Choir bands are vehicles for joy and hope which the film captures with grace, warmth and humour. We are thrilled for the teams involved that this beautiful movie will represent the best of South African film-making in the run-up to the Oscars in 2025. , said Waldimar Pelser Channel Director, Premium Channels.
The movie has already won 11 awards at Silwerskermfees, Romford Film Festival 2024 and Panther City Film Festivals. Some of the awards include, Best Supporting Actor Silwerskermfees 2023: Joshwin Dyson, Best Director Romford Film Festival 2024: Muneera Sallies, Best Actor Romford Film Festival 2024: Ayden Croy and Best Supporting Actor Panther City Film Festival 2024: Stefan Erasmus.
The NFVF extends its heartfelt congratulations to the cast, crew, and everyone involved in bringing this incredible story to life. The submission of Old Righteous Blues for the 97th Academy Awards marks another milestone in South Africa's growing prominence on the global film stage, and we look forward to following its journey in the coming months. The Top 11 nominations will be announced on 17 December 2024, and the final Top 5 for the Academy Awards Best International Feature Film category will be announced on the 17 January 2025.
For more information on Old Righteous Blues and South Africa's journey to the Academy Awards, visit the NFVF website https://www.nfvf.co.za/ or follow our social media platforms for updates.
For further information or media inquiries, please contact:
NFVF Representative:
Lerato Mokopanele
Marketing and Communications Manager
National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF)
leratom@nfvf.co.za
0813663880
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
10 October 2024 Johannesburg, South Africa - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is proud to announce that the film Old Righteous Blues has been selected to represent South Africa in the Best International Feature Film category at the prestigious 97th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars). This remarkable achievement reflects the immense talent and creativity of the South African film industry, as well as the resilience of storytelling that transcends borders.
