21 November, 2017 - 07:45
SA short film, The Bull premieres this Thursday, 23 November, to cast, crew, supporters and industry VIPs at The Labia in Cape Town with a brief panel Q&A discussion offered after both screenings (one at 7pm and the other at 7h30pm).
The filmmakers would like to submit the film to top tier international film festivals and are in the process of running an intensive crowdfunding campaign in the hopes of raising the funds required for festival submission fees.
THE BULL Short Film
The short film falls into the genre of magical realism as American-born / South African-at-heart writer and director Kelsey Egan explores the mythology of shape-shifting alongside South African traditions and themes of strength, longing and love of family.
Producer Benike Palfi says: Kelsey's been living in South Africa for over ten years and is completely enamoured with our beautiful country. It's a love that is evident in all her work and THE BULL is no exception.
Egan wrote the script about three years ago and promptly shelved it as she knew the complex production elements required to bring the story to life made the film practically unproducible; but producers Palfi and Rafeeqah Galant fell in love with the project and committed themselves into making the impossible a reality. Working closely with Kelsey, they managed to assemble a talented team to breathe life into the film.
With evocative cinematography courtesy of Christian Denslow and a phenomenal professional crew, this labour of love was shot in three and a half days in September 2017, with an additional pick-up shoot in early October during which a reduced crew managed to capture the live birth of a foal. The film was produced with virtually zero funding thanks to a diverse assortment of incredible supporters and sponsors, including but not limited to Panavision SA, Media Film Services, Katana Grips, Cosmesis Studios, MXFX, Refinery, I Love Foodies, Fria's Superfoods, and a host of other local health food brands who contributed to the catering. The total value of the production is approximately R900,000.00 but the team managed to complete the film with a R40,000.00 contribution from Egan, who personally covered the hard costs of insurance, accommodation and additional catering.
Crowdfunding
The filmmakers want nothing more than to share THE BULL with the world, with the aim of showcasing what South African filmmakers are capable of achieving and their ability to compete at an international level.
Naturally, the more festivals submitted to, the greater the reach of the film and the higher the chance of a successful festival run. For this reason, the team is crowdfunding via Thundafund in the hopes of submitting the short film to at least 60 international top tier film festivals, including Cannes International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival.
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The goal is to raise R200,000.00 in order to cover the costs of film festival submissions, marketing, publicity and the hard costs incurred during production. If the dream goal of R200,000 is reached, the filmmakers will also be able to send at least one representative overseas to attend the film's festival premiere.
Palfi continues: We had such an amazing team of cast, crew and supporters that were willing to throw themselves into the project whole-heartedly - for nothing but the love of film and good story!
The team's Thundafund campaign has received incredible support from everyone who was involved with the project, but the team is well-aware that the general public and possible investors who haven't been involved in the project from the start won't necessarilly be as devoted as they are and so are likely to need incentives to contribute.
To this end, the filmmakers have put together a tiered reward-based system whereby Thundafund donators receive sponsored prizes in exchange for their donations. These rewards range from an invitation to the Cape Town Premiere to personalised videos, dance lessons, specially-commissioned artworks, a private concert and a noteworthy visit with a Nguni Herd. Furthermore, if the goal of R200,000.00 is achieved, filmmakers will provide all supporters with a beautifully printed original soundtrack album for the film and cover the cost of mailing the disc to all supporters.
Support and Donate
For more information on the film and to help the filmmakers share it with the world, please visit https://www.thundafund.com/project/thebullfilm.
Follow along on social media via TheBullFilm on Facebook, @thebullfilmct on Twitter, @thebullfilm on Instagram and #thebullshortfilm.
Our Tribe
Palfi concludes: There are so many people and companies we need to thank that we don't even know where to start. Without them, this project would not have been possible - from the efforts and time put in by the cast and crew to the small favours of our most loyal supporters and the major freebies given by our sponsors; it is really the people who have helped us along the way that have made all the difference. Special thanks to Tafelsig Nguni Cattle at Dro rug Farm, Southcross Stud and Stables, Golden Touch Thoroughbred Services, Labia Theatre and the incredible local health food brands who fed our crew so well: Scheckters Organic Energy, BuchuLife, Totally Wild, Quorn SA, Santa Annas, Earth Rebel - Fermented Foods & Beverages, Happy Earth People, Culture Mushrooms, Onatural, Just Popcorn, Bliss Superfood Snacks, earthshine, IamSuperbar, nakd Wholefoods, Natures Delicacies, Rush Bars, RAW EARTH Kitchen, The Nice Company, Zang Chocolate, MoonBean Unbakery, Cred Natural Oils, Dr Toms Premium Kombucha, Nibble me - g
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21 November, 2017 - 07:45 
