Paranormal thriller The Tokoloshe' to screen at first-ever Comic Con Africa (14 to 16 September)

Paranormal thriller The Tokoloshe' to screen at first-ever Comic Con Africa (14 to 16 September)

Supernatural thriller The Tokoloshe, directed by Jerome Pikwane and starring Petronella Tshuma, will screen at the first-ever Comic Con Africa, at the Kyalami Convention Centre from 14 to 16 September. The three-day event showcases comic books, as well as science fiction and fantasy films and television, and all things supernatural.

The South African film, a tale about a terrifying predator, tells the story of Busi (Tshuma), a young woman who is desperate for money and takes the night shift at the local hospital. When she starts working there, she befriends a young girl, Gracie, (Kwande Nkosi) who believes that she is being terrorised by a supernatural being called the Tokoloshe. When another child is attacked, Busi is forced to ask if the Tokoloshe is responsible.

The film has generated a great deal of interest at various fantasy and horror festivals globally, says director Pikwane, who has just returned from its European premiere at Frightfest in London, the UK's largest international horror film festival.

Audiences have responded positively both in the UK and at the world premiere of The Tokoloshe' in South Korea. The language of film is universal, he adds. People are not only entertained, but they also think the story is very relevant. The film deals with a young woman who fights back against an evil that has pursued her all her life. The Tokoloshe is, after all, a diminutive, mythological spirit evoked for the purposes of evil and most commonly associated with sexual plunder.

Producer Dumi Gumbi believes that the strategy of taking the film to festivals is paying off: Film reviewers in the UK have given The Tokoloshe' a 4 out of 5' rating, which means a lot to us, coming from horror experts. We are hoping hope that South Africans will love seeing how this film deals with a scary South African mythology.

The Tokoloshe' will be travelling to film festivals in Portugal, Sweden, Spain and Belgium before it releases on 2 November at cinemas in South Africa just in time for Halloween. Earlier this year it opened the Durban International Film festival.

The Tokoloshe', which has already seen several international sales, was funded by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and M-Net Movies, and will be released by Indigenous Film Distribution.

We are excited to be releasing a genre film like The Tokoloshe', says Helen Kuun, MD of Indigenous Film Distribution. People love scary films. Sensation-seekers especially find pleasure in the feelings of relief that follow after intense fear.

We are also really excited to be releasing the fifth film produced by Dumi Gumbi and Cati Weinek, Kuun adds. Our ongoing partnership has proved to be really successful and we are proud of the great local content that is being distributed to audiences all over the world.

LINK:	http://nfvf.co.za/home/index.php?ipkMenuID=&ipkArticleID=607...
	See more stories from nfvf

Most recent headlines