A proudly South African movie BACK OF THE MOON has written history when it won a major award at the 40th Durban International Film Festival held at the Elangeni Hotel in Durban last night.
The movie which was directed by Academy Award-winnier Angus Gibson and stars Richard Lukunku, Moneoa Moshesh, Lemogang Tsipa and Thomas Gumede won the Best South African Feature Film Award on The night.
The movie is produced by Desiree Markgraff and executive produced by William Kentridge and Anant Singh.
The popular French film, LES MISÉRABLES scooped two awards which include the Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay Awards. BACK OF THE MOON's win comes hardly a week after the film had its World Premiere last Friday at the Festival.
After collecting the award, director Gibson said: "Durban is my home town so, it is especially great for us to be recognized with the Best South African Feature Film award at DIFF. I hope that this is a sign that a South African audience will embrace the film.
BACK OF THE MOON was truly a collective effort and every crew and cast member should feel that this award belongs to them as well." Cannes Jury Prize winner, LES MISÉRABLES, is the debut feature film from director Ladj Ly who co-wrote the screenplay with Giordano Gederlini and Alexis Manenti. Ladj Ly said they were honoured to win the Best Feature Film Award at the Durban International Film Festival.
"It is a very special award for us as it is the first award for LES MISÉRABLES to come from Africa. I would like to thank my producers Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barall; our incredible actors and our entire team for their commitment to LES MISÉRABLES and for contributing to the creation of a film that highlights the challenges faced by immigrants and marginalized communities. Thank you Durban International Film Festival for this award, and to our African distributor, Videovision Entertainment.
" Anant Singh who is the distributor of the two film said they are happy that they scooped three awards on the night. "We are very proud that BACK OF THE MOON has won the Best South African Feature Film prize. The film is named after a famous jazz club in Sophiatown.
The accounts of Sophiatown tell us that it was a multicultural melting pot, a hive of political activity and a hub of black intellectualism. Angus has created a cinematic masterpiece which captures the essence of Sophiatown authentically, bringing it to life on the big screen," said Singh.
Alexandre Olmedo, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of France in South Africa said: It's a very good year for the Durban International Film Festival and we are very happy that the film LES MISÉRABLES, directed by Ladj Ly was so well received among this year’s award-winning films! This success reflects the diversity and vitality of French cinema. I would like to congratulate the director and the film crew as well as the South African distributor, Videovision Entertainment, a long-time partner of our Embassy. We are very happy to support the distribution of the film in South Africa."
