The Opening Night Feature is Miramax’s TSOTSI in Atlanta on Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. in Atlantic Station’s Regal Cinemas 16. Tsotsi picked up the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards.
Written and directed by Gavin Hood and based on the sole novel by acclaimed playwright Athol Fugard, this deeply affecting film traces six days in the life of a young gang leader who steals a woman’s car—unaware, in his panic, that her baby is in the back seat. Suddenly faced with caring for an infant, Tostsi, who was orphaned at an early age and forced to survive by his wits alone, unexpectedly taps into reservoirs of humanity that he did not know he possessed.
Pumping with the high energy of Zola’s ‘Kwaito’ music, TSOTSI is an extraordinary and gritty contemporary portrait of ghetto life set amidst the sprawling Johannesburg townships. In re-setting Fugard’s material, moving it from the fifties during the height of apartheid to the present, Hood has reshaped the material to reflect a post-apartheid tale of hope and redemption, the triumph of love over rage.
TSOTSI premiered at the 2005 Edinburgh Film Festival, where it won the Michael Powell Award and the Audience Award, and went on to the win other Audience awards at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and the 2005 AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival.
Directed and written by Gavin Hood, TSOTSI is produced by Peter Fudakowski and executive produced by Robbie Little. The film marks the feature debut by Presley Chweneyagae (as Tsotsi) and Terry Pheto (as Miriam) with an appearance by acclaimed South African musician Zola (as Fela).
Attendees of the festival can look forward to a weeklong schedule of panels, workshops, seminars, and conferences, all providing great opportunities for aspiring filmmakers.
The Independent Black Film Festival is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing culturally enriching experiences for youth and adults through creative film presentations produced by independent filmmakers for the general public.
“We want people of all experience levels across all of these industries to have the opportunity to talk with and learn from each other," said Asante Addae, founder and CEO of the IBFF.
For more information about the films and Festival updates, please visit www.indieblackfilm.org or email info@indieblackfilm.com. Call 404-249-9529 for the Festival Office.
Media requesting interviews or to cover events, please contact Diane Larche’, Larche’ Communications at 404 273-3227 or dlarchepr@aol.com.
