Darrell Roodt

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Darrell Roodt
Born
Darrell James Roodt

(1962-04-28) 28 April 1962 (age 61)
NationalitySouth African
CitizenshipSouth African
Occupation(s) Film director, screenwriter, producer [1]
Years active1985–present
Known forSarafina!

Darrell James Roodt (born in Johannesburg, 28 April 1962) is a South African film director, screenwriter and producer. He is probably most well known for his 1992 film Sarafina! which starred actress Whoopi Goldberg. [2] Also regarded as South Africa's most prolific film director, Roodt has worked with the late Patrick Swayze in Father Hood , James Earl Jones in Cry, the Beloved Country and Ice Cube in Dangerous Ground .

Contents

Early life

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Darrell James Roodt grew up during the height of apartheid-era South Africa. His early films like Place of Weeping strongly condemned apartheid. Roodt was astounded that no one was addressing the conditions of apartheid through the medium of film, thus Place of Weeping is considered to be the first overtly anti-apartheid film made by a South African. Roodt is quoted as saying "I didn’t do it from a leftist, agit-prop point of view, rather, I tried to explore characters caught up in quagmire of those turbulent times. Consequently I was never celebrated (for want of a better word) as a leftist film-maker." [3]

Awards and festivals

His film Sarafina! was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. [4] His 2012 film Little One was selected as the South African entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist. [5]

His 2007 film Meisie won best film at the KKNK film festival in March 2008.

Roodt has won an EIUC Award at the Venice Film Festival (2004) and the Taormina Arte Award at the Taormina International Film Festival (2000) [6]

His film Yesterday (2004) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Foreign Film (2005).

Filmography

As director

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<i>Winnie Mandela</i> (film) 2011 film by Darrell Roodt

Winnie Mandela is a 2011 South African-Canadian historical drama film starring Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard as Winnie and Nelson Mandela. Based on Anne Marie du Preez Bezrob's biography Winnie Mandela: A Life, the film is directed by Darrell Roodt and co-stars Wendy Crewson, Elias Koteas and Justin Strydom. Image Entertainment released the film in theaters on September 6, 2013. It received generally negative reviews.

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The Lullaby is a 2017 South African horror film directed by Darrell Roodt and co-produced by Samuel Frauenstein and Andre Frauenstein Snr. The film stars Reine Swart with Thandi Puren, Brandon Auret, Deànré Reiners, and Dorothy Ann Gould in supporting roles. The film tells the story of 19-year-old mom, Chloe van Heerden, who struggled to dealing with her super critical mother, Ruby, where she finally ends in a paranoia that sends Chloe into a dark depression. This is the first purely South African film production to release theatrically in the USA. Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film as the 17th Best Horror Movie for 2018.

Place of Weeping, is a 1986 South African drama film directed by Darrell Roodt and produced by Anant Singh for Place of Weeping Productions. The film stars James Whyle, Gcina Mhlophe and Charles Comyn in the lead roles whereas Norman Coombes, Michelle du Toit, Kerneels Coertzen and Patrick Shai made supportive roles. The film describes in detail about the multicultural groups in South Africa and how South Africa collapsed by the works of South Africans and the strife in South Africa's oppressive regime.

Mutodi Neshehe, was a South African actor and model. He is best known for the roles in the television serials and soap operas such as Muvhango, Generations the legacy, Jacob's Cross, Skwizas and Broken Vows.

References

  1. "Darrell Roodt". Imdb.
  2. "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  3. "Treurgrond interview".
  4. "Festival de Cannes: Sarafina". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  5. Vourlias, Christopher (28 September 2012). "S. Africa picks 'Little One' for Oscar nom". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  6. "Who is Darryl Roodt". Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  7. "SARAFINA - Festival de Cannes". www.festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  8. Dracula 3000 , retrieved 11 June 2022
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Roodt finds fertile ground in Karoo - Movies | Tonight". IOL.co.za. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  10. "Seun: 81457397BG". Imdb.
  11. The Lullaby (2017) - IMDb , retrieved 5 September 2021
  12. The Furnace (2019) - IMDb , retrieved 5 September 2021