Jump the Gun | |
---|---|
Directed by | Les Blair |
Written by | Les Blair |
Produced by | Indra de Lanerolle |
Starring | Baby Cele Lionel Newton Michele Burgers Thulani Nyembe Rapulana Seiphemo Danny Keogh |
Cinematography | Seamus McGarvey |
Edited by | Oral Norrie Ottey |
Music by | Joe Nina |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 124 |
Countries | South Africa United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Jump the Gun is a 1996 South African film directed by Les Blair for Channel Four Films. [1] [2] The film follows six diverse, working-class individuals as they try and establish themselves in the newly democratic South Africa. Les Blair's quintessentially British kitchen sink realism is applied to a South African context. The film stars Baby Cele, Lionel Newton, and Michele Burgers amongst others. Characters were built from the ground up with South African actors by using improvisation.
The film was nominated at the 1997 Chicago International Film Festival for a Gold Hugo award for best film. [3]
Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, the film follows the tangled lives of six very different working-class characters, formerly kept apart by apartheid and now all striving to succeed in the new "rainbow nation". United by their common insecurities, both physical and financial, the film follows their struggle to discover their niche in this brave new world where opportunity beckons, but violence is always lurking. [4]
The African Renaissance is the concept that the African people shall overcome the current challenges confronting the continent and achieve cultural, scientific, and economic renewal. This concept was first articulated by Cheikh Anta Diop in a series of essays between 1946 and 1960, later collected in a book titled Towards the African Renaissance. Diop's ideas were further popularized by former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki during his tenure as Deputy President, where the African Renaissance continues to play a key role in the post-apartheid intellectual agenda.
Nadine Gordimer was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great benefit to humanity".
Lionel Ngakane was a South African filmmaker and actor, who lived in exile in the United Kingdom from the 1950s until 1994, when he returned to South Africa after the end of apartheid. His 1965 film Jemima and Johnny, inspired by the 1958 "race riots" in Notting Hill, London, won awards at the Venice and Rimini film festivals. In the 1960s, Ngakane was a founding member of the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) and Fespaco, the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO).
Hillbrow is an inner city residential neighbourhood of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is known for its high levels of population density, unemployment, poverty, prostitution and crime.
Sophiatown, also known as Sof'town or Kofifi, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sophiatown was a poor multi-racial area and a black cultural hub that was destroyed under apartheid. It produced some of South Africa's most famous writers, musicians, politicians and artists, like Father Huddleston, Can Themba, Bloke Modisane, Es'kia Mphahlele, Arthur Maimane, Todd Matshikiza, Nat Nakasa, Casey Motsisi, Dugmore Boetie, and Lewis Nkosi.
Shaka Zulu is a 1986 South African television series directed by William C. Faure and written by Joshua Sinclair for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), based on his 1985 novel of the same name.
Ronald Kasrils is a South African politician, former guerrilla and military commander. He served in a number of ministerial posts, including the as Minister for Intelligence Services from 2004 to 2008. He was a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1987 to 2007 as well as a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Party (SACP) from December 1986 to 2007.
Come Back, Africa is a 1959 film, the second feature-length film written, produced, and directed by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. The film had a profound effect on African cinema, and remains historically and cultural importance as a document preserving the heritage of the townships in South Africa in the 1950s. It may be classified as reportage, documentary, historical movie or political cinema, since it portrays real events and people. It reveals an interpretation of meaningful social facts and a strong ethical assumption towards human behaviours like racism.
Cry, the Beloved Country is a 1951 British drama film directed by Zoltán Korda and starring Sidney Poitier, Charles Carson and Canada Lee, in his last film role. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Alan Paton.
Daphney Hlomuka was a South African television, film, radio and stage actress. On the small screen, Hlomuka was perhaps best known to audiences for her role as MaMkhize in the television drama series, Hlala Kwabafileyo, and as Sis May in the comedy, S’gudi S’naysi, opposite Joe Mafela.
Friends is a 1993 South African drama film directed by Elaine Proctor. It was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, where it won an award for Caméra d'Or Special Distinction. The film is set during apartheid in Johannesburg and follows three friends who each represent a different faction of South African society.
Ahmed Timol was an anti-apartheid activist in the underground South African Communist Party. He died at the age of 29 from injuries sustained when he fell from the top floor of John Vorster Square police station in Johannesburg. Police claimed, and an official inquest confirmed, that Timol had committed suicide by jumping out the window. The claim was widely disbelieved in anti-apartheid circles, and in the movement Timol's death became symbolic of the broader phenomenon of deaths in police custody, as well as of the abuses and dishonesty of the apartheid state.
Beyond the Lights is a 2014 American romantic drama film written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Nate Parker, Minnie Driver, Machine Gun Kelly, and Danny Glover. The film premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014, and was released theatrically in the United States on November 14, 2014. In 2015, the song "Grateful" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Sandton Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.
Johannesburg West Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.
The Carlton Hotel is a historic hotel in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa. It opened in 1972 as part of the enormous Carlton Centre complex, and has been closed since 1998. Its closure has been attributed to the decay of the Central Business District, resulting in a severe crime wave and the flight of the city's corporate offices north to areas like Sandton and Rosebank. This created a plethora of vacant rooms that were unable to be filled. The main hotel tower was closed in December 1997.
Boksburg Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.
The Last Victims is a 2019 political drama film directed by Maynard Kraak. The film was filmed entirely on location in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa and world premiered at the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) on 8 February 2019. The film then opened the Rapid Lion - South African International Film Festival at the historic Market Theater in Johannesburg, South Africa on 1 March 2019. It screened "in competition" with three nominations: Best Feature Film, Best Cinematography and Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film was then selected at 40th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), Durban South Africa. The film is now selected in competition at Knysna Film Festival, Knysna, South Africa & African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in Nigeria. The film is nominated in 3 different section at AMAA viz. Best Screenplay, Best Editing & Best Sound.
Wemmerpan Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.
Thabo Andrew Rametsi II is a South African actor and producer. He is best known for his roles in The Giver, The Gamechangers and Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu.