The Lucky Specials

Last updated

The Lucky Specials
Directed byReabetswe Rangaka
Written byNonzi Bogatsu
Tim Greene
Story byLungelo Mdlalose
Tim Greene
Produced byHarriet Gavshon
Peter Gudo
Aric Noboa
J.P. Potgieter
StarringOros Mampofu
Sivenathi Mabuya
Blondia Makhene
Richard Lukunku
Fulu Mugovhani
CinematographyTom Marais
Edited byMelanie Jankes Golden
Music byBrendan Jury
Production
companies
HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
Quizzical Pictures
Nigma Pictures
Distributed byAAA Entertainment
Release date
  • 17 February 2017 (2017-02-17)
Running time
108 minutes
CountrySouth Africa
LanguageEnglish

The Lucky Specials is a 2017 South African musical romantic drama film directed by Reabetswe Rangaka and co-produced by Harriet Gavshon, Peter Gudo, Aric Noboa, and J.P. Potgieter for Discovery Learning Alliance and Quizzical Pictures in association with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios. [1] The film stars Oros Mampofu and Sivenathi Mabuya with Blondia Makhene, Richard Lukunku, and Fulu Mugovhani in supporting roles. [2] The film is about a cover band called "The Lucky Specials" in a dusty town in southern Africa where Mandla, a miner by profession plays lead guitar but later problems arise with Nkanyiso, a fellow band member. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

The film has been shot in and around South Africa and Mozambique.[ citation needed ]

Reception

The film premiered on 17 February 2017 at MonteCasino in Johannesburg, South Africa. The film received positive reviews from critics and selected for 12 international film festivals. [6] [7] [8] The film also won Special Jury Recognition at the 2012 Pan African Film Festival and was honored with the Zuku Award for Best African Film at the 2012 Zanzibar International Film Festival. [9] In 2018 at the Africa Movie Academy Awards, the film was nominated for five awards: Best Actress in a leading role, Best Actor in a leading role, Best Actor in a supporting role, Best Visual Effects and Best Editing. Meanwhile, in the same year, the film was nominated for the Best Made for TV Movie at the Golden Horn Awards. [3] It was screened throughout the world in helping communities respond to tuberculosis. [10]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Menken</span> American composer (born 1949)

Alan Irwin Menken is an American composer and conductor, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Menken's contributions to The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and Pocahontas (1995) won him two Academy Awards for each film. He also composed the scores and songs for Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Newsies (1992), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Home on the Range (2004), Enchanted (2007), Tangled (2010), Disenchanted (2022), and Spellbound (2024), among others. His accolades include winning eight Academy Awards – becoming the second most prolific Oscar winner in the music categories after Alfred Newman – a Tony Award, eleven Grammy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Daytime Emmy Award. Menken is one of twenty-one people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

<i>Tangled</i> 2010 animated Disney film by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard

Tangled is a 2010 American animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in the collection of folktales published by the Brothers Grimm, the film was directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, and produced by Roy Conli, from a screenplay written by Dan Fogelman. Featuring the voices of Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, and Donna Murphy, Tangled tells the story of Rapunzel, a lost young princess with magical long blonde hair who yearns to leave her secluded tower. She accepts the aid of an intruder, the outlaw Flynn Rider, to take her out into the world which she has never seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euzhan Palcy</span> French film director (born 1958)

Euzhan Palcy is a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her films are known to explore themes of race, gender, and politics, with an emphasis on the perpetuated effects of colonialism. Palcy's first feature film Sugar Cane Alley received numerous awards, including the César Award for Best First Feature Film. With A Dry White Season (1989), she became the first black female director to have a film produced by a major Hollywood studio, MGM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cairo International Film Festival</span> Annual international film festival held in Cairo, Egypt

The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled due to budget limitations and political instability. It is the only international competitive feature film festival recognized by the FIAPF in the Arab world and Africa, as well as the oldest in this category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Schilling</span> American actress (born 1984)

Taylor Jane Schilling is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Piper Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She made her film debut in the 2007 drama Dark Matter. She also starred as Nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan in the short-lived NBC medical drama Mercy (2009–2010). Her other films include Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011), the romantic drama The Lucky One (2012), the comedy Take Me (2017), and the science-fiction thriller The Titan (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Tunisia</span>

The cinema of Tunisia began in 1896, when the Lumière brothers began showing animated films in the streets of Tunis.

"I See the Light" is a song written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater for Walt Disney Animation Studios' animated film Tangled (2010). A duet originally recorded by American recording artist and actress Mandy Moore and American actor Zachary Levi in their respective film roles as main characters Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, the folk-inspired pop ballad serves as both the film's love and theme song. Lyrically, "I See the Light" describes the developing romantic relationship between Rapunzel and Flynn, and is featured as the seventh track on the film's soundtrack album.

Nathan Greno is an American film director, story artist, and writer best known as the co-director of Walt Disney Animation Studios' film, Tangled (2010).

<i>Tangled</i> (franchise) Disney franchise starting with a 2010 animated film

Tangled is a media franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company that began with the 2010 American animated film of the same name, directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard from a screenplay by Dan Fogelman. Produced by Roy Conli, the film featured songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater, while Glen Keane, John Lasseter, and Aimee Scribner served as its executive producers. The film was loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" from the 1812 collection Grimms' Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm.

Ayanda is a 2015 South African film directed by Sara Blecher and starring Fulu Mugovhani, OC Ukeje, and Nthati Moshesh. The festival title of the film was Ayanda and the Mechanic. The film was picked up for a November 2015 release by independent film distribution company ARRAY. The film received positive reviews.

Archipelago Films is a New York based film and television production company. It was founded in 1991 by Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Andrew Young and Susan Todd. Together, they have produced, directed, and provided cinematography for dozens of documentaries on social and environmental topics. In addition to their documentary work, Young and Todd have a filmography that include 3D Giant Screen/IMAX® films, short narrative films, museum exhibit pieces, and films for nonprofit NGOs and corporations.

<i>Rapunzels Tangled Adventure</i> American animated television series

Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure is an American animated television series developed by Chris Sonnenburg and Shane Prigmore, and produced by Disney Television Animation. It premiered on Disney Channel as a Disney Channel Original Movie titled Tangled: Before Ever After on March 10, 2017. Its regular episodes premiered on March 24, 2017. The series is based on the 2010 film Tangled and features the returning voices of Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, alongside Eden Espinosa, Clancy Brown, Julie Bowen, James Monroe Iglehart, Jeff Ross, Paul F. Tompkins, and Jeremy Jordan.

<i>The Serengeti Rules</i> 2018 American film

The Serengeti Rules is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Nicolas Brown, and based on the book by Sean B. Carroll. The film explores the discoveries of five pioneering scientists—Tony Sinclair, Mary E. Power, Bob Paine, John Terborgh, and Jim Estes—whose decades of research laid the groundwork for modern ecology and offer hope that environmentalists today may be able to “upgrade” damaged ecosystems by understanding the rules that govern them.

Fulu Mugovhani is a South African actress. In 2015, she starred in Ayanda as the title character, a role that earned her many accolades and nominations including the Africa Movie Academy Awards, South African Film and Television Awards, and Africa International Film Festival awards.

<i>Tangled: Before Ever After</i> 2017 American TV series or program

Tangled: Before Ever After is a 2017 American animated musical fantasy television film produced by Disney Television Animation, that premiered on Disney Channel as a Disney Channel Original Movie. It is a sequel to the Walt Disney Animation Studios film Tangled and takes place between the original 2010 film and the short Tangled Ever After, and serves as the first episode to Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure. It was directed by Tom Caulfield and Stephen Sandoval. The film centers around Rapunzel's adjustments to the life of a princess, and the mysterious return of her 70 feet (21 m) of magical, golden hair.

HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is a film studio founded in 2012 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

<i>Roberrt</i> 2021 film by Tharun Sudhir

Roberrt is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by Tharun Sudhir and produced by Umapathy Films. The film stars Darshan, alongside Asha Bhat, Vinod Prabhakar, Jagapathi Babu, Ravi Kishan, Devaraj and P. Ravi Shankar. The soundtrack and musical score was composed by Arjun Janya and V. Harikrishna, while cinematography and editing were handled by Sudhakar S. Raj and K. M. Prakash.

Uhlanga the Mark also known as Uhlanga: The Mark is a 2012 South African drama film produced, written, directed by award-winning author Ndaba Ka Ngwane on his directorial debut. The film stars Sbo Da Poet, Thuli Mhlongo and award-winning DJ Linda Sibiya on his acting debut in the lead roles. The background music for the film was scored by Khulekani Zondi who also handled the cinematography and editing. The theme of the film is based on the violence and rural poverty in modern South Africa. The film was made with a low budget and was released on 15 July 2012. It received critical acclaim from the critics for its screenplay, visual effects and cinematography. The film was also premiered in several international film festivals in South Africa, UK, Italy and Germany. The film has won several awards and nominations in International film festivals.

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.

Mandla Gaduka is a South African actor. He is best known for the roles in the television soap operas Gauteng Maboneng and Generations.

References

  1. "The Lucky Specials: Tangled Bank Studios". www.tangledbankstudios.org. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. "The Lucky Specials: Netflix". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 "The Lucky Specials: International Organization for Migration". www.iom.int. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  4. "The Lucky Specials". Radio Times. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  5. "FILM REVIEW: 'The Lucky Specials' highlights cost of negligence". Kenya. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. "THE LUCKY SPECIALS". Toronto Black Film Festival. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  7. "TV3 Airs New Movie THE LUCKY SPECIALS, a Sensational Musical Journey with a Powerful Message: Tangled Bank Studios". www.tangledbankstudios.org. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  8. "New Movie "The Lucky Specials" Delivers a Powerful Public Health Message in Advance of TB Day | Management Sciences for Health". www.msh.org. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  9. "New Movie "The Lucky Specials," Delivers a Sensational Musical Journey with a Powerful Message | Press Release | Southern Africa Regional | U.S. Agency for International Development". www.usaid.gov. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  10. "New Movie THE LUCKY SPECIALS Delivers a Sensational, Musical Journey with a Powerful Public Health Message about Tuberculosis in Advance of World TB Day: Tangled Bank Studios". www.tangledbankstudios.org. Retrieved 5 October 2021.