Tag Archives: South Africa

6,0-6,9, drama,, female director, romance,

“The World Unseen” by Shamin Sarif (South Africa, 2007)

Lesbian love seen by a female director

 

The World Unseen

Weakness in the script, stiff acting, clumsy direction, but lots of good intention in Sarif’s debut feature: “Everyone’s breaking barriers and causing trouble in this film, or least yearning to.” Jay Antani

Cast: Lisa Ray, Sheetal Sheth, Parvin Dabas, Nandana Sen, Grethe Fox, David Dennis, Bernard White, Colin Moss, Amber Ross Revah, Rajesh Gopie
Director: Shamim Sarif
Screenwriter/novelist: Shamim Sarif
Music by Richard Blackford
Cinematography by Michael Downie
Film Editing by David Martin

drama,, female director, romance,, true story

“A United Kingdom” by Amma Asante (UK, 2016)

A United Kingdom by Amma Asante (2016)

Very similar in its content to Belle (2013), bringing in a dramatic and intelligent way the web of social constraints that ensue from racial segregation (horizontal) and hierarchical stratification and dominance (vertical inequalities). Furthermore, in both movies, love and politics are cleverly intertwined. And to make matters still more enjoyable, their main female characters are and remain intelligent and substantial throughout the movie.

Cast: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Vusi Kunene, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Jack Davenport Director: Amma Asante
Writer: Guy Hibbert
Cinematographer: Sam McCurdy
Editor: Jonathan Amos, Jon Gregory
Composer: Patrick Doyle

7,0-7,9, biography, drama,, female director, romance,, true story

“The Journey Is the Destination” by Bronwen Hughes (South Africa, 2016)

The Journey Is the Destination by Bronwen Hughes (2016)

The black-and-white ideological journey of a young reporter / Very active camera

Cast: Maria Bello, Kelly Macdonald, Ella Purnell
Director: Bronwen Hughes
Writers: Bronwen Hughes, Jan Sardi
Cinematography by Giulio Biccari
Film Editing by Robert Ivison, Natan Moss

8,0-8,9, drama,, female director, romance,

Paula Van Der Oest, director (4): “Black Butterflies” (NL, 2011)

Black Butterflies

Contrary to A Quiet Passion that depicts the life of a poet (Emily Dickinson) who controls her words and the passion that inhabits her with excessive resolve, Black Butterflies pictures the South African poet Ingrid Jonker as a woman overwhelmed by the love and words that flow from her. SPOILER AHEAD: After several break-downs, her life finally ends at the feet of her father who implacably rejected her and the people she lent her voice to.

Actors: Carice van Houten, Liam Cunningham, Rutger Hauer
Director: Paula van der Oest
Writer: Greg Latter
Music by Philip Miller
Cinematography by Giulio Biccari
Film Editing by Sander Vos