SA/X is a comic mock-documentary, set in Johannesburg ten years after the end of apartheid. It celebrates a city both tattered and triumphant, and an urban youth culture coming-of-age in a post-apartheid democracy. The film intercuts a simple, suburban-rebellion narrative with vox pop clips of random, South African 20-somethings exploring their concerns and values. The interviews are all staged and include several brilliant comedians such as Kagiso Lediga and Joey Rasdien. The soundtrack is amazing, including tracks by Thandiswa Mazwai and Tumi & the Volume. I produced it along with Jason Marais and co-wrote it with director, Gilli Apter. We were all students together at a film school, but we really made the film despite the school. Stuart Rae shot it, Mellisa Perry edited. It was a brilliant collaboration that had huge potential to grow into a feature film. But it was also a moment in time, for everyone, and is perhaps left in the rough, as it was. It received a bunch of international awards and attention, including the Silver Leopard of Tomorrow at Locarno and Best International Short at the Reel World Festival in Toronto. I got to take it to Cannes in 2005 as part of a showcase of South African films.
Menu
