Filmmaker Gengan scoops top award
A DURBAN filmmaker has put the city on the international map after the short film he wrote and produced won gold at the sixth Delhi International Film Festival at the weekend.
Robin Gengan’s Gracie won the World Cinema Short Film category. Speaking from India, a delighted Gengan, who lives in Chatsworth, said the news was still settling in.
“It was so unexpected to hear my name being called, because there was tough international competition,” said the 52-year-old.
“The whole place and atmosphere was electrifying and I felt so proud of the work we produced. It shows we can take Durban everywhere.”
The film, which was screened at the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival in October, is narrated by an older Gracie, voiced by Sibongideni Shezi, who reflects on her childhood in Durban. Naledi Makhatini plays Gracie.
Gengan drew inspiration from Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird.
“We used an unconventional film-making narrative structure. Instead of the conventional three-act linear structure of Hollywood, we introduced an episodic structure with flashbacks between three different time periods. In this way, we can see the innocent world of little Gracie as we hear the thoughts of the adult Gracie in the same visual shot.”
Filming took place at Montford Primary, in Chatsworth, uShaka Beach, the Durban CBD and at a private hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
Gengan has been in the film industry for three years and will return home this week.