Broken Promises to make DIFF bow
THE Broken Promises franchise, directed by Kumaran Naidu, has made it into the 39th edition of the highly anticipated Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) from July 19 to 29.
In the hilarious fourth instalment, Reuben’s son Mandoza gets into some courtship confusion, and his family get the wrong end of the stick.
Naidu told that the team, which includes actors Theshen Naicker, Kogie Naidoo, Rani Pillay and Riona Rajkumar, were honoured to be part of DIFF 2018.
“The DIFF management watched the movie and loved it. They wanted to close the festival with a good, light-hearted film, so Broken Promises 4-Ever will feature on July 29.”
Naidu has produced and directed the franchise, but for part four he wanted to focus on directing, and subsequently hired a producer to assist.
He said the first movie, which was made in 2003 and released in 2005, was the first Indian South African film, and local audiences loved it due to the relatable characters and
Broken Promises 4-Ever.
storyline.
After making Broken Promises 2, DStv approached him to turn the movie into a series, which screened in 2008. This resulted in the making of Broken Promises 3 in 2011.
“After the third one, I was done with the franchise. I wanted it to be the last.” But fans were hearing none of it, and part four was to reboot the franchise.
Naidu, the creator of Run For Your Life, The House Knows and The Curse of Highway Sheila, said that this time around, cinema-goers would be pleasantly surprised.
“This movie takes the franchise to a whole new level. In fact, 10 levels up.”
It will be released on the big screen on July 27.
Another feature film to look forward to is female-directed Mayfair, which stars Keeping up with the Kandasamys’ Rajesh Gopie and Imbewu star Jack Devnarain.
This is said to be the fourth film from acclaimed South African director and DIFF regular Sara Blecher, who provides a fresh look at the gangster genre.
Set in the Johannesburg suburb of Mayfair, an area that was previously defined as “Indian” by the architects of apartheid but has since become a melting pot for migrants from across the continent, the film tells the story of the relationship between crime boss Aziz (Gopie) and his son Zaid (Ronak Patani).
As the movie progresses, Blecher peels back the layers of moral hypocrisy that lurk beneath the veneer of Aziz’s respectability. Zaid rejects and abhors everything about his father’s moral choices – until he learns that his dad once had to make the exact same choice that he is now being forced to make.
Gopie described his character as a “bad-ass Mafia don”.
“I’m a lead, head of a family ruling with an iron fist. It is a Muslim family based in Johannesburg. It is a hard-hitting, gangster type of movie.”
He says Blecher is one of the country’s best directors at the moment.
Other movies of interest include Whispering Truth To Power, a documentary directed by Indian filmmaker Shameela Seedat; a short film entitled Behind the Monologue, directed by Liana Hassim; as well as the Malayalam movie Clint, directed by Harikumar.
Opening the festival on July 19 at The Playhouse is the first feature film from South African director Jerome Pikwane, the horror flick The Tokoloshe. The LGTBI love story Rafiki, directed by Kenyan Wanuri Kahiu, will close the festival.