Wind down with ‘Just Now Jeffrey’
IF YOU want to tickle your funny bone, laugh until your face is drenched in tears and simply want to relax after a long week of work and school, Just Now Jeffrey movie is a must watch.
First screening of the film took place at Rosebank on April 25 and finally hit the big screens in the country on May 3.
This local film boasts an all
South African crew and entourage of Thespians, including newcomers and protagonists, Julian Robinson and Dino Vavatzanidis, and industry legend Rob van Vuuren.
Set in the 1980s, this film follows the bromance of two coming-of-age teenage boys, who embark on a journey of puberty, sex, lust, love entanglements and their ultimate goal, breaking their virginities. Just Now Jeffrey tells a gritty, yet nostalgic story of the ordinary South African teenager The film is a testimonial for a lifelong friendship of two best friends, Hylton Tannenbaum and Brett Morris. They have been friends since they were 12-year-old and after working in the advertising industry for more than two decades, they decided to fulfil their dream of making a movie.
The entire process took four years to complete. It was filmed on location last year in Cape Town. One of the directors, Morris, explained it was important to retell and represent the stories of teenagers during apartheid. “It was our intention to create a unique comingof-age comedy that represents and normalises our youth as teens growing up in the 1980s.
“We have always wanted to give a voice to a generation that grew up in SA towards the end of apartheid. We found that South Africans were generally painted with the same brush, and we wanted to show all of the complexity and nuances across the political spectrum during that time,” said Morris.
Morris told Rosebank Killarney Gazette that making the film was a challenge. Just Now Jeffrey was featured in three international film festivals,toronto, Beverly Hills and Poland.
Stuart Hands, a director at Toronto Film Festival, said: “People always ask ‘what is it that festivals look for in a film?’, and we say something we have never seen before. And, Just Now Jeffrey, is just that. We have never seen a coming of age film set in SA in the 1980s, with world-class production values.”