Double helping of Mandela movie lead
Week of treats for Durban film fans
BRITISH actor Idris Elba did not visit Durban in person on his whistle-stop trip to South Africa, yet he still made two appearances at SterKinekor’s Gateway complex this week.
The first was as the lead in Mandela Long Walk to Freedom at the film’s red-carpet, black-tie premiere on Tuesday night.
Hosted by producer Anant Singh and his wife, Vanashree — who looked elegant in a one-shoulder, floor-length, black-andnude rosette illusion sheath — the guests were directed to two cinemas for the screening of the R230- million, 152-minute movie.
The beautifully crafted story elicited goose bumps, tears, joy and patriotic pride from the 700 guests.
Afterwards they took a long walk to Sevruga restaurant for the afterparty, where the guests were able to mingle with Terry Pheto (who plays Evelyn Mandela), Tony Kgoroge (Walter Sisulu) and Riaad Moosa (Ahmed Kathrada).
Live entertainment, a popular photo booth, bubbly, sushi, butter chicken and chocolate truffles were among the elements that added to a great vibe. Two days later, Elba’s versatility was magnified to the maximum thanks to Ster-Kinekor’s relaunch of the Imax complex at Gateway with the screening of Thor: The Dark World.
Marvel fans and movie lovers who were looking forward to the digitally mastered image and sound experience enjoyed a blueand-white evening (the colours of the cinema brand) in the form of blue velvet cupcakes and blue cocktails ahead of the screening.
Inside the spacious 370seat cinema with a floor-tofloor and wall-to-wall screen, the guests were almost able to touch lead actor Chris Hemworth’s sixpack. And as 5fm presenter Sureshnie Rider, who was the evening’s MC, pointed out, he was “50 shades of perfect”.
Ster-Kinekor’s chief executive, Fiaz Mahomed, said that Gateway was the first to reintroduce Imax because the complex is the number one cinema in the country. He added that Bollywood films were also being considered for the bigger experience, with the first title being Dhoom 3.
To quote my 10-year-old partner’s summary of the event and experience: “It was epic.”
In between the big screen escapism, Tsogo Sun invited foodies, socialites and the media to the launch of Jeera, the Suncoast Towers hotel’s restaurant, on Thursday afternoon.
The Indian spice reflects the theme of the menu created by sous chef Sandren Govender.
The pungent aroma of crab curry and tandoori chicken enticed the guests — from Olympic swimmer Charl Crous to theatre personality Jailoshini Naidoo — to dig in with their fingers as a symbol of ultimate approval. It was an informal affair with the emphasis on gratifying the senses — taste, touch (massages and mendhi) and sound (sitar and tabla live entertainment) — and socialising.