Parking off at the drive-in again
Locked down or distancing themselves socially, people are not going to be denied the pleasure of the movies,
No-one knows when cinemas will reopen nor how they will deal with safety protocols. In the meantime, movie houses might be overtaken by the resurrection of that oldfashioned form of socially distanced entertainment, the drive-in.
Various initiatives are under way to launch drive-in cinemas in Durban and Cape Town. In Johannesburg, filmmaker Ernest Nkosi is taking the concept a few steps further.
Nkosi’s new film, An Ordinary People, was on the festival circuit abroad when Covid-19 scuppered his plans. It was due to be released in SA but that, too, has been delayed. Given that the documentary is set in the high-octane world of car spinning, having people watch it while sitting in their cars seems appropriate.
Nkosi is in consultation with venues and sponsors to have his and other films shown via this new-old viewing vehicle that is already being used in other countries and might soon become a trend in SA.
This week Nkosi launched the digital platform “Blank Pages, Sets and Stages”, which encompasses several sectors of SA’s creative industry. He and his partners have already started assisting young playwrights and filmmakers to connect with like-minded collaborators and bring their works to the world.
Nkosi knows how hard it can be to make creative dreams come true. He is a co-founder, with Nhlane Enos Manthata and Thato Dhladla, of the company Original Creative Breed (OCB), which produces branded content. Their films are made on their own time and with their own money. Thina Sobabili, SA’s Oscar entry in 2016, was shot in seven days in Alexandra, Johannesburg. An Ordinary People took four years of intense overtime to make, and received no outside funding.
Tuning in on the car radio
Now they want to help others get a start in the industry. “My OCB partners and I are using our creative currency to get original works released that can’t be seen anywhere else,” says Nkosi.
The online platform for new works will serve as the build-up to live, interactive events that will allow people to watch new releases together without risking airborne viral infection.
Part of the proceeds will go to a fund for young innovators who have been in the creative industry for three years or less — very few of them have been picked as recipients of the department of arts & culture’s relief fund.
Nkosi will announce venue and date details once all the legalities are thrashed out. The drive-in extravaganzas will take place on private land, he says, and the evening’s programme will be full of surprises.
“It will start just before sunset. You park your car and bring your own snacks and for the first hour — which will be streamed live to home audiences — there will be an MC who plays interactive games on a big screen with those in their vehicles. That will be followed by 30 minutes of the best comedic talent in SA, and then the main feature film will be shown.”
And that’s not all, folks. Extending his project to local musicians, Nkosi plans to have audiences drive home while listening to a special mix by SA’s top DJs on their car radios, tuned to the same frequency that provided the soundtrack to the film and the live entertainment.
“We need to band together and use our skills to help each other,” says Nkosi. “The faster we embrace the new normal, the better. This is not an interim measure. We can’t sit around dwelling on what we’ve lost and waiting for things to go back to how they were. We need to devote all our positive energy to making a big leap forward.”
Bums on some pretty nice seats
Cinemas in SA were struggling to fill seats long before the coronavirus forced them to temporarily shut down. Both Ster Kinekor and NuMetro addressed falling audience numbers by revamping theatres, with sophisticated surround sound and seats that offered luxurious space and tilt-back comfort. These came at a higher price but high earners seemed willing to pay for a special experience.
That seemed to work. Going to the movies became A Thing again. Bucking the home viewing trend driven by Netflix, Showmax and the like, even new independent outlets, such as the elegant Egrek cinema in Parkhurst, Johannesburg, were full.
What we used to call “video stores” were not as resilient. Most of the franchise operations folded and only a few long-established DVD rental outlets, such as The Video Spot and The Majestic in Johannesburg, managed to hold onto loyal customers and attract new ones by offering vast collections of viewing material not available on all the streaming services combined.
The Video Spot, with stores in Craighall and Fourways, has resumed trading, with social-distancing and sanitisation protocols in place. It also now delivers.
What’s driving new content
Making new films and TV series in SA is more difficult than ever. Although production companies were allowed to commence shooting under lockdown level 4 regulations, the lengthy list of safety protocols that must be observed means more time is demanded of an industry where every second costs money.
When lockdown started, SA’s major TV channels issued a call for shows that could be made without bringing cast and crew together. One idea was to deliver rudimentary sound and camera equipment to homes where people could film themselves without coming into contact with others. This really only lends itself to reality TV, which is why YouTube and its variants have been flooded with homemade films of actors doing push-ups and icing muffins.
There is bound to be a hiatus until we are treated to new films and TV series produced on a grand scale, such as Queen Sono or The Crown. Until then there is a back catalogue of immense proportions to be watched online or on DVD. And hopefully soon we will be able to go to the drive-in.
‘The faster we embrace the new normal, the better. We can’t sit around dwelling on what we’ve lost and waiting for things to go back to how they were’