MR. BONES AND PALJAS FOR FESPACO

[Steve Smith]

Title: Message

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  FEBRUARY 11, 2003   MR. BONES AND PALJAS FOR FESPACO   Sanjeev Singh, Head of Acquisition and Distribution for Videovision Entertainment announced today that two of the company’s films, Paljas and Mr. Bones will be screened at the FESPACO Film Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkino Faso later this month.   Both films will be screened in the South African Retrospective Category.  Paljas will be screened on Tuesday, February 25 and Mr. Bones on Thursday, February 27.   The FESPACO Film Festival is held every two years in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and brings together multi-talented people involved in all aspects of the film industry who strive to uphold the cultural values of the African People.   Paljas and Mr. Bones are both uniquely South African films which have made their marks on both the South African and African Film Industries.  Paljas was South Africa’s first ever entry for Oscar consideration while Mr. Bones  holds the distinction of being the highest grossing South African film of all-time, earning more than R32 million at the box office and it also screened at the Commonwealth Film Festival, The International Film Festival of India and the Montreal Film Festival last year.   Paljas is a significant film for the South African film industry as it saw the collaboration of producer Anant Singh and director Katinka Heyns who are widely acknowledged as the country’s leading filmmakers. Paljas showcases an authentic South African story in an indigenous language and a totally indigenous cast which includes Marius Weyers, Aletta Bezuidenhout, Ellis Pearson, Ian Roberts and Larry Leyden.   Set against the backdrop of the Sun City Million Dollar Golf Challenge, Mr. Bones tells the story of a white witch doctor who is tasked with finding the lost son of his king.  The film stars Leon Schuster as the white witch doctor across American actors David Ramsey (Pay It Forward, Ali) and Faizon Love (Blue Crush, The Parenthood) and a host of South African stars, including Robert Whitehead, Jane Benney and Fats Bookholane.  Mr Bones is still on release in Portugal and has grossed more than 530 000 Euros (R4 775 300) to date.  Last year, the film was released on 400 screens in Germany and on 175 screens in Spain and broke box office records when it was released in Zimbabwe.  It has also been released in East Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Malaysia and will soon be released in India, Iceland, the West Indies, Greece, Turkey, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan.   “Both Paljas and Mr. Bones are uniquely South African films that portray different aspects of South African culture.  We are delighted to be presenting these films at FESPACO which is an important cultural event for Africa.  The inclusion of Paljas and Mr. Bones in the Festival contributes to an effective cultural exchange between South Africa and other African countries,” said Sanjeev Singh.    Other South African films screening at the FESPACO Film Festival in the Retrospective Category include Fools, A Reasonable Man, Ubuntu's Wounds, Raya and Jump the Gun while the Panorama of Films from Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific Category will feature Amandla: A Revolution In Four-Part Harmony and God is African. South African films that will be featured in the Official Competition of the Festival are The Promised Land, A Drink in the Passage, Waiting for Valdez and Down Under.   For further information: Nilesh Singh Tel: 031 204-6050 Cell: 083 302-4559 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to african-cinema-conference as: [archive@jab.org] To unsubscribe, forward this message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]