SOWETO GREEN

SOWETO GREEN
Genre : Drama
Type : Fiction
Original title :
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 1994
Format : Feature
Running time : 86 (in minutes)
http://www.davidlisterfilmdirector.com/

Dr. Curtis Tshabalala, a South African expatriate living in Beverly Hills with his American wife Cora returns to his Soweto homeland with hopes of planting trees and dreams of a utopian South Africa. Cora's delicate sensibilities are offended when she sees the shanty town Curtis calls home and the goat sacrifice ceremony that welcomes them. A comedy of manners and errors ensues as the doctor attempts to beautify his homeland: Old attitudes and prejudices still prevail and cross-cultural communication faulters in a nation in the throes of an identity crisis. Made in the first blush of South Africa's democracy, this 1994 film examines society and attitudes in transformation, with just the right amount of humour. The film follows the intertwined fortunes of former exile Dr. Curtis Tshabalala, who returns to his motherland and the Fluit family when Nelson Mandela is elected President. Tshabalala wants to introduce his American wife Coral to his family living in Soweto. He wants to plant a tree where he grew up and build a green-house. Adriaan Fluit and his fiancée, Thandeka, are on the same flight returning home after studying abroad. Deeply in love, they fear his family might not accept her because she is black. Through mutual respect and understanding, however, both families acknowledge that all South Africans have the same dreams and aspirations. Perhaps Dr Tshabalala's dream of a "green" Soweto is set to become a reality. 1994, South Africa, Drama, 86 minutes, English DIRECTED BY David Lister PRODUCERS: Carl Fischer and Richard Green CAST John Kani, Casper de Vries, Sandra Prinsloo "A good-humored, remarkably unselfconscious comedy aimed at pure entertainment... helmed in impeccable TV style by veteran David Lister" -Variety "With genuine laughter and sympathy for those on all sides this entertaining comedy takes a sharp satirical poke at modern society in post apartheid South Africa" - All Movie Guide New York Times Awards FESPACO 15th Pan-African Film Festival * Special Jury Prize - Directing

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