Letter Reader (The)

  • Letter Reader (The)
Genre : Drama
Type : Fiction
Original title :
Principal country concerned : Column : Cinema/tv
Year of production : 2020
Format : Short
Running time : 29 (in minutes)
http://www.facebook.com/TheLetterReader/

A young boy from Johannesburg arrives in KwaZulu-Natal and begins to read letters for villages - then falls in love with one of the recipients.

Life is difficult for Siyabonga, a city boy who has just moved to a village. He finds his happiness again when his grandmother gives him letters to read for the illiterate villagers. He happily reads letters until he has to read a break up letter to a beautiful woman. Siyabonga decides to save the woman from heartbreak.

The film tells the story of Siyabonga, a 12-year-old boy from Johannesburg who is sent to a village in Kwazulu-Natal to live with his grandmother while his parents are sorting out their marital problems. As a city boy who is not accustomed to doing household chores, Siyabonga struggles to adapt. He discovers the power of words as he reads letters that put a smile on people's faces, until one day, a letter with bad news lands in his hands. A letter addressed to Nobuhle - a beautiful 25- year old wife of a migrant worker living in Johannesburg. He takes one look at this beautiful woman and falls in love with her. As Nobuhle waits anxiously to hear the words of a long-awaited letter Siyabonga realizes that the letter outlines the end of Nobuhle's marriage… he can't bring himself to break her heart, so in that instant, Siyabonga decides that Nobuhle deserves better.

A film by Sibusiso KHUZWAYO

South Africa, 2019, Short narrative, 29min | Drama, Zulu

With Andile Gumbi, Bahle Mashinini, Nokuthula Mazibuko, Nomalanga Shabane.


THE LETTER READER OFFICIAL TRAILER from THE ERGO COMPANY on Vimeo.



Country: South Africa
Year of production: 2019
Duration: 30 min
Age: 7+
Genres: Drama, Coming-of-age, Films d'Afrique du Sud, Films africains
Colors: Color
Language : Zulu
Subtitles : Arabic, English, French, Brazilian Portuguese

Produced by Dumi Gumbi, Cati Weinek

Director: Sibusiso Khuzwayo
Screenwriter: Sibusiso Khuzwayo
Cinematography by Lance Gewer
Sound designer: Basiami Segola
Music by Benjamin Willem
Film Editing by Sibusiso Khuzwayo, Bruce McLaren-Lyall
Production Design by Mikhail Hlatshwayo
Wardrobe: Thando Metsing
Casting by Sibusiso Khuzwayo, Ntuthuko Sibaja
Colorist: Bruce McLaren-Lyall

CAST
Andile Gumbi... Menzi
Bahle Mashinini... Siyabonga
Nokuthula Mazibuko... Gogo
Nomalanga Shabane... Nobuhle Mthembu
Sibongimpilo Sikhosana... Ntombi
Muzi Vilakazi... Muzi
Martin Edward Ziqubu... Mkhulu

Production Companies
The Ergo Company

Distributor (World-wide)
The Ergo Company

Sponsors and partners:
* KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission
* National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF)
* Panavision official SA/PanaluxSA

Streaming:
Netflix (worldwide) /// www.netflix.com/fr/title/81287887
Showmax (Africa) /// www.showmax.com/eng/movie/fv153nte-the-letter-reader



2020 | 41th DIFF - Durban International Film Festival
* Selected

2020 | #IAmAFRICA Short Film Competition | Los Angeles, USA | a collaborative initiative between the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), The Africa Narrative at the University of Southern California Norman Lear Center, and YouTube.
* Audience Award Winner
www.paff.org/forms/iamafrica/

2020 | RapidLion, The South African International Film Festival | Johannesburg, South Africa | March 6-15, 2020
* Best International Short Award winner
* Showtimes: Sat 14 March, 11:00:00 AM, Mannie Manim Theatre
* Showtimes: March 11, 2020, 12:00:00 PM, Mannie Manim Theatre
www.rapidlion.co.za/film2020/The-Letter-Reader

2020 | 14th Annual SAFTAs (South African Film & Television Awards)
* Golden Horn Award for Best Short Film

2019 | Shnit Worldwide Short Film Festival (South Africa), October 2019
* won Best Short Film Award

Articles

2 files

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

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