South African-born Elaine Proctor's Kin was inspired by a community-based conservation scheme in the Koakoveld in Namibia. The story charts the emotional journey of Anna (Miranda Otto), who lives with her brother (Chris Chameleon) in the remote Namibian desert, working for wildlife conservation. When she falls for a black American traveller (Isaiah Washington), the conflict with her brother forces her to choose between the US and the home she loves.

"It's a film about learning to love," says Proctor, whose previous films, "Friends" and "On The Wire", have won her fans on the international festival circuit.

Because filming in the Koakoveld was too impractical, Kin was shot south of Namibia's capital, Windhoek, on the edge of the desert, which provides a stunning background to the drama. Music was used to highlight the film's themes.

"We wanted the beginning and end to be quite epic, to accentuate the massive continent of Africa and the very powerful forces of nature that we see throughout the film," says Proctor. "It's a very emotional film. The romance goes all wrong and through a sequence of images, we realise that it's not going to work."


The film premiered at the Taormina Film Festival in July 2000.



Director:Elaine Proctor

Writer:Elaine Proctor


Genre:Drama

Cast (Cast overview, first billed only)

Miranda Otto... Anna
Isaiah Washington... Stone
Chris Chameleon... Marius
Moses Kandjoze... Naniserri
Ndondoro Hevita... Old Man
Susan Coetzer... Katinka
Martin Stefanus... Pahere
Cornelius Tjiuma... Chohorerwa
Nthati Moshesh... Kata
Bart Fouche... Rob
Timmy Kwebulana... Nongalo
Ron Smerczak... Hans
Dan Robbertse... Geologist
Beverley Narimes... Rob's maid
Gottfried Kanao... Anti-poaching unit


Runtime: 89 min
Country:South Africa | UK
Language:English
Color:Color
Aspect Ratio:2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:Mono
Certification:Iceland:L | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:M (cable rating) | UK:15
Filming Locations:Solitaire, Namibia
Company:Arts Council of England more

Release Dates:
Italy 5 July 2000 (Taormina Film Festival)
France 22 February 2002 (TV premiere)
UK 3 July 2002 (Commonwealth Film Festival)
UK 30 August 2002


Production Companies
Arts Council of England
Bard Entertainments
British Screen Productions
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)

Distributors
Cinequanon Pictures International Inc.
Regent Entertainment

Special Effects
Digital Film at the Moving Picture Company, London

Other Companies
Moonlighting Films production services: South Africa (as Moonlighting)
Sylvia Wheeler Film Services negative cutting