Life, Above All
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Awards Buzz : Best Foreign Language Film
Friday, January 07, 7:30 PM
Palm Springs Regal 9
LIFE0711
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Awards Buzz : Best Foreign Language Film
Thursday, January 13, 1:30 PM
Camelot Theatres
LIFE1311
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Life, Above All
South Africa, 2010, 106 Minute Running Time
Additional Countries: Germany
Topics: African Interest, Coming of Age, Drama
Program: Awards Buzz : Best Foreign Language Film
Language: Pedi English Sub-Titles
Based on Allan Stratton’s best-selling novel Chandra’s Secrets and featuring a completely winning central performance from the young Khomotso Manyaka as a girl coming of age in South Africa, Oliver Schmitz’s powerful drama is a stand out amongst the recent wave of films coming from the African continent. Twelve-year-old Chanda lives in the small township of Elandsdoorn near Johannesburg. It is only when her baby sister dies that the innocent Chanda begins to suspect that her seemingly helpful family, friends and neighbors are more concerned with keeping up appearances than facing the silent plague—AIDS—that is stealing their loved ones from them. Slowly, Chanda comes to understand the grave fate that awaits the willfully ignorant…
Benefiting from superb cinematography and production design, Life, Above All ultimately hinges on Manyaka’s acting ability, and this newcomer shows she is a natural. She gives Chandra the sparkle of intelligence and the indomitable will needed to ultimately avoid the fate of those around her. And it is this intelligence and hope that one takes away from this stellar drama.
Screenwriter to attend screenings
DIRECTOR: Oliver Schmitz
Producer: Oliver Schmitz
Editor: Dirk Grau
Screenwriter: Dennis Foon, Oliver Schmitz
Cinematographer: Bernhard Jasper
Music: Ali N. Askin, Ian Osrin
Principal Cast: Khomotso Manyaka, Keaobaka Makanyane, Harriet Manamela, Lerato Mvelase, Tinah Mnumzana
Filmography: Paris Je T’Aime (2003), Hijack Stories (2000), Mapantsula (1987)