The live action remake of Yasuomi Umetsu’s hit Japanese anime movie, Kite was shot on location in Johannesburg and is directed by Ralph Ziman and stars Samuel L. Jackson, India Eisley and Australian sensation Callan McAuliffe.
Remember, shot in Canada in 2015 stars Academy Award® Winner, Christopher Plummer (‘Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo’, ‘Beginners’) and directed by Academy Award® Nominated and Cannes Grand Prix Winner, Atom Egoyan. In Remember, Zev (Plummer) discovers that the Nazi guard who murdered his family some seventy years before is now living in America under an assumed identity. Despite many challenges, Zev sets out to deliver long-delayed justice. What follows is a remarkable cross-continent journey with surprising consequences.
Shepherds and Butchers which won an Audience Award at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival is directed by multi-award winner, Oliver Schmitz (‘Life, Above All’; ‘Paris, Je T’aime’) and stars Academy Award® and Golden Globe nominee, Steve Coogan (‘Philomena’), Andrea Riseborough (‘Birdman’, ‘Oblivion’) and talented newcomer, Garion Dowds. The film follows a jaded lawyer, John Weber, who takes on a seemingly hopeless multiple murder case and uncovers scandalous shortcomings in South Africa’s capital punishment system as he mounts a defence for a prison guard traumatized by the executions in which he took part.
Videovision’s association with South Africa’s Number One Box Office star, Leon Schuster, has seen the production of three of the Top Five All Time South African box officesuccesses – the hit comedies Mr Bones 2 which has earned R35 million, Mr Bones which grossed R33 million at the box office and Mama Jack which grossed R28 million.
Released in 2008 in South Africa was More Than Just A Game, the moving docu-drama feature which tells the inspiring story of organised soccer among prisoners on Robben Island (the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated by the apartheid regime in South Africa). Recent releases include the comedy Jozi, which is directed by Craig Freimond and features some of South Africa’s leading young talents and the stand up movie, Outrageous! which sees South Africa’s top stand up comics come together in a no-holds barred, adults only stand up comedy experience.
Shot in the United States are American East with Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and the re-make of Japanese horror maestro Hideo Nakata’s Don’t Look Up, directed by award winning Hong Kong filmmaker, Fruit Chan (Dumplings, Three Extremes).
The First Grader which is set in a remote Kenyan and tells the remarkable and uplifting story of a proud old Mau Mau veteran who is determined to seize his last opportunity to learn to read and joins a class of six year olds. The First Grader was a hit at both the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals and was the Audience Prize runner-up in Toronto.
Released in 2011 was My Hunter’s Heart which explores the world’s oldest world’s most ancient shamanic culture which is severely threatened as their traditional way of life and skills have been taken away from them. It tracks the Khomani San of the Southern Kalahari, the oldest living indigenous tribe in the world, who are genetically linked to every human being on Planet Earth.
Videovision acquired the South African rights to and also successfully produced the international hit gameshow, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? for three seasons. It also produced a weekly drama series, The Res for the SABC and has produced numerous documentaries, among which are: Nkosi – The Voice Of Africa’s AIDS Orphans, A Hero For All (a tribute to Nelson Mandela as he stepped down as President), Countdown to Freedom (documenting the 10 days preceding the first democratic elections in South Africa 1994) and Prisoners of Hope (documents the reunion of 1250 former political prisoners, led by President Mandela, on Robben Island). Produced as a 90th Birthday tribute to Nelson Mandela, was Viva Madiba: A Hero For All Seasons. The company scored a major coup with the timely production of Obama: People’s President, a documentary feature that explores the unique and innovative US presidential campaign mounted by Barack Obama.
Videovision Entertainment is among the leading independent film distributors in South Africa, acquiring more than 3 500 international films for distribution in the country over the last 25 years. These films range from independent films and documentaries, Foreign Language and Arthouse films to multi-million dollar blockbuster films. Among the recent films distributed are Song for Marion, Seven Psychopaths, Shadow Dancer, Sleeper’s Wake, The Grandmaster, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Selma, Kite, Pride, Shepherds and Butchers, Blood Father and A United Kingdom.
Videovision Entertainment holds a significant stake in Next Entertainment which distributes home entertainment product in South Africa and holds the rights for Blu Ray and DVD product for some of the major Hollywood studios including 20th Century Fox, MGM, Universal and numerous other libraries.(www.nextentertainment.co.za)
