Mahatma... opens SA film fest
By PTI
Apr 22, 2004, 14:24

Printer friendly page


In an apt tribute to the African nation's long association with India, the South African Film Festival, celebrating the country's 10th anniversary of independence, began here today with a screening of Shyam Benegal's The Making of the Mahatma.

Inaugurating the film fest, Benegal, whose film on Mahatma Gandhi is an Indo-South African venture, recalled his first visit to South Africa 10 years ago when Nelson Mandela became President, saying it was an "extraordinary experience" watching a nation take birth.

"Ten years later and after three elections, it can definitely be called a vibrant democracy," he said, adding its film industry too is now becoming a force to reckon with.

"I shot The Making of Mahatma in South Africa with an almost entirely South African crew and a mixed cast. It was a very young South African film industry that I worked with. But now the filmmakers there are making some good movies as you will see in the film festival," he said.

South Africa's Deputy High Commissioner to India Desmond Nxiweni said, "In the last 10 years, we have grown up, crawling, crying and then walking, with help from India. The independence celebrations here are our way of saying Thank You," he said.

The two-day festival will also show the films Amandla, Sarafina, Cry, The Beloved Country and Paljas.


** Pls let me know? if posted earlier? thnx