tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13113722402809615092024-03-13T07:01:17.126+02:00TriomfA Hilarious Horendous Comedy by Michael Raeburn
<BR>Based on the award-winning novel by Marlene van NiekerkMichael Raeburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09291647087026436689noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-84902033369475460002009-11-01T17:43:00.009+02:002009-11-01T18:09:15.848+02:00Click here for new Triomf websiteTriomf was released in South Africa in 2008, and went on to win the award for Best SA Film at the Durban International Film Festival.<br /><br />The most up-to-date information on the film, including trailers and international reviews, can be found at <span style="font-weight:bold;">www.triomf-movie.com</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-22113633574393138782007-11-07T13:48:00.005+02:002008-04-08T23:53:27.494+02:00Raeburn Featured In The TimesSouth Africa's daily Times newspaper interviewed Michael Raeburn about his film Triomf. Check out the <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=602703">November 2nd article here </a> and read a little bit of the introduction:<br /><br /> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="200"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="200"> <tbody><tr> <td class="ArticleImg"><img src="http://www.thetimes.co.za/thumbnail.aspx?type=mm&id=45015" border="0" width="200" /><br /><span class="caption">STRAIGHT TALKER: Filmmaker Michael Raeburn struggled to get funding for ’Triomf’ because he refused to compromise the story </span> <span class="imgdesc">Picture: ALON SKUY<br /></span> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="200"> <tbody><tr> <td class="ArticleImg"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="200"> <tbody><tr> <td class="storybody" width="200"><img src="http://www.thetimes.co.za/images/quoteline.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="200" /><br /><img src="http://www.thetimes.co.za/images/quotestart.gif" alt="" border="0" /><span class="quotetxt">Triomf has a universal quality, poverty is dramatic. The context is a metaphor, it’s the end of one world and the beginning of another</span><img src="http://www.thetimes.co.za/images/quoteend.gif" alt="" border="0" /><img src="http://www.thetimes.co.za/images/quoteline.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" width="200" /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <div id="divRelatedLinks"> </div><br /></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--blurb1-->Michael Raeburn has a default personality trait — he is nothing if not tenacious, writes Aspasia Karras.<!--blurb0--></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1--><!--par0--></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1--><!--par0--></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1--><!--par0--></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1-->It’s raining like it’s monsoon season in Bombay the night I meet Michael Raeburn. It’s Sunday and he is on the phone to a French post production house in another room of the small house in Westdene where he is holed up for the filming of Triomf, based on Marlene Van Niekerk’s prize-winning novel about a dysfunctional poor white family on the eve of the 1994 elections.<!--par0--> </p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1--><!--par0--></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1-->Each room hums with the mysterious activities performed by the myriad people that populate the final credits of any film. Its a labour-intensive industry even on a Sunday night.<!--par0--> </p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1--><!--par0--></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1-->“Just don’t call me a British film maker,” he says when he emerges. “I am from Zimbabwe.” That fact alone could fill up several columns of this article, suffice it to say that he is less upbeat about his homeland than he was in 1993 when he made Jit a comedy that captured his hopes for the future of the country from which he had been expelled by Ian Smith for his hard-hitting film Rhodesia Countdown.<!--par0--></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><!--par1--><!--par0--></p> <!--par1--><span style="font-style: italic;">Thirty years later he made Zimbabwe Countdown questioning Robert Mugabe’s betrayal of the liberation war and documenting his own dismay at the unravelling state of his nation. “It’s a catastrophe,” he says with an air of finality, as he settles down on the couch to chat with me.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-56160889523296345192007-11-05T11:49:00.001+02:002008-04-08T23:52:14.586+02:00Triomf Movie Featured in Nokka Magazine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Ry70kbdF96I/AAAAAAAAAxo/xj5DuIsN64M/s1600-h/Issue+8+Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Ry70kbdF96I/AAAAAAAAAxo/xj5DuIsN64M/s400/Issue+8+Cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129305932303824802" border="0" /></a>I heard from Michael this morning and they have completed the shoot in Jo'burg and he is on the way back to Paris to begin the edit process. It's amazing, with all of the weather, strikes and other challenges that the crew faced, that they were able to complete the shoot within the original time frame. This, I'm sure, is due to Michael's long-term experience in film making and the professionalism of the South African crew. I'm sure there are more tales to be told when Michael returns.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Samantha Poole over at <a href="http://nokka.biz/">Nokka E-Magazine</a> featured an in-depth article about Triomf the movie in the magazine's 8th Issue on page 24, entitled <span style="font-style: italic;">Frighteningly Funny - Triomf</span>. (<a href="http://nokka.biz/Nokka%20Magazine%20-%20Issue%208.pdf">Click to open pdf here.</a>) Please also visit and join <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6828995836">Nokka's Facebook group here</a>.<br /><br />This online magazine is graphically beautiful, as you can see from this cover shot. She was also on the Triomf set and got some great pictures of the crew. We'd like to thank Samantha for the coverage and the thoughtfully-written article.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-90973800998940777322007-10-27T14:04:00.000+02:002007-10-29T14:16:22.002+02:00The Dogs They Are A Howlin'Alex has been ill and also busy with 18-hour shoot days, so all he had to send me were these two pictures. But I have to say that the photo of Lionel and Treppie doing the important dog howling scene, is amazing. This is a favorite pastime, passed down to them from their Grandfather, to howl on the front porch so that the neighborhood dogs would all join in and thus, piss off the neighbors.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RyXNu7dF93I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/Z1ubjnN5YJQ/s1600-h/Treppie+Lambert+Dog+Howl+-+sml.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RyXNu7dF93I/AAAAAAAAAxQ/Z1ubjnN5YJQ/s400/Treppie+Lambert+Dog+Howl+-+sml.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126729956948572018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The second photo is Lionel Newton and Eduan Van Jaarsveld in conversation with DOP Jamie Ramsay.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RyXOnrdF94I/AAAAAAAAAxY/Pbo2bKpB5PI/s1600-h/Lionel+Treppie+Jamie+-+sml.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RyXOnrdF94I/AAAAAAAAAxY/Pbo2bKpB5PI/s400/Lionel+Treppie+Jamie+-+sml.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5126730931906148226" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com261tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-6260779975424940182007-10-25T12:25:00.001+02:002008-04-08T23:57:45.236+02:00Forgotten AfrikanersOur executive producer, Lyndon Plant, has been in Joburg recently for the shoot. He writes to me from there and his email is below. Please comment on your thoughts regarding the names used to characterize the Benade family. We are interested in your feedback:<br /><blockquote><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Lisa,<br /><br />I had my laptop stolen in London and did not have backups of my photographs so I am afraid I cannot help any further with photographs. </span>[I had asked him for another one of his beautiful photos to submit to the <a href="http://belleafrique.blogspot.com/">Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival</a>.]<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">On a different point, I would like to sound you out about our description of the Benades as white trash. Whilst I accept that white trash is an understood genre (especially in the States), I don't think that it describes the movie's characters well. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In particular, Treppie's intelligence and obsession with science and philosophy, Treppie's disdain for incest, Treppie's and Lambert's 'affinity' to Cleo, Lambert's friendship with Sonnie et al indicate that a different description by us would be appropriate. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have discussed this matter with some of the actors who consider the use of the genre to be somewhat offensive, unfair and even misleading. I asked them about Afrikaner phrases that they would consider appropriate to describe the Benades or the people I have met in the community that we are filming. They came up with English words like "forgotten," "lost," "close-knit," "protective," "damaged," "deprived," "Afrikaaner underdogs," et al. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I personally like the sound and meaning of "Forgotten Afrikaners" but I would be interested to find out how our internet community who have read the book (and perhaps the author of the book) would describe the Benade family and their community collectively. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Alex has been ill and I returned to Joburg yesterday afternoon from a week's break in Harare. In brief, the weather held out for us </span>[for the filming]<span style="font-style: italic;">, although the temperature drop in the evening had Vanessa asking whether she could do the outside burial scene early Thursday evening instead of late Wednesday evening, as she was shivering from the cold. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I returned to the set with stories of a Jan Hofmeyr resident who chased and attacked a crew member and was subsequently picked up by the police in connection with other crime(s), an expensive light blowing, a generator breaking down, the volksie catching fire due to an auto electrical fault and a neighbor who is irate after being woken at 5am by the catering team setting up for breakfast and by the number of crew and cast vehicles parked on an adjacent residential road. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Its time for a cup of strong coffee!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lyndon</span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>In my research about Triomf, Sophiatown, apartheid and the 1994 first Democratic vote, I get a sense that the human beings referred to as "the poor whites problem," have been first set up and then abandoned by their government. I am not an expert, and invite your comments.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-50117556258743335322007-10-23T09:33:00.000+02:002007-10-23T10:08:09.812+02:00Starting the Lanwmower on the VerandaAlex sent me a shoot update. I don't know if you have noticed, in previous pictures and the picture below, but <a href="http://triomfmovie.blogspot.com/2007/10/sound-of-triomf.html">Jose Baptista</a>, our sound engineer, is using a revolutionary process for capturing the sound. He has his MAC laptop in a bag slung from his shoulders. He is actually capturing the sound directly into his MAC, saving several steps in the recording and mixing process. He spent quite a bit of time here in Paris prior to going to Jo'burg, looking for the perfect bag, as well as an extra battery.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 24</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Jo'burg's excellent weather continued for another day and the pace with which we worked made us realize how much we missed through all those weeks of rain.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Today's shoot was all exterior - thank goodness we got a day off to recuperate because it was certainly long and physical. Day 24 was really all about the Benades, with our favorite dysfunctional white trash family making an attempt at landscaping their uh, front 'lawn.' Of course, this being Lambert, Treppie and Mol, nothing is quite what it seems and even the most mundane chores can provoke a semi-murderous booze-fueled conflict.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For those of us trusted with capturing the sight and the sound of their antics, it was a pleasure to behold. Here we are, filming the family in alcohol-soused action.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rx2pXJ5SDNI/AAAAAAAAAxA/u1WRSVoRWv8/s1600-h/Shooting+Benades+at+Work+-+sml.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rx2pXJ5SDNI/AAAAAAAAAxA/u1WRSVoRWv8/s400/Shooting+Benades+at+Work+-+sml.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124438166275755218" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Of particular amusement was Lambert firing up the lawnmower on the veranda (where else?).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tomorrow we'll be shooting at night, so cast and crew can have a bit of a sleep in. We'll be working til twelve at night, so we'll have to get all the rest we can get. And of course, our first proper evening in the none too salubrious neighbourhood of Vrededorp...no doubt a riveting experience awaits!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-40411118661433470712007-10-21T10:35:00.000+02:002007-10-22T12:48:22.906+02:00World Cup Final? No Problem.It was quite convenient that the World Cup Final was played Saturday night, after the Triomf shoot, and before a nice day off on Sunday. Otherwise, the Benades family would have had to show up on set the next day looking drunk and disheveled, or just like their characters. No makeup required to cover up that hangover. Just start saying your lines, you'll be fine.<br /><br />Here's the report, a day late and typed shakily, despite the delirium tremons, by Alex, our man in Jo'burg:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 23...</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />...started inauspiciously, with gray skies and heavy mist</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> threatening to doom our planned shot list of exteriors.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> But as dawn gave way to morning, the sun burned through the clouds and</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> gave us the kind of light we needed. The relief we all felt ensured an</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> upbeat tone to the proceedings, with jokes and smiles giving us the</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> stamina to complete what turned out to be a mammoth day.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxx7zJ5SDLI/AAAAAAAAAww/QoS7F3llWoE/s1600-h/Filming+The+Barbecue+-+sml.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxx7zJ5SDLI/AAAAAAAAAww/QoS7F3llWoE/s400/Filming+The+Barbecue+-+sml.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124106594800503986" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A 6AM barbecue scene, complete with beers, wine and cocktails, might have</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> looked strange to any passersby, but Coco Merckel and his fellow</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> actors made it look like the most natural thing of the world. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Of course, the day was largely overshadowed by the fact South Africa</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> was playing England in the World Cup Final that evening.<br /><br />In between</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> takes, all the banter between cast and crew revolved around where and</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> with whom they'd be watching the big match.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> In the end, it hardly mattered, as the Boks' victory ensured that</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> mostly everyone eventually converged at the street party on Melville's</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> main drag.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Good thing, then, that we got to enjoy Sunday off!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-11397734364786926342007-10-20T15:25:00.000+02:002007-10-20T15:33:24.195+02:00Marlene van Niekerk and Her Book TriomfAs I await the next update on the shoot from Alex in Jo'burg, I wanted to give you a link to a <a href="http://www.chico.mweb.co.za/books/9904/990420-triomf.html">Mail & Guardian ZA@Play article</a> that has the best information I've been able to find about Marlene van Niekerk's novel, Triomf. This is the book on which Michael Raeburn based the film, which he's shotting right now.<br /><br />So, if you're wondering about the background, history and plot of Triomf, <a href="http://www.chico.mweb.co.za/books/9904/990420-triomf.html">check out this article</a>.<br /><br />Thanks go to Lyndon Plant, our executive producer, who sent me that link.<br /><br />Here's a little excerpt to get you started:<br /><p style="font-style: italic;"> <span style=";font-family:arial,helvetica,geneva;font-size:130%;" >This violent, incestuous, alcohol-saturated family represents the "poor whites" courted and favoured by the Nationalist government, given jobs on the railways and homes in the new suburb of Triomf. That suburb, with its hubristic name, was, of course, famously built on the ruins of the demolished Sophiatown. </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"> <span style=";font-family:arial,helvetica,geneva;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">In the novel, Lambert, the 40-year-old epileptic, is obsessively digging a hole in which to store petrol for an emergency trek to "the North" if and when South Africa collapses under the weight of black rule. From this excavation he draws the fragmented remains of what was once a lively, multiracial area: this is what underlies the white Afrikaner triumph of 1948 and after, the rubble beneath the ideology to which the Benades, in a half-blind tribal way, have so long been loyal.</span> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-78105730979337500392007-10-19T21:53:00.000+02:002007-10-19T21:56:46.722+02:00Astrid Braaf, Delia Meyer and Carmel Fisher Play Nasty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxkL4N5SopI/AAAAAAAAAu4/vpElko95F8s/s1600-h/Astrid+Braaf+Delia+Meyer+Carmel+Fisher.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxkL4N5SopI/AAAAAAAAAu4/vpElko95F8s/s400/Astrid+Braaf+Delia+Meyer+Carmel+Fisher.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123139111541187218" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-30694942990303920772007-10-19T21:13:00.000+02:002007-10-19T21:50:30.261+02:00Crew Call: Any Wild Clappers Available?Alex sent me today's shoot rundown...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 22</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Probably because it was on a Friday, today turned out to be one of</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> the best-humored days on set. Not only were the cast on top form</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> (both during and in-between takes!), but some elaborate practical jokes</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> kept spirits high as the weather in</span><span style="font-style: italic;">evitably took a turn for the</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">worse.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Scenes for the day were a continuation of the past two days - a chase</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> involving some acrobatics from the cast (no stunt doubles for these</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> tough guys), followed by the arrival of the police.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The wild nature of the scene, with Coco Merckel and Oscar Pietersen</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> full of light-hearted menace (if such a thing exists), had the cast,</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> crew and local residents in stitches.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Not all of the action took place in front of the camera: I myself provided</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> unwitting amusement to my fellow crew members, thanks to the efforts of</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Jamie and Wiaan. Called to a field next to the set just before lunch,</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> I 'wild clapped' for sound across the entire paddock, an entirely</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">made-up task that looked as ridiculous as it sounds.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">No sooner had lunch been digested than the sun gave way once more to</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> cloud, rain and thunder. A change of plans was on hand and the madcap</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> antics of the Fort Knox crowd gave way to interior shots in Lambert's</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Den. Designed to be inhospitable, the Den is not exactly beloved by</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> crew or cast.<br /><br />Image below: </span><span>Here's Paul Luckoff as Pop, outside Lambert's den:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxkJrd5SooI/AAAAAAAAAuw/LeCHK1eG93U/s1600-h/Paul+Luckoff+as+Pop+-+sml.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxkJrd5SooI/AAAAAAAAAuw/LeCHK1eG93U/s400/Paul+Luckoff+as+Pop+-+sml.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5123136693474599554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">With some good vibes still lingering from the morning</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> session, we plowed on into the late afternoon; notwithstanding some</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> very loud thunderclaps. Not a patch on my wild claps, of course...</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-61850583141615582742007-10-19T08:58:00.000+02:002007-10-19T09:33:54.814+02:00Chase Scenes Completed Seconds Before the DelugeAlex Pearse sent me a recap from yesterday's shoot:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Day 21</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Action was the order of Day 21, with a violently hilarious chase scene </span><span style="font-style: italic;">involving Lambert and The Fort </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Knox Boys,</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> plus some inclement weather providing more drama.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Images below: </span><span>Crew sets up for one segment of the chase sequence while (second image) </span>Director of Photography Jamie Ramsay (in red cap) is in consultation with Focus Puller Wiaan Matthee<span>.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxhYi95SokI/AAAAAAAAAuM/t26M9dZyH2g/s1600-h/chase+sequence+setup.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxhYi95SokI/AAAAAAAAAuM/t26M9dZyH2g/s400/chase+sequence+setup.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122941933887595074" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxhZb95SolI/AAAAAAAAAuU/32QPsTYgkCE/s1600-h/Jamie+Ramsay+Wiaan+Matthe.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxhZb95SolI/AAAAAAAAAuU/32QPsTYgkCE/s400/Jamie+Ramsay+Wiaan+Matthe.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122942913140138578" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lambert's escape from the very irate Fort Knox residents was</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> successfully created, thanks to some mammoth performances from a very</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> talented cast, namely Coco Merckel </span><span style="font-style: italic;">as Beerguts, Astrid Braaf as Bikini</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Girl, Craig Palm as Speedo, Carmel Fisher as Speedo's girl and Delia</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Meyer and Oscar Petersen playing their party guests.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tony Caprar</span><span style="font-style: italic;">i as the baboon man was, as always, a joy to behold...<br /><br />In the picture below: </span>FortKnoxBoys: Speedo (Craig Palm) leaps from a tree in pursuit of Lambert while Oscar Petersen awaits his chance.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxhXRt5SojI/AAAAAAAAAuE/euiF84TFkpI/s1600-h/fortknoxboys.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxhXRt5SojI/AAAAAAAAAuE/euiF84TFkpI/s400/fortknoxboys.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122940538023223858" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Just as we were congratulating ourselves on having successfully</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> navigated the vagaries of dodgy weather, we got a little reminder of</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> the awesome power of nature. At a little before 12:30 am, the skies</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> opened with such ferocity that within minutes the city's drains were</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">overflowing. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Needless to say, film making was hastily shoved off the agenda in</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> favor of finding shelter for crew, cast and equipment.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Although we had had several hours of beautiful sunlight to film our</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> dramatic chase scene and the antics of the feral baboon man, our</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> schedule for the rest of the day had to be altered dramatically.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxhbb95SomI/AAAAAAAAAuc/vDCCKXsj4BU/s1600-h/clapper+board.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxhbb95SomI/AAAAAAAAAuc/vDCCKXsj4BU/s400/clapper+board.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122945112163394146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Image above: </span><span>Clapper board takes a break during the storm.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />After</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> intense discussions between director </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Michael Raeburn, first AD Grant</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Nale and script supervisor Elaine Butler, a plan B was hastily</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> conceived. The gaffer and camera department got to work lighting the</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> set for an afternoon of interiors and work resumed.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Our recompense for a lunchtime of misery came moments before the final</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> shot of the day: Joburg's skyscrapers bathed in pure gold as the</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> setting sun burned through the mist and rain. This is why Johannesburg is called The City of Gold.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxhcft5SonI/AAAAAAAAAuk/TPx40cTTRHo/s1600-h/Joburg+City+of+Gold.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxhcft5SonI/AAAAAAAAAuk/TPx40cTTRHo/s400/Joburg+City+of+Gold.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122946276099531378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-50762226752336135532007-10-18T12:55:00.001+02:002007-10-19T08:57:38.245+02:00The Sound of Triomf<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxc-od5SohI/AAAAAAAAAt0/DM-o8FiI6Ag/s1600-h/Sound+Engineer+Jose+with+Boom+Op+Nati-+sml.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/Rxc-od5SohI/AAAAAAAAAt0/DM-o8FiI6Ag/s400/Sound+Engineer+Jose+with+Boom+Op+Nati-+sml.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122631966097842706" border="0" /></a>Alex Pearse sent me some photos last night of Triomf's sound engineer José Baptista and Nati, the boom operator. This is a great opportunity to introduce José and his illustrious background:<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:22;" lang="FR" ></span></p>José Baptista was born in Lourenço Marques-Mozambique. He is a professional sound engineer and a designer and installer of electroacoustic equipment and sound studios. He holds a Cinéma Diploma C from the London International Film School and a BTS Cinéma opt Son from the Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière. He speaks English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.<br /><br />When José is not working on a major film, he co-produces documentaries and records and mixes music albums/CDs. He is also a journalist for Portuguese-language newspapers.<br /><br />You can find his <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052656/">film credits on IMDB here</a>. His professional experience includes:<br /><br />2006<br /><ul><li>Post-production sound engineer for la société de Production de Films de Long Métrage : « Les Films de Mai » <br /></li><li>Post-production sound engineer for la société de Production de Films Documentaires : « Strawberry Films » <br /></li><li>Installation of electroacoustic equipment for a music studio - dedicated electric installation, video/audio wiring and Ethernet, installation of the equipment.<br /></li></ul>2004/2005<ul><li>Technical Directeur - Studio des 3 Arts (Feature film and TV mixing) <br /></li><li>Sound engineer and maintenance of audio section for Plateau de Télévision de la Société MMP (Antenne de Télévision « La Locale ») <br /></li><li>Installation of electroacoustic equipment for l’Auditorium de là société TABB Productions <br /></li><li>Sound engineer and Installation of electroacoustic equipment for Studio 64. <br /></li></ul>1998-2003 <br /><ul><li>Sound engineer, member, founder of « Créason » - association of sound research, managing the post-production unit within « Films du Village ».</li><li>Mixing of several full-length fiction films, many short fiction documentaries for television and cinema. <br /></li></ul>1990-97 <br /><ul><li>Sound engineer for Images Ressource, S.F.P., Offshore, Films du Village. <br /></li><li>Sound engineer for Studios de la Seine, Studios Desmarquest, Films du Village. </li><li>Sound engineer for Studio Savane. (Tam Tam Vidéo, Audiophase) <br /></li><li>Sound engineer for video studios Mikros Images, UMT, SACFA, Studios Desmarquest, Auvico, Alphamédia.<br /></li><li>Designer/demonstrator of audionumeriques equipment at PUBLISON <br /></li></ul>1979-90 <br /><ul><li>Sound engineer for the video studio of Waymel Montage </li><li>Sound engineer for the mixing studios of Teletota and Version Française. <br /></li><li>Sound engineer for the video studio of Tigre Productions. <br /></li><li>Chief sound operator for documentary films, sound engineer for mobile video, assistant sound engineer for fiction films for many French video production companies<br /></li><li>Sound technician for Production Services for l’Institut National du Cinéma du Mozambique</li></ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-70594977727428970612007-10-18T09:58:00.000+02:002007-10-18T12:54:47.144+02:00Lesbian Suitcases, Welding Visors and Headless CatsIt seems like the Triomf production crew can finally take off their wellies and get some shooting done. It was also discovered that it is not beneath Triomf's director, Michael Raeburn, to get down on his hands and knees to coax a wayward actor (a dog who needed to be more vicious). This report came in from Alex Pearse late last night:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">After three weeks of relentless rain, Jo'burg finally came aglow with the kind of scorching summer day it is famous for. Needless to say, the cast and crew of Triomf were more than relieved that the weather lottery looked to be ending and that the important job at hand could</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> continue.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">So it was smiles all round at 6:30, the damp atmosphere at breakfast having been replaced with some kind of enthusiasm (well, as much as is possible at that hour.)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">It was good that spirits were high, such was the scale of the task at hand. With eight scenes to shoot and a host of actors and extras to coordinate, Day 20 promised to be one of the biggest yet. Just a quick glance at the props list - lesbian suitcases, cat without a head and Lambert's welding visor - tells its own story.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Recreating early nineties South Africa is a deceptively challenging task because unlike a period drama where everything needs to be recreated and the lines between what is real and what is not are very clear, the recent past and the present blur into each other, yet also include a number of very stark differences.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Negotiating this challenge has been a major task for Triomf's Art Department and today proved to be their day in more than one way: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaner_Weerstandsbeweging">AWB campaigners</a> on horseback, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rag_and_bone_man">rag and bone men</a>, a couple moving house - all meant wardrobe and <a href="http://www.skillset.org/film/jobs/props/article_3912_1.asp">props standby</a> were working off their feet. It all came together nicely though, under Michael Raeburn`s fastidious eye, DOP Jamie Ramsay brought it all to life.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">It wasn't all work-work though - the day had its lighter moments too. In particular, the crew's attempts to get Producer Natalie Stange's dog (playing the role of obnoxious neighbor Beer Guts' pet) to shake off its docile demeanor</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> and play vicious (or at least bark), was</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> something to behold. Not one to let his troops do all the hard work, Director Michael Raeburn got down on his own haunches and tried to coax an award winning performance out of the beast. (Notice the dog's nose sticking menacingly through the bars in between Michael's legs.)<br /><br /></span><a style="font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxcXWt5SofI/AAAAAAAAAtk/_UQDXunpr5M/s1600-h/Michael+Trying+To+Get+Beer+Guts+Dog+to+Bark.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 441px; height: 295px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxcXWt5SofI/AAAAAAAAAtk/_UQDXunpr5M/s400/Michael+Trying+To+Get+Beer+Guts+Dog+to+Bark.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122588780201681394" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">With a glorious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highveld">highveld</a> sunset telling us the lighting department was about to stand down, First AD <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0620524/">Grant Nale</a> called it a day. With the shadows getting longer by the minute, we wrapped and packed, with cold beer, good wine and something other than the set's staples of chicken</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> and rice on everyone's minds!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-83801428477900852652007-10-17T13:13:00.000+02:002007-10-18T11:24:18.448+02:00Alex Pearse Joins Triomf Crew. Rain Stops.I just spoke by phone with Alex Pearse, a South African writer who lives in London but is now in Johannesburg to help with the Triomf film production, as a "labor of love," according to our executive producer, Lyndon Plant. Alex told me in an email, "My official credits on the film are clapper loader and stills photographer - and general multimedia dogsbody!"<br /><br />Alex will be on the set from 6AM until 6PM or whenever shooting is finished for the day. Then he plans to download any photos and anecdotes to me in the evenings. Stay tuned!<br /><br />Lyndon also told me that the month of October is known in parts of Southern Africa as the "suicide month," because it is usually so hot and dry. Jo'burg has been known to get some afternoon/evening rains in October, but never has it seen rain such as it was last week. So you would think that this is a safe time of year for a film shoot, but unfortunately for the crew, the rain put off the entire production schedule. According <a href="http://www.joburg.org.za/2007/oct/oct9_weather.stm">to an article on the City of Johannesburg website</a>, tornado reports were a hoax, but they managed to snarl up traffic because so many people left work early in fear of the tornado.<br /><br />Ezekiel Sebego, a forecaster at South African Weather Service said,"We are aware of the emails that were sent to people warning them about a tornado and severe storms. Yes, there were severe storms in some parts of the province - there was heavy rain, hail and extremely strong winds yesterday in Gezina [east of Pretoria] - but there was no tornado."<br /><br />Finally, Lyndon and Alex had to fly to Jo'burg from London and bring the sunshine with them. All of you in Jo'burg, and the crew of Triomf, can thank them for that. Now he and Alex and the rest of the crew are back on the job, specifically Lionel Newton, who plays the part of Treppie in the film. He was selected to perform weather watch in between takes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxclW95SogI/AAAAAAAAAts/eg3ByMuest8/s1600-h/Lionel+Newton+Weather+Lookout.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VpbykP204hU/RxclW95SogI/AAAAAAAAAts/eg3ByMuest8/s400/Lionel+Newton+Weather+Lookout.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5122604177659437570" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-61704948693690806372007-10-08T17:55:00.000+02:002007-10-08T18:24:33.928+02:00Brixton Hill shoot...<div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RwpXBNBudkI/AAAAAAAAAEE/jQUIecp2UEY/s1600-h/DSC_0003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118999604648375874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RwpXBNBudkI/AAAAAAAAAEE/jQUIecp2UEY/s320/DSC_0003.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Treppie (Lionel Newton) in a(nother) confrontation with </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Pop (Paul Luckhoff) </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">and Mol (Vanessa Cooke. PICTURE: Alexis Flynn</span><br /></div><p align="center"></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RwpXC9BudlI/AAAAAAAAAEM/vJ4z7WISn4M/s1600-h/DSC_0006.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118999634713146962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RwpXC9BudlI/AAAAAAAAAEM/vJ4z7WISn4M/s320/DSC_0006.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">As you can see, everyone was pretty close to the edge during the shooting </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">of this scene. </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">PICTURE: Natalie Stange<br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RwpXD9BudmI/AAAAAAAAAEU/UGmBT4xv8f0/s1600-h/DSC_0011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118999651893016162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RwpXD9BudmI/AAAAAAAAAEU/UGmBT4xv8f0/s320/DSC_0011.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-88231975765729405952007-09-26T16:49:00.000+02:002007-09-26T17:06:09.282+02:00Proverbial Wisdom from AfricaQ. What did the Sufi dervish say to the Zen master?<br />A. One hand washes the other.<br /><br />Which is to say, as they say in Zimbabwe (and as quoted in Michael Raeburn and Hanna Broadbridge's version of <span style="font-style: italic;">Jit<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span>done as a text for Danish schoolchildren), <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Proverbs are horses for solving problems."<br /><br /></span></span>And on precisely that note, we thought we might want to offer up some other Zimbabwean proverbs from <span style="font-style: italic;">Jit. </span>If Danish schoolchildren have profited (and consider the worldwide proliferation of IKEA, for example – but wait: they may be from Sweden...), perhaps so shall we all:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"If you do not use your head, you will have to use your legs."<br /><br />"The man who gave up did not become rich."<br /><br />"You will not have to buy what you find."<br /><br />"If you are not there to work, your share of the harvest will not be there either."<br /><br />"If you eat alone, you will cough alone."<br /><br />"Good thinking is better than good money."<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>We hope these have proven morally instructive and perfectly sensible. After all, as we all know, <span style="font-style: italic;">"The ass's gratitude is farting." <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-87072754864278951532007-09-15T10:59:00.000+02:002007-09-15T11:16:11.505+02:00Triomf Movie Rehearsal - Watch the Video<span style="display: inline;" id="vidDescRemain">For those of you who have been looking forward to details about the Triomf production process, take a look at this clip taken during rehearsals.<br /><br />On the left you see </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0628552/">LIONEL NEWTON playing the character Treppie</a><span style="display: inline;" id="vidDescRemain"> and on the right you see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2347844/">EDUAN VAN JAARSFELDT playing Lambert.</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.michaelraeburn.com/">Michael Raeburn</a> is directing them.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ka7fALjiFfs"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ka7fALjiFfs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />The actual shoot starts in Johannesburg Sept 25 - November 3. Wish us luck!</span><br /><br />For email alerts each time we upload a new video clip, click on the links to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/RedPillPictures">subscribe to RedPillPictures</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/triomfmovie">Triomf Movie</a> YouTube accounts.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-57234455658806309042007-09-14T10:30:00.001+02:002007-09-14T13:04:12.554+02:00Triomf; The Tower of Babel Re-Titled (Avec Subtitles)Producer Lyndon Plante brings forward an intriguing point:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"<span style="font-style:italic;">Triomf </span>the movie is now being made with South African, Zimbabwean, French, British, Mozambiquan and American input (that I am aware of)."</span><br /><br />It makes us wonder: How many languages do all of us speak? An obvious list would include Afrikaans, English (in its South African, Zimbabwean, American and perhaps even British variants), French, Portuguese, Spanish... and then we up in Jo'burg-sur-la-Seine would love to know if Triomf has anybody aboard fluent in Zulu or Xhosa or Swazi or... well or any of SA's eleven official languages. And what is it like to live in a land not merely official languages, but eleven of 'em. <br /><br />(As Americans, we consider it our patriotic duty to discourage any speaking of Spanish whatsoever, worldwide, lest our mother tongue be corrupted and we find ourselves, say, at a rodeo out on the chaparral twirling our lariats high atop our cayuses and discover our burritos have been adulterated with too much guacamole and salsa, forcing us to vamoose across la frontera to, peut-être, Quebec.)<br /><br />In any case, we welcome the day when the Tower of Babel, much like Sophiatown, is officially renamed "Triomf." (And then back again. With an official ceremony. In eleven languages. And then a big braii afterwards. And maybe some dancing.)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Michael Raeburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09291647087026436689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-91054082796421227312007-09-11T14:21:00.000+02:002007-09-11T15:02:53.532+02:00National Braai Day Raises ConcernsAccording to one of those anxiety-inducing little countdown clock-widgets located <a href="http://www.braaiday.co.za/">here</a>, there are currently only 12 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes and 59 seconds until the outbreak of National Braaiday.<br /><br />Worse, and even more worrisome, by the time you read this, there will be even less time ticking away. And every time that clock ticks off another second, we can't help wondering, and worrying. And the big day falls on a Monday this year — what if nobody shows up, and the whole thing is just one big colossal failure? Will Emeritus Archbishop Dr Desmond Tutu, patron of this important event, have managed to wrap up that little mess in Darfur in time to get back for a bit of burnt boerewors? And how come those clocks running down always bring up grim thoughts of death and mortality and of how fleeting life is, and how much of it we're wasting standing next to the braai with a beer in one hand and a fork in the other? And what will happen to that little clock once <span style="font-style: italic;">its</span> time has passed? And can any of this time-pressure be good for the meat-grilling business? It does almost certainly make us need a drink. Maybe the beer industry is secretly behind the whole thing. And that worries us too. But slightly less.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Michael Raeburnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09291647087026436689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-81001169248365821192007-09-03T09:56:00.001+02:002007-09-03T10:10:21.827+02:00Boere Music, Afrikaans... and ParisThose of us in the Paris, France, region of South Africa will have to be forgiven our ignorance. Especially when it comes to matters like discussions of Boere Music, or Boeremusiek, or whatever it's called (we speak a very curious Afrikaans argot in this arrondissement).<br /><br />And because our Afrikaans is so lacking, up here in Johannesburg's northernmost suburbs, we worry sometimes. We worry that we're missing nuances, or that we're not currently right in the thick of what's left of the argument over Bok van Blerk and "De La Rey." (Even if that discussion seems a little overwrought to our Southern South African comrades, we here in Paris love to sit around Les Deux Magots and discuss the finer details.)<br /><br />But in our effort to inform ourselves, we came across a pretty extraordinary piece of work by Andries ''Roof'' Bezuidenhout, on SA's own LitNet Vryepoort. It's a lively, lengthy article that makes a tremendous effort at putting "De La Rey" and conteporary music in Afrikaans in context. We need that up here in Paris, frankly.<br /><br />So we're adding <a href="http://www.litnet.co.za/cgi-bin/giga.cgi?cmd=cause_dir_news_item&cause_id=1270&news_id=11123&cat_id=170">a link to this article in here</a>, in hopes of stimulating a small and civilized but lively discussion. And note that it even has footnotes, which means it must be good. (We Parisian philosophes love a laundry list's worth of footnotes. It makes us feel — how do you say it in Afrikaans? — tres existentialiste?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-91039394219372049002007-08-28T15:03:00.000+02:002007-08-28T15:40:27.288+02:00Location Recce - Sunday August 26This past Sunday Michael took a small group of us out to the film's main location - a small house in Jan Hofmeyer Park in Brixton - to discuss various aspects of the shoot. Art director Tiaan van Tonder got the opportunity to see how much work he would have to do to get the place looking the way Michael wants it to. Our DOP Jamie Ramsay got to see the dark & cramped spaces in which he would have to shoot for around 5 weeks. Michael and Natalie spoke to the homeowners - Ernest, his sister Doreen and her truck driver husband - about the alternative living arrangments being made for them for the duration of the shoot: they will move into a caravan that will be placed in their neighbours' backyard. In the meantime, I shot lots of material for the film's "Making of...", and we all marvelled at how closely the entire place - the home where we will shoot, the surrounding neighbourhood and its inhabitants, even the mangy dogs - resembled exactly Marlene van Niekerk's description of the place in her novel.<br /><br />The effects of grinding poverty are everywhere visible, from the mud-soaked and rubbish-strewn backyard, to the men and women lurching drunkenly across the open field at 11am, to the skinny dirt-covered kids playing with home-made wire toys in the dusty streets.<br /><br />Now while there are many communities in South Africa that have failed to find their place under the warm sun of the new democratic South Africa, there is something about this place that sets it apart from every other: one has the sense of a place that has truly fallen off the edge of the world. There is not the slightest ounce of hope in these streets.<br /><br />But I'm quite certain the film will change all that: the homeowners - Ernest & co. - are sweet and humble people, but already they are utterly gobsmacked that their home is to become the prime location for an international feature film. They are talkative and curious and surprised at the fact that anyone would want to point a camera in their direction. Although the other residents mostly ignored us on Sunday, this too will change once cast and crew start moving in and causing a commotion. Then we can expect crowds of curious onlookers. The countdown has begun...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-75886540742809819712007-08-17T14:25:00.000+02:002007-08-17T14:29:21.666+02:00A Proverb from Zimbawe"Truth cannot be bought in the market place, but lies are bought with ready cash." <br /><br />A proverb from Zimbabwe, included in the Danish print edition of Michael Raeburn's novelization of his film, "Jit."<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-71886689978056455052007-08-17T11:55:00.000+02:002007-08-17T12:04:41.179+02:00PICS: Triomf Production House<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxbHTiXzI/AAAAAAAAAAM/-6wE3jC8mCo/s1600-h/DSC00392.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099606863698353970" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxbHTiXzI/AAAAAAAAAAM/-6wE3jC8mCo/s320/DSC00392.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Stained-glass windows are known to stimulate<br />creative thinking...<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxbnTiX0I/AAAAAAAAAAU/Qyb3mBP8cfc/s1600-h/DSC00395.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099606872288288578" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxbnTiX0I/AAAAAAAAAAU/Qyb3mBP8cfc/s320/DSC00395.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />...as is evident from this photo of Michael hard<br />at work... on Facebook!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxb3TiX1I/AAAAAAAAAAc/Ev-ZV5vuXn8/s1600-h/DSC00401.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099606876583255890" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxb3TiX1I/AAAAAAAAAAc/Ev-ZV5vuXn8/s320/DSC00401.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Security is top-notch! Even flies struggle to enter here.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxcHTiX2I/AAAAAAAAAAk/Xlh44H7T0h8/s1600-h/DSC00408.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099606880878223202" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxcHTiX2I/AAAAAAAAAAk/Xlh44H7T0h8/s320/DSC00408.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Large and fully-equipped kitchen for early morning<br />coffees and late-night snacking.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxcXTiX3I/AAAAAAAAAAs/KGAZpppL3PI/s1600-h/DSC00405.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099606885173190514" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mmXq9ieDAbw/RsVxcXTiX3I/AAAAAAAAAAs/KGAZpppL3PI/s320/DSC00405.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The hard work has begun, but there's hope for<br />relaxation on the right hand side of the pic...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-35212645736523015532007-08-15T16:36:00.000+02:002007-08-17T14:18:01.361+02:00"Giddily Upbeat," Says The New York Times<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YniKv-uGox4/RsWJy2F5vHI/AAAAAAAAAAM/r-HDIDUR_sw/s1600-h/Jit+VHS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YniKv-uGox4/RsWJy2F5vHI/AAAAAAAAAAM/r-HDIDUR_sw/s320/Jit+VHS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099633659673689202" border="0" /></a>As something of a <a href="http://triomfmovie.blogspot.com/2007/08/disturbing-thought-or-two.html">follow-up</a>, we wanted to include a little more about Michael Raeburn and Zimbabwe. In 1991, he made a movie called <span style="font-style: italic;">Jit</span>. (Among its many distinctions, perhaps even beyond the fact that it was the first feature film ever made in Zimbabwe, it is extremely high on the Marquee Letterer And Ladder Shifter's Union Special Achievement Award shortlist of Shortest Film Titles Ever, though nosed out at the finish line by by <span style="font-style: italic;">It</span>).<br /><br />In any case, not only did <span style="font-style: italic;">Jit</span> serve as the film launch-pad for Oliver Mtukudzi, perhaps Africa's biggest World Music star today, it also was shockingly available in the US at Blockbuster Video. Not, admittedly, perhaps every Blockbuster Video in the entire United States of America, but still....<br /><br />Just imagine -- there you could be, of a Tuesday night back in the mid-1990s, when people still went to video stores instead of doing all the astonishingly illegal -- and convenient! -- things they do to get their movies today, and you would be trolling the aisles amongst all the other sad Tuesday night consumers with their Burger King bags under their arms, trying to take advantage of Blockbuster's "Three-For-One Tuesday" deal but all the big Hollywood star-laden car-crashing action-comedy just-released-to-video spectaculars are sadly not in evidence on the shelves. And your Burger King bag is starting to drip. To a degree, in fact, that suggests that its structural integrity is about to give way right there on the lush (but stainproof) blue Blockbuster carpeting. So, as an emergency measure you wouldn't take under any other circumstances, you grab -- in addition to <span style="font-style: italic;">Dumb And Dumber II</span> and some movie you chose because Adam Sandler was on the cover, so it must be really funny -- a bright orange-and-green covered box that clashes noisily against Blockbuster's blindingly jaunty yellow-and-blue corporate color scheme) belonging to some movie with the wacky, zany title of <span style="font-style: italic;">Jit</span>.<br /><br />And "Wacky" it is . And perhaps even "Zany" too, though not in the blockbusting Adam Sandler manner. It's wacky and zany in the sense that the hero of the film, an under-achieving but ambitious striver named UK, is chided and counseled and very actively assisted by a Jukwa, an ancestral spirit, in this case in the form of a beer-chugging granny. It's wacky and zany as well in the sense that somehow, some way, somebody at Blockbuster made a deal to buy just enough VHS tape copies of <span style="font-style: italic;">Jit</span> to make sure the movie actually skidded into the black.<br /><br />It's not retroactive for 1990, but just to keep you honest here, we've included <a href="http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/africa/zimbabwe/currency.htm">this link</a> to a highly useful Zimbabwean currency counter, so you can compare your own local shekels to the Zimbabwean Dollar (ZWD) as it floats giddily toward the stratosphere, sort of like the first African Mission to Mars. There are all manners and degrees of wacky and zany, after all. And as long as its not <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> life savings going down the drain, hey, what could be zanier than the Zimbawean dollar in 2007?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311372240280961509.post-79023460677218718152007-08-14T15:27:00.000+02:002007-08-14T14:45:08.947+02:00A Disturbing Thought Or TwoA deeply disturbing thought suddenly occurs: Michael Raeburn, distinguished director of <span style="font-style: italic;">Triomf</span>, the film that is surely going to be one of the most talked-about South African films of our time, is another of those infernal immigrants from Zimbabwe. Zounds!<br /><br />Let's face it: no matter what internal problems all South Africans share, one thing everybody there ought to be able to agree upon is the simple and straightforward idea of building a massive, unbreachable, impenetrable, unscalable wall all across the entirety of the Zimbabwean border. Preferably financed by the United States, using technology, know-how, and leftover spare parts from the USA's own re-Berlin-ificaton of the Mexican border. Which is scheduled to be completed weeks after we sign off on <span style="font-style: italic;">Mission Accomplished II: The Sequel</span> in Iran (Oops -- I meant Iraq; we Americans have trouble keep you foreign lands straight.) (In any meaning of the word.)<br /><br />Now, as a native-born American of sturdy, unswarthy European stock, whose forebears on either side of the family arrived almost entire decades before the last half of the Twentieth Century, there's nothing that irritates me like illegal immigrants. Not to say that Michael, whose work permits are every bit as in order as the rest of the production's, is illegal, but still....<br /><br />Well, now that I've got that pot properly stirred, I'd like to move on to other profound thoughts Zimbabwean....because some Americans, if you haven't heard, are about to become minor experts on the place. A couple few weeks ago, we sat around Michael's ultra-chic Parisian flat in its fashionable district (okay, his chic Parisian flat in its questionable neighborhood) (alright, ok, his funky but entirely serviceable flat... but it's damn well in Paris) while I showed Jose' [<span style="font-style: italic;">Triomf's </span>sound engineer] and Michael the website counting down the last few hours before the <a href="http://www.dispatchfoundation.org/">Dispatch</a><a href="http://www.dispatchfoundation.org/"> concerts</a> at Madison Square Garden benefiting Zimbabwe. I'll go into more detail about that and those shows in times to come but both Michael and Jose', who's originally from Mozambique, raised the worthy question of "How do they get the money they've raised to the people who need it most, instead of the people who figure they need it most because they're running the country?"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dispatchmusic.com/">Dispatch</a>, a band hardly anybody over the age of 30 outside of New England had ever heard of, and one that had been broken up for three years, decided they were going to reunite long enough to do a benefit show for the people of Zimbabwe. As things fell together, the show ended up being scheduled for New York City's Madison Square Garden, and it sold out within minutes of tickets being put on sale. So a second and then a third night were put on sale, both of which sold out instantly as well. The band turned over their own guest list tickets in order to raise more funds, and some pretty significant sums were raised. And the question of how to disburse those funds is central, obviously.<br /><br />But as anyone who's ever been around a successful benefit knows, a huge part of it is not based in fund-raising but in consciousness-raising.... There are now a couple of hundred thousand American kids (consider exactly how fast those tickets sold out, and do a little math based on those lucky ticket holders actively bragging to all their friends, and multiply by Myspace....) who now know at least a little something about a remote Southern African country named Zimbabwe..... Okay, now all the Americans say it in unison: ZIM - BOB - WAY ....<br /><br />Which brings us back again to <span style="font-style: italic;">Triomf</span> and South Africa and Michael Raeburn, all by way of Zimbabwe. Because as we explore the nuances and the crashing non-nuanced plain-as-day non-subtleties of the making of <span style="font-style: italic;">Triomf</span> in South Africa at this moment, we're inevitably going to run afoul of all manner of sensibilities, delicate and refined, crude and rude. And as we do, we're going to keep reminding you of a few important facts. Beginning in the 1960s, under Ian Smith's Rhodesian regime, Michael Raeburn, a native born African who would most often be defined as "white," began making films and books that powerfully questioned the status quo. As each decade's events unfolded, he continued to do so, despite the fact that he was now banned from his native land. And when that land became known as Zimbabwe, one of his books became a primary text in its schools. His film <span style="font-style: italic;">Jit</span>, with the music of <a href="http://www.tukumusic.com/">Oliver Mtukudzi</a>, <a href="http://www.thomasmapfumo.com/main.html">Thomas Mapfumo</a>, and the <a href="http://www.embargo.ca/zim/artists/bios/bboys/">Bhundu Boys</a> among others, was the first film ever made entirely in Zimbabwe. And by the time of our own decade, Michael had once again been banned from his homeland for making a film, <span style="font-style: italic;">Zimbabwe Countdown</span>, that examined the regime that has ruled Zimbabwe since its promising birth.<br /><br />We bring this forward not to blast forth Michael's horn on his behalf but because it needs to be said. Consistently, in five different decades, this African filmmaker has made films about Africa in Africa. When he wasn't allowed in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, he made them in Tanzania, Zambia, and South Africa. When he wasn't allowed to complete a South African film named Soweto, he moved on and made others. And now, in a time when many people would question his wisdom, he's preparing to shoot a South African picture called <span style="font-style: italic;">Triomf</span> about a lower-class white Afrikaans-speaking family who may not be the model citizens some might wish. Do you think he has any idea what he's doing?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script src="http://cls.assoc-amazon.com/s/cls.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0