One of the unheralded delights of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival was John Barker’s spirited musical heist comedy The Umbrella Men, which saw a group of friends set up an elaborate scheme to rob a corrupt bank and thereby save their beloved club from a scheming developer. Although that film ended joyfully, as the title of this film suggests, they didn’t get away with it as neatly and completely as they thought.
Back at Toronto for a second year, the original team now presents a scenario which sees heroes Jerome (Jacques De Silva) and Mortimer (Keenan Arrison) picked up by the police and locked up on a reopened Robben Island, haunting symbol of Cape Town’s past. Unwilling to take their chances on a judicial system which could take years to kick into gear, Jerome’s partner Keisha (Shamilla Miller) and loyal friend Mila (Bronté Snell) have to figure.
Back at Toronto for a second year, the original team now presents a scenario which sees heroes Jerome (Jacques De Silva) and Mortimer (Keenan Arrison) picked up by the police and locked up on a reopened Robben Island, haunting symbol of Cape Town’s past. Unwilling to take their chances on a judicial system which could take years to kick into gear, Jerome’s partner Keisha (Shamilla Miller) and loyal friend Mila (Bronté Snell) have to figure.
- 9/11/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Bronté Snell and Shamilla Miller in The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island
At last year's Toronto International Film Festival, one of the highlights was lively South African musical comedy heist film The Umbrella Men, which featured a gang of amateurs led by reluctant musician Jerome (Jacques De Silva) who come up with an elaborate scheme to steal money from a corrupt bank and thereby save their beloved club. Equally lively were the interviews with director John Barkers and stars Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison and Bronté Snell which followed, given that they had never expected to find themselves on the world stage. This year they're back in Toronto with a sequel, The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island - which, as you can imagine, means that the seemingly perfect getaway in the first film turned out to have complications.
This time around, the female characters have moved to the fore,...
At last year's Toronto International Film Festival, one of the highlights was lively South African musical comedy heist film The Umbrella Men, which featured a gang of amateurs led by reluctant musician Jerome (Jacques De Silva) who come up with an elaborate scheme to steal money from a corrupt bank and thereby save their beloved club. Equally lively were the interviews with director John Barkers and stars Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison and Bronté Snell which followed, given that they had never expected to find themselves on the world stage. This year they're back in Toronto with a sequel, The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island - which, as you can imagine, means that the seemingly perfect getaway in the first film turned out to have complications.
This time around, the female characters have moved to the fore,...
- 9/10/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
When South African director John Barker was seven years old, the Johannesburg native experienced Cape Town’s Minstrel Carnival for the first time. The annual celebration, which is rooted in the traditions of slaves dating back to the early years of colonial rule, is a colorful, raucous pageant unique to the Mother City — an event that Barker would later spend 14 years bringing to the big screen.
“The Umbrella Men” finally premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival, 16 years after Barker’s 2006 debut, “Bunny Chow,” debuted at the prestigious North American fest. Barker’s fifth feature was the closing film this week at the Joburg Film Festival, which wrapped Feb. 5 in the South African city.
“The Umbrella Men” is set in the Bo-Kaap, a formerly segregated Cape Town neighborhood that’s home to the city’s Cape Malay community, where the hip-hop producer Jerome Adams (Jaques de Silva) has returned...
“The Umbrella Men” finally premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival, 16 years after Barker’s 2006 debut, “Bunny Chow,” debuted at the prestigious North American fest. Barker’s fifth feature was the closing film this week at the Joburg Film Festival, which wrapped Feb. 5 in the South African city.
“The Umbrella Men” is set in the Bo-Kaap, a formerly segregated Cape Town neighborhood that’s home to the city’s Cape Malay community, where the hip-hop producer Jerome Adams (Jaques de Silva) has returned...
- 2/6/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
The fifth Joburg Film Festival wrapped Sunday night with the caper comedy “The Umbrella Men,” from homegrown director John Barker, a local premiere that cast and crew celebrated by promenading through Nelson Mandela Square with brightly colored parasols. Earlier in the week, the first edition of the Jbx Content Market — a two-day industry confab running parallel to the fest — concluded after offering a short but wide-ranging overview of the state of play for Africa’s screen industries in 2023.
There’s no clear-cut portrait that can emerge from an industry gathering on a continent as rich and diverse as Africa, where film and TV production and consumer trends — as with everything else — vary widely from one country to the next. The major markets of South Africa and Nigeria still dominate the conversation at such events; global players like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video see those territories as key to their expansion...
There’s no clear-cut portrait that can emerge from an industry gathering on a continent as rich and diverse as Africa, where film and TV production and consumer trends — as with everything else — vary widely from one country to the next. The major markets of South Africa and Nigeria still dominate the conversation at such events; global players like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video see those territories as key to their expansion...
- 2/6/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Laugh all you want but the success of filmmaker Brett Michael Innes’ first foray into mockumentary territory with “Daryn’s Gym” is part of a growing South African slate flexing its muscles within a comedy genre no longer considered “too refined” for local audiences’ taste.
The Nostalgia Productions mockumentary feature – a David and Goliath battle between the hapless owner of a family gym squaring off against the ruthless owner of a multinational fitness center plotting a takeover – is included in the film lineup currently on show at the 5th Joburg Film Festival with Innes, who served as writer and director, attending.
Made for eVOD, the nascent streamer of the commercial South African broadcaster e.tv, Innes tells Variety that on a financing level “Daryn’s Gym” was “one of the easiest things to do” since the gym-set tale was a full commission from eVOD.
“They told us to be bold and risqué,...
The Nostalgia Productions mockumentary feature – a David and Goliath battle between the hapless owner of a family gym squaring off against the ruthless owner of a multinational fitness center plotting a takeover – is included in the film lineup currently on show at the 5th Joburg Film Festival with Innes, who served as writer and director, attending.
Made for eVOD, the nascent streamer of the commercial South African broadcaster e.tv, Innes tells Variety that on a financing level “Daryn’s Gym” was “one of the easiest things to do” since the gym-set tale was a full commission from eVOD.
“They told us to be bold and risqué,...
- 2/2/2023
- by Thinus Ferreira
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon Prime Video has closed a multi-picture licensing agreement with South Africa’s Known Associates, the parent company of Johannesburg-based Known Associates Entertainment (Kae) and Cape Town-based Moonlighting Films, the company announced Thursday during the Joburg Film Festival.
The deal grants Prime Video exclusive SVOD access to over 20 South African feature films, including Zane Meas’ “Klip Anker Baai,” Marvin-Lee Beukes’ “Tickets,” Jahmil Qubeka’s “You Are My Favorite Place,” Dick d’vLz Reubïn’s “Gereza” and Norman Maake’s “Piet’s Sake 2.”
The slate also includes at least eight newly produced films in 2023, among them new features from Ian Gabriel (“Four Corners”), Alastair Orr (“Triggered”), Meg Rickards (“Tess”) and John Barker, who will be filming the sequel to his 2022 Toronto Film Festival premiere “The Umbrella Men” (pictured).
“We’re delighted to be bringing Prime Video customers this diverse and compelling slate of South African movies from the dynamic team at Known Associates,...
The deal grants Prime Video exclusive SVOD access to over 20 South African feature films, including Zane Meas’ “Klip Anker Baai,” Marvin-Lee Beukes’ “Tickets,” Jahmil Qubeka’s “You Are My Favorite Place,” Dick d’vLz Reubïn’s “Gereza” and Norman Maake’s “Piet’s Sake 2.”
The slate also includes at least eight newly produced films in 2023, among them new features from Ian Gabriel (“Four Corners”), Alastair Orr (“Triggered”), Meg Rickards (“Tess”) and John Barker, who will be filming the sequel to his 2022 Toronto Film Festival premiere “The Umbrella Men” (pictured).
“We’re delighted to be bringing Prime Video customers this diverse and compelling slate of South African movies from the dynamic team at Known Associates,...
- 2/2/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Returning to Johannesburg cinemas for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the Joburg Film Festival kicked off its 5th edition with a joyful relaunch on Tuesday night, as local luminaries walked a gold carpet in Nelson Mandela Square in honor of the festival’s slogan, “Our Stories. Our Gold,” and the crowd was serenaded with a soaring performance from South African soprano Zandile Mzazi and singer Thandiswa Mazwai.
The event, which runs Jan. 31 – Feb. 5, bowed with the African premiere of “Xalé” (pictured), from veteran Senegalese director Moussa Sène Absa, a story of female subjugation and self-liberation that opened last year’s BFI Film Festival and was the West African nation’s entry in the 2023 international feature film Oscar race.
The festival wraps with “The Umbrella Men,” by local helmer John Barker (“Wonder Boy for President”), a caper comedy about first-time bank robbers pulling a heist...
The event, which runs Jan. 31 – Feb. 5, bowed with the African premiere of “Xalé” (pictured), from veteran Senegalese director Moussa Sène Absa, a story of female subjugation and self-liberation that opened last year’s BFI Film Festival and was the West African nation’s entry in the 2023 international feature film Oscar race.
The festival wraps with “The Umbrella Men,” by local helmer John Barker (“Wonder Boy for President”), a caper comedy about first-time bank robbers pulling a heist...
- 2/1/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Bronté Snell, Rob van Vuuren, Joey Rasdien, Jaques De Silva and Keenan Arrison in The Umbrella Men
One of the most enjoyable heist movies to reach the screen in recent years, Toronto International Film Festival hit The Umbrella Men follows a group of musicians who decide to rob a bank in order to save their beloved nightclub and community hub, covering up the activities, covering up their activities with Capetown’s annual Minstrel Carnival. It’s a wildly entertaining ride, and very much in keeping with the character of the team behind it, director John Barker and lead actors Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenean Arrison and Bronté Snell, all of whom were in high spirits when we got together for an interview, despite a long day packed with promotional work. John kicked off the discussion, talking about how the project began.
“I've made a slice of life film and it did really well,...
One of the most enjoyable heist movies to reach the screen in recent years, Toronto International Film Festival hit The Umbrella Men follows a group of musicians who decide to rob a bank in order to save their beloved nightclub and community hub, covering up the activities, covering up their activities with Capetown’s annual Minstrel Carnival. It’s a wildly entertaining ride, and very much in keeping with the character of the team behind it, director John Barker and lead actors Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenean Arrison and Bronté Snell, all of whom were in high spirits when we got together for an interview, despite a long day packed with promotional work. John kicked off the discussion, talking about how the project began.
“I've made a slice of life film and it did really well,...
- 9/18/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Everybody loves a good heist movie, but they’re astoundingly difficult to do well. The plotting has to be efficient and precise. The characters have to be engaging, the chemistry between them just right. The script needs to convince in positioning them as the good guys and the banks, or its wealthy customers, as the enemy. As a consequence, there are relatively few which really satisfy. Screened as part of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, The Umbrella Men is a welcome addition to their number.
Its title comes from a group famed for their musical performances in an annual Cape Town carnival – a group within which Gershwin Adams was once a leading light. The story proper begins at his funeral, where his son Jerome (Jaques De Silva), who now lives in Johannesberg and plans to return there as soon as possible, is pressured to take up his legacy. He’s.
Its title comes from a group famed for their musical performances in an annual Cape Town carnival – a group within which Gershwin Adams was once a leading light. The story proper begins at his funeral, where his son Jerome (Jaques De Silva), who now lives in Johannesberg and plans to return there as soon as possible, is pressured to take up his legacy. He’s.
- 9/10/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the international arm of its festival. Taking place September 8 through 18, TIFF previously unveiled Sally El Hosaini’s opening night film “The Swimmers” as well as Special Presentations including the world premieres of Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans,” Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” and Nicholas Stoller’s “Bros.”
“The Woman King,” “Catherine Called Birdy,” “The Menu,” “Moonage Daydream,” and “My Policeman” additionally debut at the festival.
Now, the Contemporary World Cinema slate has been announced for 2022 TIFF. The lineup includes features from more than 50 countries spanning the globe. The respective world premieres for “Bones of Crows” and “The Swearing Jar” are among programming highlights, as well as the North American premieres for Koji Fukada’s “Love Life” and Jerzy Skolimowski’s “Eo.”
“We are so proud of the TIFF Docs and Contemporary World Cinema programs,” Anita Lee, chief programming officer,...
“The Woman King,” “Catherine Called Birdy,” “The Menu,” “Moonage Daydream,” and “My Policeman” additionally debut at the festival.
Now, the Contemporary World Cinema slate has been announced for 2022 TIFF. The lineup includes features from more than 50 countries spanning the globe. The respective world premieres for “Bones of Crows” and “The Swearing Jar” are among programming highlights, as well as the North American premieres for Koji Fukada’s “Love Life” and Jerzy Skolimowski’s “Eo.”
“We are so proud of the TIFF Docs and Contemporary World Cinema programs,” Anita Lee, chief programming officer,...
- 8/17/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
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