Gavin Hood's labour of love, Tsotsi, the South African film about a Johannesburg tsotsi, won the Oscar for best foreign language film at the 78th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. It is the first South African film to win an Oscar. Gavin (42) wrote the screenplay and directed Presley Chweneyagae (the tsotsi) and the rest of the cast in the moving story of a hardened criminal who finally learns that human life has value when he has to care for a baby that was in the BMW he hijacked, after shooting the child’s mother. The film was based on Athol Fugard's only novel, a 1960s story about the effects of apartheid on black South Africans. Gavin received Fugard's permission to update the story so that the main character is a 19-year-old AIDS orphan in post-apartheid Soweto. The film was shot on location in Soweto.
Gavin Hood, son of a famous nature photographer, was nine years old when he saw his first South African film, e'Lollipop. The former St Stithian’s head boy graduated with degrees in economics and law from the University of Witwatersrand. His short-lived law career lasted six months before he gave it up and turned to acting. His big break came in 1989 as the lead role in the South African TV series The Game, a rugby soap. He had parts in Curse 3: Blood Sacrifice (1991), Kickboxer 5, Armed and Deadly (1994), Operation Delta Force II: Mayday (1998) and Stargate SG-1.
In 1990, he attended UCLA Extension's Entertainment Studies certificate programme. When he ntroduced himself to the class, three students walked out - two blacks and one white. They didn't want to be in the same class as him. When not in classes, he worked odd jobs, folding letters into envelopes or cleaning. He returned to South Africa and wrote and directed educational television dramas for the Department of Health. He won an Artes Award and was nomination for another. In 2001, he returned to Los Angeles in 2001 with a short film, The Storekeeper (1998), and his first feature film, A Reasonable Man (1999). A Reasonable Man is about a Zulu herdboy who kills a child because he believes it is an evil spirit, and was based on an actual court case that Gavin came across while studying law. Gavin wrote the screenplay, directed, acted in and produced the film. Most of the financuial backing was from France. The film broke even and won a Diane Thomas Screenwriting Award. Five years later, producer Peter Fudakowski saw the film at Cannes and contacted Gavin. He was interested in purchasing the rights to Tsotsi. He bought the rights after seeing Gavin's first draft. The film was funded through South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation and Fudakowski's own company, UK Film and Television. For the film, Gavin drew on experiences common to many South Africans, including his own. He was mugged, and his mother was carjacked twice.
Gavin's acceptance speech is being noted as the most impassioned one. He is also receiving applause for asking that the cameras turn away from him and show the film’s two young stars, who were in the audience.
Three years ago Terry Pheto was living in a shack outside Johannesburg. Now she's part of the Oscar winning film Tsotsi, playing the role of Miriam, a young mother who has lost her husband to violent crime and gangs. Terry was spotted by casting agent Moonyeenn Lee in a theatre group in Soweto run by Thulani Didi and Kere Nyawo, two actors who run Saturday drama groups that help to keep youngsters away from a life of crime. Presley Chweneyagae is the main character. He grew up as the son of a policewoman, and was also discovered by Moonyeen while playing Hamlet in a theatre group. Street children were used in the film, and some of them have been cast in another film, Blood Diamond, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is being filmed at the Wild Coast Sun.
Presley Chweneyagae's family are celebrating at home in Phola, a village near Mafikeng. His mother, Keokakile, is extremely proud of her son. The family watched the Oscars live at a family friend in Mmabatho. Zenzo Ngqobe, who plays Butcher, has also made his mother, Nozipho from Mafikeng, very proud.
Kwaito star Zola (real name Bonginkosi Dlamini) who starred in Tsotsi, has just signed a deal with Warner Brothers to expose kwaito to international audiences. An album will be released through Warner Brothers between July and August this year. Six of Zola's songs are featured in Tsotsi’s sound track. As part of pre-Oscar publicity, Zola appeared on the Jay Leno Show. Zola, who is a poet, actor, talk show host and musician, grew up in the Soweto suburb of Zola.
Lance Gewer, the director of photography on Tsotsi, was himself hijacked by three men in his Bramley driveway in the early hours shortly before flying out to attend the Oscars ceremony in LA. His passport and airline ticket were stolen from the BMW in which he had travelled with Boo Prince, a Johannesburg journalist. At one point, Boo asked one of the hijackers whether he had seen the film Tsotsi. He replied that he had seen it and apologised for the hijacking and asked for forgiveness. Police later recovered the car, with the passport and air ticket, in Alexandra. By then, Boo and sponsors, including Flight Centre and American Express, had managed to get Lance on a flight to LA.
South African-raised Dion Beebe won the cinematography Oscar for Memoirs of a Geisha. Dion was born in Australia, grew up in Cape Town and now lives in Los Angeles where he is a top cameraman. In his acceptance speech, acknowledge the countries dear to his heart when he said: "I want to fly the flag with this win for Australia and South Africa."
Last year, another South African film, Yesterday, was also nominated in the same category but did not win. Yesterday was the story of a woman's battle with AIDS. It was also the first feature film made in Zulu. Also last year, a South African version of the opera Carmen won an award at the Berlin film festival. U-Carmen eKhayelitsha was set in a township and was made in Xhosa. In 2003, Charlize Theron won best actress for her role in Monster. She was a nominee in the same category this year.
