The much-talked about South African movie, Happiness is a Four Letter Word, opens at Hemingways today.
The movie has been showing in cinemas across the country for four weeks.
Robbie Costa from Movies@Hemingways said they decided to screen the film because of the huge demand.
“Local films are usually niche and they are only played in big cities. With this one, there was a huge demand but we couldn’t show it sooner because we had other commitments,” Costa said.
Movie producer Bongiwe Selane said they did not expect the film to receive such a positive response from the public.
“As film makers we put our best into a production and hope that things will work out. The response has been amazing and we are happy that people are loving this movie,” said Selane.
Based on the novel Happiness is a Four-Letter Word by Nozizwe Cynthia Jele, the movie explores the lives of three best friends – Nandi, Zaza and Princess – in Johannesburg. The three – played by well-known South African actresses Renate Stuurman, Mmabatho Montsho and Khanyi Mbau – seem to be living the new South African dream but are still searching for the elusive happiness they so desperately desire in their lives.
Other well-known names featured include Pabi Moloi, Hlomla Dandala, Fulu Mugovhani and Thuli Thabethe.
Selane said it took them four years to develop the script for the movie.
“We did not want people who have read the book to feel cheated. We have given it our all.”
Although she has worked on a number of productions for M-Net, Happiness is a Four Letter Word is Selane’s debut in producing feature films.
“It is hard to convince people to finance films because they claim that no one goes out to watch movies anymore. Getting this response proves that if you give people something they can relate to then the support will be there.”
Selane said a lot of people could relate to the movie.
“Happiness is a beautiful story that shows South Africa in a beautiful light. We invested a lot of time in putting the right music and the actors were all amazing. I hope the East London crowd will also enjoy this beautiful story,” she said.
Costa said as a small city, East Londoners should only expect to see blockbuster movies.
“There are many issues involved, one being we only have six screens and the bigger cities have more.
“Local films get 30 or 40 prints, meaning a selected number of cinemas get to show the movie,” he said.
He also added that he hoped East Londoners would come out in numbers to support the local film. — poliswp@dispatch.co.za
‘Happiness’ comes to EL by demand
The movie has been showing in cinemas across the country for four weeks.
Robbie Costa from Movies@Hemingways said they decided to screen the film because of the huge demand.
“Local films are usually niche and they are only played in big cities. With this one, there was a huge demand but we couldn’t show it sooner because we had other commitments,” Costa said.
Movie producer Bongiwe Selane said they did not expect the film to receive such a positive response from the public.
“As film makers we put our best into a production and hope that things will work out. The response has been amazing and we are happy that people are loving this movie,” said Selane.
Based on the novel Happiness is a Four-Letter Word by Nozizwe Cynthia Jele, the movie explores the lives of three best friends – Nandi, Zaza and Princess – in Johannesburg. The three – played by well-known South African actresses Renate Stuurman, Mmabatho Montsho and Khanyi Mbau – seem to be living the new South African dream but are still searching for the elusive happiness they so desperately desire in their lives.
Other well-known names featured include Pabi Moloi, Hlomla Dandala, Fulu Mugovhani and Thuli Thabethe.
Selane said it took them four years to develop the script for the movie.
“We did not want people who have read the book to feel cheated. We have given it our all.”
Although she has worked on a number of productions for M-Net, Happiness is a Four Letter Word is Selane’s debut in producing feature films.
“It is hard to convince people to finance films because they claim that no one goes out to watch movies anymore. Getting this response proves that if you give people something they can relate to then the support will be there.”
Selane said a lot of people could relate to the movie.
“Happiness is a beautiful story that shows South Africa in a beautiful light. We invested a lot of time in putting the right music and the actors were all amazing. I hope the East London crowd will also enjoy this beautiful story,” she said.
Costa said as a small city, East Londoners should only expect to see blockbuster movies.
“There are many issues involved, one being we only have six screens and the bigger cities have more.
“Local films get 30 or 40 prints, meaning a selected number of cinemas get to show the movie,” he said.
He also added that he hoped East Londoners would come out in numbers to support the local film. — poliswp@dispatch.co.za
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