A Cape Town filmmaker says she’s over the moon after her movie won an international award in France.
The Tribal Alchemy Production company’s first fiction film, titled Two Hues, scooped the Best Short Film Award at its international premiere in Paris at the Beyond The Curve International Film Festival on Saturday.
This after the production company, which has produced award-winning documentaries, decided to venture into fiction story-telling.
Weaam Williams, who is the screenwriter and co-director of the project, says they are now planning to turn Two Hues into a full-length film.
The short film was filmed at the beginning of last year in the Company’s Garden, Bo-Kaap and Claremont.
“I am truly humbled and simultaneously ecstatic, a big thank you to the festival and their jury,” says Weaam, who also plays the lead role of Natasa in the movie.
The Woodstock filmmaker told the Daily Voice the film delves into the psychological world of a manic depressive and conveys the polarity of her violent mood swings by using colour, hence the name Two Hues.
“Two Hues is aesthetically inspired by the film Three Colours Blue which stars the French actress Juliet Binoche,” she explains.
Dominique Roxanne Jossie is the co-director, with Nafia Kocks as the cinematographer and Tiffany Adams Matthews doubling up as art director and stylist.
The cast includes Jandre le Roux, Abidah Dixon Mohammed, Abdu Adams, Khalil Kathrada and Danielle Comley, and it was also Weaam’s acting debut.
Weaam says: “When I wrote Two Hues, I thought that I would like to play the part, and eventually I decided not to because I was too afraid to take this step, and afraid is an understatement.
“However, my husband and creative partner, Nafia, provided words of encouragement.
“(Acting) was taxing and exhausting, yet exhilarating and I enjoyed it. I didn't realise that acting takes so much energy until I rose to the challenge.”
Weaam was also excited to announce the next step: “Two Hues is being developed into a feature film, so I will play the role of Natasa again.
“Also, the award coming from France, a country which is so developed in its cinema culture, to me is very valuable and affirming.”
Last month, Weaam announced that her documentary film, District Six Rising from the Dust, has been accepted to the Official Selection of the Venice Film Award for 2021.