The unique premiere of the first Afrikaapse language Muslim film featured the cream of the South African acting crop.
Titled Barakat, it is the first film in the Cape Town dialect to be produced in South Africa under the direction of Amy Jephta and produced by Ephraim Gordon.
The film tells the story of Ayesha Davids (Vinette Ebrahim), a widow who has to preserve the peace between her four sons (played by Joey Rasdien, Mortimer Williams, Keeno-Lee Hector and Danny Ross) as they still struggle to come to terms with the death of their father.
Zunaid, Zaid, Yaseen and Nur return to the family home two years later to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, but have never really dealt with their father’s death and the void he has left behind.
Each son’s unprocessed pain manifests in constant fights with each other, making their mother extremely sad as she tries to move on with her own life.
The cast also includes Quanita Adams, Bonnie Mbuli, Leslie Fong and June van Merch.
The cast attended the special premiere held at the Atlantic Studios where a big screen was set up outside for a Drive-In Theatre.
Keeno-Lee told the Daily Voice: “It's a great accomplishment to have been part of making this film. People are going to love this film
“I think this set-up of a drive-in theatre was perfect as it gives you that cinema feel.”
Barakat has won a number of international film festival awards, including The Reel Sisters of The Diaspora Festival (Brooklyn, New York), Motion Pictures International Film Fest 2020 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA in 2020) and at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (California).
The fliek, filmed in Lansdowne and Athlone, was released at selected cinemas nationwide on Tuesday.