Press Release – Palace of Bone

Claire Angelique, Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for Film 2010, screens her Jhb premiere of her new feature film PALACE OF BONE on FRIDAY 5 AUGUST 7PM at the BIOSCOPE INDEPENDENT CINEMA, 6 FOX STREET (MAIN STREET LIFE) which showed to rave reviews at the recent National Arts Festival, Grahamstown 2011. PALACE of BONE, is the documentation over a couple of months of the strangely unstable day to day life of Faith – a scarred but brazen and quirky twenty five year old. Filmed entirely on cellular phones by her devoted best friend, the enigmatic Po, (who is rarely seen in front of the camera except in reflections, turning her back to Mecca…), we are allowed a voyeuristic peek into their friend’s squats, downtown bars and are privy to bedroom confessions. That is all until we realise that the ominous sequence of Faith’s actions due to likely severe psychological problems have forced Faith to escape the city and take to the hills. What we as an audience get to experience is Po’s last days with her comrade in the Palace of Bone; a euphemism for both the backstreets, backrooms and backdoors of the city of Durban and the cache of queer insights and outlooks of Faith, a girl who feels she is bigger than her world and thus has some rather unorthodox answers to curb her frustration. The film ends with us only sort of certain that Faith was last seen on August 15 2008, smoking a joint beside rusty train tracks north of Botha’s Hill. What we are certain of is that there are six dead bodies in Durban harbour…. The film will be introduced by Claire Angelique who will be available to answer questions after the screening

 ”After the intensity and catharsis of My Black Little Heart, her new film Palace of Bone is a step away from savagely personal. In fact it’s anything but autobiographical. Still, Angelique’s trademark dark, beautiful imagery pervades, as do the thematic obsessions with the underbelly and the underdog.” – Cue

 “To be assaulted by a South African film made by a young Durban girl which is totally original and unique and which is made with a total respect and understanding of film language is very rare, She is one the best that we have in South Africa, and her talent should not be ignored.” -Trevor Steele Taylor, film curator National Arts Festival, Grahamstown

‘’Claire Angelique’s extraordinary Palace of Bone will undoubtedly create a far-reaching impact. Although it is an unconventional film, it is rooted in mainstream popular culture. In particular reality television and the technological devices that have engendered a culture of (self) documentation. Angelique enjoys blurring the lines between fact and fiction, so the reality/documentary mode suits her aesthetic well…. In a way Palace of Bone is a twisted whodunit. But there are so many levels of meaning in this fascinating mockumentary.’’ Mary Corrigall – The Sunday Independent

Interview – Claire Angelique

Claire Angelique on her relationship with film.

Durban film maker, Claire Angelique says that film is like a monkey on her back, a creative need that borders on addiction. “You know those dreams you have that haunt you the whole day it kind of becomes like that. It’s a gnawing agitation that you can’t shake. ”

She remembers the first film she saw as an eight year old girl, Silkwood. An eighties melodrama about a woman getting purposely exposed to plutonium by her employers. “It was good film to linger in my head even at the age of like 8. I’ve always had a morbid fascination with atomic power, nuclear technology, retro death.”
These inspirations can be traced to her directorial debut, My Black Little Heart, a film that deals with the shadier side of life in her home town. “I just wanted to make something modern and also to serve as a document about a certain time period in my life”. The subject matter masterfully put through the lens by Slumdog Millionaire’s cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle earned her Standard Bank’s Young Artist of the year award and put all eyes on this young film maker.

 Even so Angelique says she doesn’t feel any pressure or judgement while writing. “I just want to get it right but it keeps going wrong, you know and then there’s something really good about that.” She is known for her dark and very personal narratives that can be shocking, but is such an honest expression of emotion that audiences can’t help but relate.

Her next film, Palace of Bone, premiers at this year’s National Arts Festival in June before it moves on to the international festival circuit.  Angelique is also ready with her next screenplay, 888, but finds herself in “the hunt for a great producer”, a crucial piece in doing it right. 

Charles @ Dollparts

This article is also available on Artslink:
http://www.artlink.co.za/news_article.htm?contentID=27103
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You are Your People.

It’s true much more home-grown entertainment has been filling our screens. Often I can’t help but feel that I’ve seen this one before. Mostly it’s because the stories are portrayed in such a generic way that it might have well been made in another country. Few dare to delve into the guts of the issues that face every South African, every day; the highs and low unique to us taxi-driving, braaivleis-eating rugby lovers. Even less dare to point a finger at our contemporary government and their dealings. We need to see stories coloured in African shades to better understand ourselves, to see that others in this country go through the same things you do and to find love for those things that annoy us about living here. Film and television carry that power if only we’d dare to wield it.

Click on this link to read the entire ArtsLink Article:
http://www.artlink.co.za/news_article.htm?contentID=26498

WARNING!

Do not attempt to replicate what you will see in the upcoming music video featuring Nangamso “Epic” Mtyingizane. Despite the inherent humour and uncensored glamouristic portrayal of mental disfunction. Delerium is a serious matter and could result in a variety of unfortunate circumstances. Please keep in mind that a highly skilled professional with years of experiance in deviant behaviour was used. Monitoring the actors to ensure no one tips over the edge into the void of madness. Regrettably the profesional was me.

Charles @ Dollparts

Before the end of the decade.

With the last days of December fading away and closing the curtain on the window of the past decade, there might be a few films that slipped past you. As often happens to movies that won’t be pimped by Hollywood.  These films aren’t mainstream, but they are worth more than the time it takes you to watch them.  Films that just might mean something more, than just a ninety minute escape from reality. Three of these films that I feel you should see, before zero hour brings an end to the year, might just be that film for you.

Sweet Karma is a Canadian film by Andrew Thomas Hunt, about a mute girl who infiltrates the Canadian sex trade to avenge the death of her sister. Filled with the same outrageous violence found in films like “Crank” and “The Transporter, but behind the blood stained curtain Sweet Karma takes a serious look at the brutal reality of the sex trade and human trafficking, a reality thousands of girls find themselves in.

Another interesting film that hasn’t been released in South Africa is Monsters, a unique creature feature from Britain. Written and directed by Gareth Edwards, the film revolves around the travels of two strangers forced together and, in that regard, it reminded me a lot of the 2000 film The Beach.  The two make their way through an alien infested wasteland, witnessing the effect these changes have made on the lives of the poor. Full of subtext about current political issues, Monsters makes you think and keeps you entertained.

I had the pleasure of going to see Africa United, last week with the rest of the Dollparters, at the last night of the South African Youth International film festival. This was the first and thus far only screening of this moving film. Set a few weeks before the World Cup 2010, a band of children travel through Africa to be part of the tournament. Filled with laughs, drama and action, Africa United also has a serious side and reveals the hardships of Africa, such as war, famine and aids through the eyes of its children. This makes you wonder why we allow such horrors in our modern world. With stunning animation and an amazing cast, Africa United will have you close to tears with a smile on your face.

 Charles @ Dollparts