Cape Town

Impango II

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Impango South African Cinema

KEY CREW & CAST
Director Tonie van der Merwe Cast Innocent “Popo” Gumede
Producer Alida Hand Hector Mathanda
Writer N/A Kay Magubane
DOP Michel Hartslief Gugu Mhlanga
Editor N/A Lorraine Nyathikazi
Sound Steve Hand Vincent Vilakazi
Y.O.P 1980’s
Running Time 73 min
Language isiZulu
Genre Crime
SYNOPSIS

When Mr. Dlamini, a wealthy businessman, and his wife, Gugu, fall victim to a trio of crooks seeking revenge and money, they are forced to flee to their beach house.

The crooks are not that easily thwarted. When they follow the couple on their getaway, Dlamini and Gugu will have to fight back if they ever hope to live through this ordeal and be free from these hooligans once and for all.

Impango South African Cinema

Impango South African Cinema

MOMA Screening of Joe Bullet

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Moma To Save + Project

In New York this month, “Joe Bullet” is screening at the MoMA Museum of Modern Art. The screening will take place on the 8th + 13th of November.

Join our Facebook page here.

Read more about the MoMA “To Save and Project” Film Festival here.

Fast Facts about Joe Bullet

+ Stars: Ken Gampu, Abigail Kubeka, Joe Lopez, Jimmy Sabe, Cocky Tlholthalemaje,Matthew Molete, Sidney Charma

+ Genre: Action, Blaxploitation

+ Directed By: Louis de Witt

+ Synopsis: In the criminal underworld of soccer, one man will have to save the championship! When local soccer team “The Eagles” fall prey to a series of onslaughts from a mysterious gangster only a week before the championship final, the team turns to the one man that can help save their chances at victory – Joe Bullet.

Moma To Save + Project

20 Fast Facts About Us

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Framegrab from "Zero for Zep"

Framegrab from “Zero for Zep”

+ We work out of the Waterfront Film Studios in Cape Town

+ We have the only restoration facility in the Southern Hemisphere

+ We are a label of Gravel Road Entertainment Group in South Africa. See our Google+ pages here and here

+ It takes about 4-6 weeks to restore a film

+ All our films are from the 70’s/80’s in South Africa

+ Lots of films were made during this time because the government created a film subsidy that promoted the production of film. There were two subsidies: one that was geared toward white films being produced for white audiences and there was one for black audiences. The idea behind that was to create entertainment for the majority of the population to keep their minds off of any form of political unrest

+ We acquire distribution rights by tracking down these films and tracking down the owners. We then approach the owners and buy over the rights of the film

+ We identify restoration projects once we scan the films. We make the call then on whether or not there’s a commercial life on the film

+ We are trying to track down the actors from the movies to show you where they are now

+ Our most popular films so far have been “Joe Bullet” and “Trompie”

+ “Joe Bullet” has been coined South Africa’s first Blaxploitation film. It’s based off of the American Blaxploitation film “Shaft,” which was made in 1973. It was banned in South Africa when it came out in 1973. It has its own IMDB page

+ We’ve appeared on CNBC, SABC, DSTV for interviews. See all our videos here

+ We’re on Twitter here and Facebook here

+ We have our very first DVD coming out in stores across South Africa. It’s our restored version of “Trompie”. “Trompie” is so popular it has its own Facebook page here

+ We have just come back from France for the “Lumiere 2014” Film Festival where we showed our restored version of “Joe Bullet”. “Joe Bullet” is so popular it has its own Facebook page here

+ We appeared recently in Variety magazine

+ We’ve just joined Pinterest! Check out our awesome board here

+ We love YouTube. We have a channel here

+ The producer of a number of the films, Tonie van der Merwe, came with us to the Durban International Film Festival this year where he won an award

+ The first time these films were ever seen on TV was during the Mayibuye Film Festival on SABC1 earlier this year

Framegrab from "Fishy Stones" which showed in Johannesburg recently

Framegrab from “Fishy Stones” which showed in Johannesburg recently

“Trompie” – An Interview on Kyknet

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Trompie South African Film

Our restored Afrikaans film will be available in Musica nationwide across South Africa in November. We are very proud of this and hope you will enjoy this restored South African classic from 1975. More on Trompie here. This is the digitally remastered version of the original 1975 feature film about Trompie, based on the Topsy Smith books. It’s about the mischievous young Trompie and the misadventures he and his gang of friends embark upon. Follow its Facebook page here.

CEO of Gravel Road Entertainment Group, who bring you the film, spoke recently on “Kyknet” in South Africa on DSTV.

Details for Retro Afrika Fest in JHB

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jobusy-main-street-life
The Mini Retro Afrika Film Festival in association with The Bioscope Independent Cinema is happening next week in Johannesburg 24th – 26th October. 4 Films will be showcased as part of a mini festival – “Joe Bullet”, “Fishy Stones”, “Trompie” and “Umbango”

Where

286 Fox Street, Johannesburg

When

24th – 26th October

Directions

From the M1 South, go around the city on to the M2 EastTake the Joe Slovo off ramp.

Take Market Street off ramp to your rightKeep right, and go over one set of lights.
At the next set of lights go right into Betty Street.
Take Next right into Fox.
Main Street Life will appear on your left.
The Bioscope is on the ground floor.
The Bioscope is located in the Maboneng Precinct.
There is guarded street parking located directly outside the cinema.
There is also a precinct wide security solution and Jeppe Police Station just around the corner, so you are more than safe!

Programme

Joe Bullet

When a mysterious gangster starts sabotaging soccer team The Eagles’ chance at winning the upcoming championship final, there is only one man who can save the day…Joe Bullet.

FRI 24 OCT 7:30PM BUY TICKETS

SUN 26 OCT 7PM BUY TICKETS 

Retro Afrika Bioscope The Bioscope Joe Bullet

Fishy Stones

After a well-executed jewellery store heist, two amateur thugs go on the run.
But the police are not too far behind, and after a chase through the countryside, the thugs are apprehended – but only after they stash their loot in a clump of nearby bushes.

When two best friends head off into the wilderness on a camping expedition together, luck seems to be on their side when they discover the hidden stash of diamonds.
But life is never that easy, and the two thugs, after a daring escape from prison, pick up the trail of the friends, hunting them down in order to reclaim their loot.
In the end, the boys’ parents come to their rescue, and the two dim-witted criminals are sent back to jail once more – hopefully for good this time!

SAT 25 OCT 6PM. BUY TICKETS

Fishy Test The Bioscope

Umbango

When Kay Kay, a powerful, ruthless businessman sets out on a mission of revenge against two men accused of killing his brother, he strong-arms the local sheriff into forming a posse of thugs to aid in his vendetta. But when Jet and Owen, the two easy going friends, learn of the gang out for their blood, they prepare to stand their ground and fight back. It all comes to a head in a final gun-fight, a showdown in the small western town where blood will have to be spilt if the friends wish to come out of this alive.

SAT 25 OCT 8PM. BUY TICKETS

Umbango The Bioscope

Trompie

The original feature film produced in 1975, based on the books by Topsy Smith that ultimately led to the renowned and well-loved television show, introduces Trompie as a freckle-faced eleven year old boy, and the Big Chief of the Boksom Gang.

Together with his mates Rooie, Blikkies and little Dawie, the young boys embark on a series of mischievous adventures that often land them in hot soup with the townsfolk of their hometown of Kwaggaberg.
Their cajoling with the Reverend’s pet baboon gets completely out of hand and Trompie’s innocent attempts at fixing his sister, Anna, up with a boyfriend goes terribly wrong.

Not only does Trompie and his gang of friends almost ruin the annual school concert, but their shenanigans leads to a bet that Trompie will be able to crash the show and appear on stage that evening. Throughout all these misadventures, Trompie befriends a playful mongrel who belongs to an old man about to leave the town. As the story comes to a close, Trompie will have to watch on as the mangy dog has to choose between staying with the impish young boy or leaving with it’s old master.

SUN 26 OCT 5PM.  BUY TICKETS

Trompie The Bioscope

The Retro Afrika Team on “Film SA” DSTV 404!

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Zero for Zep screen grab Retro Afrika

Screen grab from “Zero for Zep”

Retro Afrika Bioscope will be featured in a new series for Film SA on SABC News DSTV Channel 404. Starting tonight at 5:30pm and repeating tomorrow at 12:30pm, the series will run for the next 6 weeks every Friday at 5:30pm. Each episode will highlight one of the team members behind the magic of the Retro Afrika label. Tune in! Tonight’s feature will be on Reginald Pillay.

Watch our coverage on CNBC Africa which also goes behind the scenes at Gravel Road Entertainment’s offices. See the magic of restoring these vintage classics for yourself!

Reginald Pillay Lab Technician

Reginald Pillay Lab Technician

Silwerskerm Film Festival Screens “Trompie”

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Trompie South African Cinema 1975 RetroAfrika Bioscope

The Silwerskerm Film Festival is an annual gathering for mostly Afrikaans filmmakers. It’s a 4-day marathon which showcases the best new South African films at the kykNET Silwerskermfees. The festival is predominantly Afrikaans, but English stand-outs like the Durban International Film Festival award-winning “Durban Poison” was also screened.

In addition to the feature films, the end results of a competition that develops script ideas from first-time filmmakers of all ages were screened. This isn’t just a film festival that showcases the best of the best. It nurtures new talent and gives it a valuable platform.

One of our more recently restored films, “Trompie”, was also screened at the venue. Directed by legendary Tonie van der Merwe in the 70’s, about 15-30 people in the room watched as a digitally remastered version of a South African classic was screened. “Trompie” is a compact, highly enjoyable and kinetic comedy feature.

“Trompie” also has some well-crafted English subtitles for non-Afrikaans audience.

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