Benjamin Thomas Cowley – CEO of Gravel Road Entertainment Group & Founder of Gravel Road African Film Legacy Initiative

May 20, 2014May 20, 2014 / The Starlit Path / 5 Comments

Photos by: Patrick Ryan

Shot on location at the Waterfront Film Studios, Cape Town

Ben started in TV more than 14 years ago where he was involved in both live and pre-recorded programs at Namibia’s one and only national broadcaster: NBC. Without giving away his real age…. He was VERY young and earned a salary of R50 per month for his sins.

Fast-forward several years, he found himself in the fantastical world of TV Commercials hoping this industry to be full of excitement, glitz and glamour. Needless to say, this pre-conceived notion couldn’t be further from the truth! Becoming a slave of the ad world for many years, he at least got to play with really expensive toys and very soon learned that there’s no problem in the advertising world that the client’s money can’t solve.

His passion has always been in story telling and creative filmmaking, so it was a no-brainer that when the slightest opportunity to jump ship came ….he took the plunge.

The Legacy Initiative (Retro Afrika Bioscope) is Ben’s baby and it’s his responsibility to nurture it and allow it to grow to its full potential. He works closely with the original filmmakers, film owners and national film, video and sound archives in sourcing/locating all the old films and getting them to Cape Town to restore them and ultimately get them onto a platform where the public can view them.

Ben is balding and proudly accepts it!

Benjamin Cowley, Katlego Maboe and Tonie vd Merwe on the Expresso Show on SABC

CEO of Gravel Road Entertainment Group at the press launch of the Mayibuye Film Festival in Johannesburg

Isiboshwa

April 25, 2014November 24, 2014 / The Starlit Path / 1 Comment

This 70 minute adventure film was shot in 1989. Produced by Steve Hand and Directed by Tonie vd Merwe, it stars Sizwe Dlamini, Popo Gumede and Hector Mathanda. Catch it on SABC1 this Sunday at 8:30pm as part of the Mayibuye Film Festival!

TAGLINE

While on a camping trip, three teenage brothers go from being the hunted to the hunters in an effort to snare and catch a dangerous thief.

SYNOPSIS

The summer holidays finally arrive, and the three teenage brothers head out into the wilderness for a camping trip together. Their days are spent fishing, swimming and relaxing by their small tent on the banks of the river.

But unbeknownst to the boys, they are being watched. When things start going missing from their camp, and other strange events begin to occur, the three brothers begin to worry, unsure and unaware of who or what is stalking them.

Eventually they manage to discover what is really happening, and together they set out on a path fraught with danger, action and drama in order to bring the culprit to justice.

DIGITALLY REMASTERED BY:

Treasure Hunters

April 24, 2014November 24, 2014 / The Starlit Path / 3 Comments

“Treasure Hunters” (also known as “Ukuzingala”) was shot on 16mm in 1989 and is 75 minutes long. This adventure film was produced by Oubaas Olivier and directed by Tonie vd Merwe. Starring Gugo Mhlangu, Innocent Gumende, Jabu Luthuli and Victor Nklago, catch it on SABC 1 this Sunday night at 8:30pm!

TAGLINE

After hearing a tale of a mysterious lost treasure, an old man’s family heads off on a perilous journey only to suffer the same fate as the shipwrecked survivors from sixty years ago.

SYNOPSIS

A young Zulu boy secretly watches as four shipwrecked survivors struggle ashore. Between them they carry a large chest of treasure.

The four survivors struggle off, heading inland, closely guarding the chest they carry with them. The young boy follows, keeping to the shadows, watching as one by one the survivors succumb to the treacherous journey, finally leaving only the treasure chest behind.

Sixty years later, the young boy now an old man, retells the story of the shipwrecked survivors and the mysterious treasure chest to his descendants. Deciding to retrace the trail in the hopes of finding the lost treasure, the old man’s family head off on the treacherous adventure. But tragedy strikes, only for them to suffer the same fate as the survivors so many years before them.

Philip Olckers – Audio Restoration

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 / The Starlit Path / Leave a comment

Photos by: Patrick Ryan

Shot on location at Waterfront Film Studios, Cape Town

Philip is an award winning audio engineer and sound designer, specializing in the final mix of sound tracks for feature films. This includes all aspects of post-production sound recording and mixing. He is also an accomplished score composer, having focused this aspect of his skill set on short films to date. Philip has worked on numerous international feature films, including “Fast and Furious 6” and “The Last Stand”. He was an assisting Sound Engineer and Foley Mixer for “Die Wonderwerker” which was nominated for a SAFTA for “Best Sound” (South African Film and Television Awards). He has assisted and worked alongside Barry Donnelly on a number of SA’s biggest feature films, and has final mixed a number of TV series and local feature films. Philip currently works out of the Waterfront Studios, where his knowledge of sound restoration & mixing is being applied to the Retro Afrika Bioscope project.

On The Expresso Show on SABC!

April 21, 2014April 21, 2014 / The Starlit Path / Leave a comment

CEO of Gravel Road Entertainment, Benjamin Cowley, and Producer/Director Tonie van der Merwe sat down with Expresso presenter Katlego Maboe to talk about the Mayibuye Film Festival currently running on SABC1. For more information on the festival and the films, read this article and join the conversation with us on Facebook here.

Benjamin Cowley and Tonie vd Merwe on the Expresso Show on SABC

Benjamin Cowley, Katlego Maboe and Tonie vd Merwe on the Expresso Show on SABC

Joe Bullet

April 16, 2014November 24, 2014 / The Starlit Path / 2 Comments

Made in 1971, this action film directed by Louis de Wit and produced by Tonie vd Merwe was shot on 16mm in Johannesburg. Banned in South Africa by the government when it originally came out, it stars Ken Gampu, Abigail Kubeka, Jimmy Sabie and Joe Lopez.

TAGLINE

In the criminal underworld of soccer, one man will have to save the championship!

SYNOPSIS

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 (Ken Gampu).

Joe will have to battle against villainous henchmen, escape booby-trap bombs and bring his martial arts expertise to the fore in order to survive an attack from a deadly assassin.

In the end he will have to infiltrate the mysterious gangster’s hide-out in a dangerous cat-and-mouse rescue mission to save not only The Eagles’ two kidnapped star players, but that of his beautiful love interest, Beauty (Abigail Kubeka).

The odds will be stacked against him, but he’s the man that fights crime, the man that no one can tie down! Joe Bullet!

Ezintandaneni

April 11, 2014November 24, 2014 / The Starlit Path / 3 Comments

Produced in 1987, this 70 minute drama was directed by Tonie vd Merwe and produced by Oubaas Olivier. The cast includes Sizwe Dlamini, Popo Gumede & Gugu Mhlanga. Be sure to watch it this Sunday night on SABC1!

TAGLINE

A moving tale involving two orphans, a widower and a beautiful social worker, and how their lives all come together at the end.

SYNOPSIS

A touching story of two families – one poor, and the other rich. A young boy and his sister, raised by their cruel and vicious stepmother, live poor and difficult lives. Beaten and starved by their stepmom, the two children only have one another for comfort
and support. Meanwhile a prominent business man, and single father, has brought his mother to stay with him to help care for his ailing daughter. A beautiful Social Worker enters the scene and befriends the two abused children, and when the wealthy business man’s daughter sadly passes away, a series of events begin to unfold, entwining these people’s fates and bringing all them all together at the end.