digital restoration

Our Best Posts of 2014

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Our Best Posts Roundup

Over the past 12 months we’ve used ourselves as guinea pigs in a new realm. We’ve worked to see whether it’s the old or new films from South African history which inspire you, we’ve learned how to debut our films abroad, and we’ve found better ways to work, write and create.

The process has been enlightening, productive and ultimately just a lot of fun.

With the new year now in full swing, we’ve put away our holiday overindulgences to take time to reflect on some of our favourite (and most popular) articles of 2014:

Framegrabs of “Trompie”

Silwerskerm Film Festival

Isiboshwa

Interview with Tonie Van Der Merwe

On CNBC

Upondo No Nkinsela

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Upondo No Nkinsela South African Cinema

KEY CREW & CAST
Director Bernard Buys Cast Ndaba Mhlongo
Producer United Films Masoja Mota
Writer Bernard Buys Joe Mafela
DOP Ivo Pelligrini
Editor N/A
Sound N/A
Y.O.P 1980’s
Running Time 49 min
Language isiZulu
Genre Comedy
SYNOPSIS

Pondo and Nkinsela are two haphazard, dysfunctional friends. They end up going on a series of crazy adventures together which cause havoc everywhere they go. From ruining a bride’s wedding day to destroying a client’s hairdo in a beauty salon to escaping a supposed ghost in a house, the two friends always seem to come out on top.

Upondo No Nkinsela South African Cinema

Upondo No Nkinsela South African Cinema

 

Thunder Valley

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Thunder Valley South African Cinema
KEY CREW & CAST
Director Tony Cunningham Cast Mandla Ngcoya
Producer Coastal Films Debra Ngcoya
Writer N/A Kululu Phewa
DOP N/A Max Mkhwanazi
Editor N/A Roy Dlamini
Sound Wally Booysen John Madlada
Y.O.P 1980’s Emmanuel Shangase
Running Time 69 min
Language isiZulu
Genre Action Drama
SYNOPSIS

John, Sipho and Thandi are once more spending the summer holidays together at Uncle Joshua’s cottage. But despite their best efforts to stay out of mischief this year, the three manage to encounter a group of crooks hiding out in a supposed abandoned shack on the river.

To their great surprise, Benson has escaped from prison yet again. But this time around, the convict teams up with the youths to save the day and defeat the crooks holding a large cache of stolen weapons.

Thunder Valley South African Cinema

Thunder Valley South African Cinema

Revenge

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Revenge South African Cinema

KEY CREW & CAST
Director Coenie Dippenaar Cast Alex Ngubane
Producer Coenie Dippenaar Roy Dlamini
Writer N/A Fikile Majola
DOP Tonie van der Merwe Vusi Gudazi
Editor Robert Thorpe Emmanuel Shangasi
Sound Foxy Hand Peter Bengu
Y.O.P approx. 1986 Fikile Majozi
Running Time 55 min Temba Shamba
Language isiZulu Abraham Foot
Genre Western
SYNOPSIS

In the old African Wild West, a peace-loving family man moves to a vacant farm in search of a new life. His hopes are shattered when his son is badly beaten and his wife is murdered by a gang of ruthless thugs.

He is left bloody in the dirt until fate finally intervenes. Rescued and nursed back to health by a good samaritan living alone in the hills, something is amiss. The hermit is soon revealed to be a reformed gangster – a deadly gunslinger who eventually trains the man and sets him on a path of preparation to exact his revenge upon his wife’s murderers.

Revenge South African Cinema

Revenge South African Cinema

Mandla

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Mandla South African Cinema

KEY CREW & CAST
Director Tonie Van Der Merwe Cast Hector Mathanda
Producer Mary-Ann Spangenberg Innocent “Popo” Gumede
Writer Ilza Oosthuizen Kay Magubane
DOP Tony Cunningham Dumi Shongwe
Editor N/A Cleopatra Nyide
Sound Philip Kershaw Mandla Ngcoya
Y.O.P 1980’s Phumlani Phewa
Running Time 69 min
Language isiZulu
Genre Comedy
SYNOPSIS

When two dim-witted thieves escape from prison and ransack Mandla’s house, the young boy’s parents believe he and his friend are to blame. Determined to prove their innocence, Mandla and his pal set off in search of the true culprits.

After a few close calls and a daring escape, Mandla and his friend manage to capture the escaped convicts.

Mandla South African Cinema

Mandla South African Cinema

Gone Crazy

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Gone Crazy South African Cinema

KEY CREW & CAST
Director Tony Cunningham Cast Emmanuel Shangase
Producer Mitch Dyter Roy Dlamini
Writer Lorraine Philbrick Pepsi Mabizela
DOP Tony Cunningham Mandla Ngconya
Editor Craig van der Westhuizen Hector Mathanda
Sound Simon Bleakley Vincent Vilakazi
Y.O.P 1980’s
Running Time 74 min
Language isiZulu
Genre Crime / Suspense
SYNOPSIS

When a psychopath seeking revenge on the Mayor of a small town steals a mega bomb from a local research facility, two police Inspectors will have to team up together. Both working different angles of the same case, they have to rescue a Professor kidnapped by the madman, and also stop his evil plan of blowing up a nearby dam in order to flood the town where everyone lives.

Gone Crazy South African Cinema

Gone Crazy-10

Fishy Stones

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Fishy Stones South African Cinema
KEY CREW & CAST
Director Tonie Van Der Merwe Cast Innocent “Popo” Gumede
Producer Pedre Dippenaar Hector Matanda
Writer Lianja Scripts Mandla Ngoya
DOP Tonie Cunningham Lungi Mdladla
Editor Fred Ridgard Max Mkhwanazi
Sound Wally Booysen
Y.O.P 1980’s
Running Time 70 min
Language isiZulu
Genre Crime / Drama
SYNOPSIS

After a well-executed jewellery store heist, two amateur thugs go on the run. 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. After a daring escape from prison, the two thugs 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!

Fishy Stones South African Cinema

Fishy Stones South African Cinema

Joe Bullet’s North American Debut!

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MOMA Screening in New York

For film aficionados of all stripes, one of the highlights of each fall season in New York City is undoubtedly the Museum of Modern Art’s “To Save and Project,” its annual festival of film preservation, running October 24 through November 22.

– http://www.blouinartinfo.com/

Joe Bullet screened at New York MoMA’S “To Save + Project” Film Festival this weekend, with much success! Read more about the festival on this awesome website.

MOMA Screening in New York MOMA Screening in New York

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7hsWyW-qcg