International award for South African film
Feel-good South African film 'Felix' won the Best Children's Film award at the Lucas International Children's Film Festival in Germany over the weekend.
Image courtesy of http://www.felixthemovie.com/
Competing against more than 400 other entries from around the world, the heart-warming movie came out tops and walked away with an impressive R101,816 prize money.
According to the Sowetan, two children sat on the festival’s panel of judges who “on Saturday applauded SA for their variety in film production”.
‘Felix’ tells the story of 14-year-old Felix Xaba, who dreams of becoming a saxophonist like his late father, but his mother Lindiwe thinks jazz is the devil’s music.
When Felix leaves his township friends to take up a scholarship for grade eight at an elitist private school, he defies his mother and turns to two aging members of his father’s old band to help him prepare for the school jazz concert.
Commenting on the film’s success, director Roberta Durrant said: “We had two incredible screenings at Lucas, complete with ovations and whistles.
“The audience absolutely loved the film but I didn’t expect to receive the main award as the competition was stiff.”
The film is set for screening at both the BFI London Film Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival.
– TEAMtalk Media
