Beyond the River, the 2017 South African film which touched the hearts of South African audiences, will face an international test beyond our borders when it screens in North America later this month.
The film, loosely based on the true story of the sporting partnership between Piers Cruickshanks and Siseko Ntondini, was recently nominated for 4 SAFTAs, and has been selected for the Sonoma Film Festival, in Northern California.
The film, produced by South African NGO, Heartlines, tells the story of the experienced and gritty but partly broken Steve – played by Grant Swanby – and the lion-hearted, rookie-come-upstart from the squatter camp, Duma) and the confluence of their journeys to self-realisation.
A South African contingent, led by Executive Producer, Brad Fisher and including Ntondini, Cruickshanks and Ntondini’s current racing partner, Sbonelo Khwela will make the journey in the hope of spreading awareness of the film and the social consciousness around it. Ntondini and Khwela, both part of the ADreach/Eurosteel racing team, recently finished a remarkable third in the Dusi Canoe Marathon – the 120km epic canoe race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
An extraordinary invitation has been extended to the original duo to address the Los Angeles World Affairs Council – an influential and connected audience – on the experience of their involvement in the film and its significance in the South African context.
The film’s success comes on the back of a 15-year partnership and social development project led by outdoor media company, Adreach. Ntondini, a long-time beneficiary of the project at just 23 years old says, “our club is not just about sport, it’s about the lessons one learns through sport and how to apply it to our education and chosen careers.”
Fisher, CEO of Adreach and the stalwart behind the Soweto Canoe and Recreation Club initiative insists that these priorities remain paramount in the club’s ethos.
“We are hoping that this story will continue to inspire South Africans to reach out, build bridges and go beyond” says Fisher
The Sonoma Film Festival, now in its 21st year has established its niche in the American film festival market by screening 90 hand-selected films including independent features, documentaries, world cinema, and short films. The festival creates an opportunity for the film to gain some international traction, and, more importantly, to share a triumphant, good news, South African story in the context of world media currently beset with doom and gloom.
Film director, Craig Freimond, recently returned from South Korea where the film was received with standing ovations at the Busan Film Festival, in South Korea – the largest festival in Asia, calls it a “story with heart”, “a story of strength and cohesion in diversity”.
On 23rd March, a day before the film screens in Sonoma, it will open the Vancouver South African Film Festival – a locally lauded and well-supported Canadian event.
To the film-makers and participants in this proudly all South African endeavor: Hamba Kahle, may the spirit of Ubuntu travel with you across the Atlantic and beyond!
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