FLATLAND
A film by Jenna Bass, 2019-
Genre: Western
Languages: English and Afrikaans
Subtitles: French or English
Format: xxx
Sound: xxx
Duration: 116 min
Countries: South Africa, Luxembourg
Year: 2019
SYNOPSIS
-When her disastrous wedding night leads to an accidental killing, Natalie flees her husband and her small, rural town in South Africa’s desolate Karoo region. Reuniting with her rebellious best friend Poppie, who is heavily pregnant, the two young women escape together on horseback across the endless winter landscape. Hot on their trail is Captain Beauty Cuba, a lonely policewoman intent on proving the
innocence of her long-lost fiancé, who has been framed for Natalie’s crime. The fate of these three different, yet equally desperate, South African women will eventually converge as they ride towards self-discovery in the face of the ever-present threat of violence, psychological as well as physical.
Flatland is a contemporary Western, a journey of self-discovery for three different but equally trapped women. It paints a vivid and unique portrait of femininity against a hostile frontier land and questions what it means to be a woman today in South Africa and the world at large.
CREDITS
-Director: Jenna Bass
Screenplay: Jenna Bass
Image: Sarah Cunningham
Costumes: Chantell Lungiswa Joe
Decors: Sara Hartinger
Editing: Jacques de Villiers
Music: Bao-Tran Tran
Cast: Faith Baloyi, Nicole Fortuin, Izel Bezuidenhout, De Klerk Oelofse, Eric Nobbs
Produced by Proper Films, Deal Prod, IGC Films and co-produced by Unafilm.
FESTIVALS
-Premiere N-american at Toronto International Film Festival 2019 (Canada)
Leiden International Film Festival 2019 (Netherlands)
Zürich Film Festival 2019 (Switzerland)
Best African Film at Joburg Film Awards 2019 (South Africa)
Silwerskerm Festival Prize for Best Film and for Best Sound design Silwerskerm FilmFees 2019 (South Africa)
Festival del Cinema Africano, d'Asia e America Latina in Milan 2019 (Italy)
Moscow International Film Festival 2019 (Russia)
Valletta Film Festival 2019 (Malta)
Sydney Film Festival 2019 (Australia)
Taormina Film Fest 2019 (Italy)
Transatlantyk Distribution Award section New Cinema to Jenna Cato Bass Transatlantyk Film Fest 2019 (Poland)
Festival Internacional de Cine Tulum 2020 (Mexico)
Dragon Award in International Competition to Jenna Cato Bass Göteborg Film Festival 2020 (Sweden)
Mumbai International Film Festival (India)
Vancouver International Film Festival (Canada)
São Paulo International Film Festival (Brazil)
Mill Valley Film Festival (USA)
Mooov Film Festival (Belgium)
Philadelphia Film Festival (USA)
European Film Forum Scanorama (Lithuania)
Festival Wallay Barcelona African Film Festival (Spain)
IndieCork Film Festival (Ireland)
Chattanooga Film Festival (USA)
Sydney South African Film Festival (Australia)
Toronto South African Film Festival (Canada)
DIRECTOR
-Jenna Bass is a South African writer, filmmaker and former magician. Her award winning films include the short, THE TUNNEL (2010), and the collaboratively-created features LOVE THE ONE YOU LOVE (2014) and HIGH FANTASY (2017), which have screened around the world, including at the Sundance, Berlinale and Toronto Film Festivals. Together with, Wanuri Kahiu, Jenna co-wrote the coming-of-age romance, RAFIKI, which premiered in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2018. FLATLAND is Jenna’s third feature film as a director and writer.
PRESS REVIEWS
-“Flatland is both literally and metaphorically a wild ride, but an unrelentingly sincere one that speaks with intelligence and kindness of its three central women characters, warts and all.“ – Rotten Tomatoes
