Tag: Inxeba news

Inxeba’s porno reclassification has been overturned by the Pretoria High Court‚ on the grounds that it was procedurally unfair and unlawful.

The Judge stated that‚ “if cultural beliefs and practices are to be considered‚ the film is harmful and disturbing and exposes 16-year-olds to the sexual conduct depicted in the film”.

“The film included language which was degrading to Xhosa women and further exposes women to societal violence such as rape. It contains harmful scenes which could cause tensions within the Xhosa community and even within the broader African community. By implication it has an effect on the rights of the Xhosa traditional group‚” he said.

Throughout his judgment‚ Raulinga stressed that the Inxeba filmmakers’ rights to freedom of expression could not override the rights to dignity of Xhosa people.

Two movie houses have postponed the release of Inxeba. This comes amid threats by several groups to picket and boycott its screening.

Postponed

Hemingways Mall in East London made an announcement on Friday morning that they had postponed the screening of the film. However, no reasons were given.

Walmer Park shopping centre in Port Elizabeth then announced that the screening had been postponed following pressure from members of the community.

Inxeba depicts the traditional ritual of ukwaluka – a Xhosa tradition into manhood – as well as sexual identity in the form of a gay love story.

Despite the backlash and initiation forum threats‚ producer Elias Ribeiro said it was important to showcase the rich untold stories of the country.

“We have had a positive response from many people in the Xhosa community who feel the movie is well presented. There have also been people from a conservative perspective who are upset‚” he said.

At a pre-screening of ‘Inxeba’ this week, Elias told the audience that they were aware of plans to boycott the film. They hoped peace would prevail.

“We’ve shown the film to whoever wanted to watch it. We were prepared for the backlash but have decided to just let the audience decide. I have yet to meet a person who has watched this film and still have an issue with it. Having said that, we hope love not hate will prevail this week. We hope the threats against the film will not materialise.’

Award winning film Inxeba will make you think that the creators of the film are actually well off. This is because of the film’s success in winning 19 international awards, being shortlisted for an Oscar, and receiving global recognition.

However, for Inxeba creators, that is not reality.

Producer Elias Ribiero opened up about just some of the challenges they faced in bringing the film to local screens.

Challenges

Some of the members worked for free, and cast members earned a pittance. They got into a lot of debt in marketing costs to take Inxeba to the Oscar pre-screenings.

He was brought onto the project to help with foreign funding as the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) initially rejected their requests for funding on four occasions.

However‚ the NFVF came on board after seeing the international attention the film got.

“The NFVF saw the film again at post-production stage but had no contribution or say in the production process. They came on board after we got an invitation to the Sundance Film Festival and they gave us a chunk of change to put their logo on it. We weren’t desperate (for funding from them)‚” Elias said.

“The misconception is that we are rich guys exploiting other people’s culture but the truth is (screenplay writer) Malusi (Bengu) worked for free on this film for about four years. I might get paid soon. Niza (Jay Ncoyini) cannot really afford six months of rent and food with the salary he earned working really hard on this film. We are still trying to make financial sense of this endeavour.”

He later explained that while 80 percent of Inxeba’s budget was raised before the project wrapped up‚ the main creators had to for go a salary until the funds could be raised.

“There was a lot of patchwork. We got funding from international film bodies and from winning awards‚ like at the Venice Film Festival‚ but we really had to make it up as we went along.”

Achievement

Elias said the biggest achievement of the project was how it disrupted the status quo and started dialogue about issues which were previously swept under the carpet.

He also said that 85% of people who attended Oscar pre-screenings of the film gave it the thumbs up and thought it should’ve been nominated for an Oscar.

The film was shortlisted for a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category ahead of the 2018 Oscar Awards‚ which cost the producers millions to market and campaign. Elias said they needed a “miracle” to make money from the film.

“It cost us a s**t load of money. It was a ridiculous investment because the academy only does one screening per film and we had to create as many opportunities as possible for as many judges as possible to see the film. We also had to bring the talent to LA. It was a good run but we wrote up a lot of debt because of it. So before we see any money we have to settle the marketing and PR bill.”

Inxeba has courted controversy since the trailer was released early last year. It was criticised by traditional leaders and social media users for its portrayal of the Xhosa initiation ceremony.

Inxeba opens at local cinemas on Friday February 2.

Inxeba (The Wounds), has been selected for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. It was announced on Sunday as the official delegate from South Africa for a possible nomination.

Nakhane Mahlakahlaka said that the nomination of the Xhosa film was the biggest achievement.

“After all the hard work that everyone did, it’s great to be validated like this.

I’ve always thought it was a very important film and it was telling a story that needs to be told – whether some people liked that or not.”

Mahlakahlaka was baffled by how peope criticised the film even before seeing it. He even received death threats for his role.

Inxeba is set to be released in local cinemas in February. It will be released at the 61st BFI London Film Festival that ends in October 15th.