sms sugar man
Who would have believed it was possible to shoot a full-length feature film on a cellphone? Well, it’s now been done, and for the first time in the world.
The “bad boy” of South African cinema, Aryan Kaganof, shot SMS Sugar man entirely on Sony Ericsson W900i cellphones. Withdrawn from last year’s National Festival of the Arts, the controversial film had its premiere this year in Grahamstown.
The grainy, pixelated, night-time footage fits perfectly with the theme of a pimp, played by Aryan himself, and his “sugars” – prostitutes – as he hooks them up with “wallets” – men who are paying lots of money for sex.
It all takes place on Christmas eve, on the sleazy streets of Hillbrow. The sugars dabble with drugs as they cruise around in a 1966 Valiant ‘Valaza’, and of course, there is lots of sex. But there is also romance … and lots of chatting on cellphones!
This uniquely South African film stars, among others, John Matshikiza, Luthuli Dlamini, Jerry Mofokeng and Julius Moeletsi.
“I thought cinema in South Africa wasn’t the appropriate medium to represent who we are, as it is a mostly white thing. Then it struck me that a medium that Africans love more than any other is the cellphone,” said Aryan.
Shot in just 12 days, the whole film cost less than R1 million rand to produce, just a fraction of the R6 million that many low-budget local films cost. Hollywood pictures usually cost about R50 million and often go up to R100 million.
Graphics and special effects editor Jurgen Meekel believes that SMS Sugar man will revolutionize the future of film-making. “I think it will democratize film-making. After this film, no one can say that they cannot make a film because they don’t have the equipment,” said Jurgen.
Cinematographer Eran Tahor agreed: “I think that in South Africa, which offers great stories and great locations, but hardly any budget for films, nor distribution, this approach will stimulate others to make their films.”
Ster-Kinekor is distributing SMS Sugar man, and it will also be available on DVD soon.
For details, check http://kaganof.com/kagablog/category/films/sms-sugar-man/
derek davey
this article first appeared in the daily sun on friday 11 july 2008
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