2008/05/27
The small Transkei town of Port St Johns is gaining a reputation as a mecca for filmmakers, writes Lindile Sifile, photographer Masi Losi
A TALL dark man in camouflage attire armed with an AK47 rifle angrily rushes into a make-shift army camp. Dozens of frightened eyes search for a place to escape but the sight of the big rifles hanging from the general’s young protégés stop them in their tracks.
A moment later, a man seated on a green camp chair shouts “cut” inducing a sigh of relief from the sweaty young men in the makeshift camp.
This is a scene from the movie White Light, currently being shot in the bush in Port St Johns in the Transkei. It’s day 45 of filming and, judging by the long unkept hair, tired red eyes and bush scars some members of the crew are sporting, shooting in the jungle has been a long and daunting experience.
Port St Johns – a small remote town with a population of approximately 4500 – is known for its natural beauty and as a tourist destination because of its hiking spots, popular fishing banks and bird life. It is this wildlife that has turned this underdeveloped town into a hub of activity over the past three years. White Light, a European-based movie, is yet another big production to come to Port St Johns following the filming there of Blood Diamond starring Leornado Di Caprio, Third World War and a documentary, Three Needles.
Since the beginning of the year, the town has become home to nearly a 130-member crew involved with White Light, from the Netherlands and Cape Town.
The movie is about child soldiers in Uganda and unfolds around the story of two boys, Thomas (played by Siebe Schoneveld) and his best friend Abu (Andrew Kintu). Thomas and his father Eduard (played by Netherlands musician Marco Borsato) are Dutch nationals living in Uganda. One day Abu’s village is raided and Abu and other children from the village are forced to join the rebel army. Their search for children takes Thomas and his father to a jungle where they discover the horror and injustice of children forced to take up arms.
White Light – a project funded by a Dutch-based organisation War Child – is earmarked for the European market but there are plans to bring it to South Africa once it is complete .
Over 1400 local people have been employed as extras and others have been employed as part of the production crew. Over R600 000 has been put aside for their salaries.
The movie industry seems to be the last hope for the many unemployed youths of this poverty-stricken town. Despite their daily challenges, the young are starting to dream bigger and beyond the notion of becoming farm labourers. Anton Rollino, line producer from One Step Beyond – a Cape Town- based production unit – says it is the scenic mountains and the jungle that attract movie-makers to Port St Johns. It took them at least three months to decide on the location.
“The director, Jean van de Velde, sent us a number of references – such as pictures of what Uganda looks like, the city life, the camps and the landscape. We did some research and decided that the location would be somewhere between East London and around the coast, up towards Port Edward. We looked at those locations and they all offered something spectacular. And it was a question of which location could accommodate a crew of this size, what it offered authentically in terms of matching Uganda.”
A location scout was sent out. He travelled from the East London coast up to KwaZulu-Natal taking pictures. He brought back about 4 000 images and Port St Johns got the nod.
This was followed by consultation with the local role-players in January which was followed by environmental inspections. Shooting began at the end of March and the wrap-up is planned for the end of this month.
“You have to be quite sensitive about your impact on an area and our approach was that if we were going to come to Port St Johns with a number of people for that period of time, we would definitely have a big impact on the community. So have you to integrate the community as much as you can, especially in a relatively small town,” says Rollino.
People like Desmond Gqitekaya, and his two buddies Khayalethu Majombozi and Vuyolwethu Ndayi are some of the local previously unemployed youths who have been “integrated” into White Light. They started as extras in 2005 when Third World came to their neighbourhood.
While their income stopped after their roles were completed, they hung around, convincing the producers of Third World to hire them as assistants in the lighting department.
“It was tough at the beginning. As extras we earned R50 which went up to R350 a day when we became assistants. But it seems that the producers are starting to acknowledge the talent that is here and the money has been good over the years,” says Gqitekaya, who runs a gardening services company when he is not on call.
Extras in White Light earn between R250 and R1 000 a day – depending on whether they have any onscreen dialogue.
Besides the financial benefits, Gqitekaya says he hopes to improve his future with the skills he has acquired from being part of the movie industry.
“We learn a lot about different characters and different lighting which will be handy for my curriculum vitae as I’m planning to leave Port St Johns and pursue a career in the movie industry,” he says.
Timmy Shaw, extras co-ordinator, says school children from the local schools he has visited have shown an interest in acting. “It makes me sad to see these kids so keen for acting even though there’s no drama school here and the teachers basically know nothing about acting. I’m scared to think of what’s going to happen once we leave,” he says.
Rollino, however, says despite the economic hope and skills development they have brought to Port St Johns, there have been a few problems. Transporting equipment and the everyday movement of the crew between the town, Cape Town and Johannesburg remains a challenge. The nearest airport, Mthatha Airport, only has a limited number of outgoing flights and the planes can only accommodate a small number of passengers.
“We tend to carry back-ups of a lot of our stuff which is obviously expensive. I’ve got two big generators here and I only work with one but if that generator breaks down I can’t wait for another one to arrive. We’ve got a small plane that flies in on a regular basis to bring smaller stuff for us. It’s limited to what it can bring but at least I can have it here in four hours if necessary.” Then there is the vexing problem of accommodation and restaurants owners inflating their prices to make a quick buck out of the film crew.
“We’ve had a lot cooperation from local B&B and restaurant owners but they have not been the easiest people to deal with. We’ve had to fight for each and every cent of our budget. If Port St Johns and the whole of the Eastern Cape is going to market itself as an ongoing viable film thing, they have to realise that it’s not often that someone is going to come and take 11000 beds.
“If putting prices up is going to be their approach, then that’s a mentality that is short- term thinking and it’s damaging.
“People often ask if I’d I go back to Port St John and I’d say yes and no. I’d go back for certain things but only if the other things worked. You have to balance it up. I have been in Cape Town for 25 years and we had to educate our suppliers that we are not a one- week business,” says Rollino.
Danie van Vuren, owner of North.East.West. South Pub that was converted to a restaurant with African designs for a shoot, said inflating prices was just stupid.
“These guys have brought in a lot of money into this town and my business looks new and bigger because of them. It would be stupid of us to chase them away now. I also hope the municipality realises their importance and starts building proper infrastructure to make their work easier.”
But, for now, things are looking up for Port St Johns and just maybe its name will change in the near future to Pollywood – judging from what it has to offer the film world.
|