Top Billing travels to Lady Grey to meet the stars of Five Fingers for Marseilles
This Saturday on Top Billing we’re in the tiny town of Lady Grey for the world premiere of Five Fingers for Marseilles, the all-African Western about to open in cinemas across America!
In the last few years the South African film industry has taken off like a rocket and now, Five Fingers For Marseille, a new thriller set in the bad lands of the Eastern Cape is winning awards left, right and centre. Naturally, we were delighted to attend the premier in Lady Grey as well as meet its stellar cast.
In the film the town of Marseilles is home to The Five Fingers, a group who once fought oppression and who reform twenty years later to take on new enemies. It is produced and directed by Michael Matthews.
A Sesotho language film with English subtitles, this production features local Eastern Cape talent Toka Mtabane, Vuyo Novokoza and Ntsika Tiyo – who play three of the members of the Five Fingers group of youngsters.
Vuyo Dabula plays Tau, who returns to Marseilles after years in prison to find his town hostage to new threats.
Jon experienced how much it meant to the community having big tv stars filming in their town. But more important was that screenwriter Sean Drummond’s storyline reflects their own culture, puts forward strong, heroic, characters and casts many locals in these roles. Lady Grey was first to see the movie.
From the tiny hamlet of Lady Grey, the film is now open in cinemas nationwide. Even more exciting to cast members Mduduzi Mabaso, Aubrey Poolo and Lizwi Vilakazi is that this African Western releases in New York and Los Angeles September before moving to an additional 15 cities.
One hundred percent homegrown, this African story is world class entertainment in any language.
