The next Nollywood film in Ster-Kinekor’s latest attempt to bring us the world of African cinema is Untamed. Since the film was not previewed, it is a little hard to tell what it’s about, but it seems to be quite different from the usual Nollywood fare.
From the looks of it, it covers some fairly unexplored themes in the greater African context in that it reflects on transgender and bisexual issues with some old- fashioned moral judgements thrown into the mix.
It stars Patience Ozorkwo, Van Vicker, Chinwe Isaac and Deborah King – names which may not be familiar to regular South African film patrons, but all with meaning to Nolly fans.
In the film, Vera (now here’s where it becomes interesting because the information sent out by the distribution company doesn’t specify who plays what character, and this isn’t exactly a film you’re going to find on imdb.com) is caught cheating by her lover Alice, at a party that’s taking place at a wedding.
It seems Vera is getting married to Johnny and now it becomes complicated because same-sex marriage is another topic covered in the film.
It may sound like a film that should be in the Out in Africa Film Festival line-up, but Ster-Kinekor is trying to branch out in its quest to get bums on seats.
If only it had been at the Durban International Film Festival to pick up some of the good African content on show – such as the Kenyan film, Nairobi Half Life, a feature which would do quite well on our local circuit.