South African short film “Two Hues” is making waves on the global stages.
The Cape Town-based film, which was screened at the UK film festival, was awarded the best director prize at the North Europe International Film Festival.
The film festival took place in London from April 5 to April 10.
“Two Hues” is a short psychological drama and an exploration of the artistic nature of a manic-depressive.
Co-directed by Weaam Williams and Dominique Roxanne Jossie, the film delves into the world of the feminine psyche and explores the duality of patriarchy.
The film centres around Natasa, a bipolar photographer, who is also a silent victim of rape.
While she still stays with her parents, Natasa feels pressured by her family to marry and wear a hijab (the Muslim headscarf).
Her work is conflicting with her beliefs as she gets to witness women’s bodies being used to sell products.
“After I decided to play the part of Natasa, I realised that it was not possible to direct this film alone. The choice of a co-director was a big decision, and Dominque came as highly recommended by a mutual colleague,” offers Williams.
She adds: “Dominique was very focussed on delivering convincing performances, and I was focussed on the aesthetics of the film its art direction, and visual cues. I think we make a good team.”
Elaborating on the film, Jossie says: “When I was approached to co-direct this film, I was intrigued by the theme of modern-day mental illness amongst women specifically – an important topic that needs to be explored more in film.
“The style of ’Two Hues presented an opportunity to experiment creatively.”
This is the second international award for Two Hues, earlier in the year, the film won best short film at the Beyond The Curve International Film Festival (BCIFF), in France.
The movie also features Williams as the lead actress.
She was also nominated for best lead actress in a short film, “this was a huge achievement as it is my first on-screen acting role.”
The locally brewed production also shed light on the plague of gender-based violence in South Africa.
Two Hues is available to view in sub-Saharan Africa on Cinemagic on the MTN platform.
“The film is performing well on the Cinemagic platform, and I have also received an acquisitions agreement from a US-based streaming platform for worldwide rights, which I will undertake during the second half of the year, as the film is still doing the international festival circuit,” reveals Williams
“Two Hues” is set to showcase to the Kalakari Film Festival in India, in May, before heading to LA.