#OnTheBigScreen: 2 Thirds of a Man, Nope and Jewels

2 Thirds of a Man

Exploring themes of love, courage, ambition and tragedy, this inspirational local film was written and directed by first-time filmmaker Earl Kopeledi.

It’s a tale about a young, coloured male who transitions from being two-thirds of a man into a fully-fledged adult, and addresses the many challenges thereof, exploring themes of love, courage, ambition and tragedy.

Justin (Mario Ogle) returns to Cape Town as a first-year student at Rocklands University after spending most of his teenage years living in Beaufort West where his mom took up a teaching job after the untimely death of his father, a musician on the brink of success.

Justin makes the transition from the small town to the city, leaving his mom and quirky friends behind. He moves in with his uncle (Van Lee Johnson), a 40+ marketing professor at Rocklands University, who lives a fun-filled existence as an eternal bachelor. Justin meets G (Ernest St Clair), a street-smart kid from the Cape Flats that might be able to help him transition back into city life and help him meet the girl of his dreams.

”Being coloured and growing up pre-democracy inevitably influenced my perceptions and created a perspective,” says Kopeledi.

“There are many social ills that befall and challenge the coloured community. These themes are often explored in movies and rightly so, but they are not the only stories worth telling. 2 Thirds of a Man aims to show an alternative side to the Coloured experience, that is as valid and frankly more uplifting and hopeful. This story is my love letter to the Coloured community. Our stories are diverse, and we have an opportunity to tell them in ways not seen on screen before. I believe that when everything is said and done, the only thing that will shift this world is our ability to inspire through compelling stories,” Kopeledi concludes.

Read more here.

Nope

Jordan Peele reimagines the summer movie with the expansive new horror epic, Nope, a dark pop nightmare of uncanny science fiction and complex social thriller that unpacks the seeds of violence, risk and opportunism that are inseparable from the romanticized history of the American West … and from show business itself.

Siblings OJ Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald Haywood (Keke Palmer), have inherited a horse ranch from their industry-legend father and begin observing unexplained phenomena on their vast ranch that leads them down an obsessive rabbit hole—plotting attempts to capture the mystery on camera. As their efforts, and hubris, cross a point-of-no-return, ratcheting the stakes to terrifying consequences, our heroes are drawn straight into the eye of an irreversible storm. The result is an expansive horror spectacle with an intimate and emotionally complex core.

“I had this idea of making the Great American UFO movie — a flying saucer horror film,” Peele says. “And not only a flying saucer horror film, but really, the quintessential one. It’s a difficult genre and hard to pull off because it’s got this huge canvas that you have to take into account — the sky. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a huge influence of mine in its scope and in its vision, but more than anything, in Steven Spielberg’s ability to make us feel like we’re in the presence of something from another world. That immersive experience was something I desperately wanted to chase as well. Within that genre, though, we often apply all these wonderful qualities to some advanced alien civilization. But what if the truth is a lot simpler and darker than we could ever imagine?”

Read more here.

The Bolshoi Ballet’s Jewels

This glamorous triptych was inspired by Balanchine’s visit to the famous jeweller Van Cleef and Arpels on New York’s Fifth Avenue and created as a homage to the cities and dance schools of Paris, New York and St. Petersburg that made a vital impact on the revered choreographer’s career.

Emeralds for the elegance and sophistication of Paris, rubies for the speed and modernity of New York and diamonds for an imperial St. Petersburg. Three sparkling scenes accompanied by the music of three essential composers feature the styles of the three dance schools that have contributed to making George Balanchine a legend of modern ballet.

Music by Gabriel Fauré, Igor Stravinsky, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreography by George Balanchine

20, 21, 24 and 25 August in Cinema Nouveau Cinemas

Read more here.

Read more about the lates and upcoming films here.