The country's film and television industry continues to make strides in international markets with the South African co-produced miniseries The Book of Negroes cleaning up at the Canadian Screen Awards.Co-produced by South African company Out of Africa Entertainment and Canadian production house Conquering Lion, the series received 11 awards at the weekend. These included best TV movie or limited series, three best acting awards and best direction in a limited series. Categorised as a historical drama, the six-part series, which is based on the Lawrence Hill novel of the same name, has been compared with the 1970s US miniseries Roots. The story follows the life journey of Aminata Diallo, portrayed by Aunjanue Ellis, who was snatched in West Africa and sold into slavery in South Carolina. Lance Samuels, executive producer and founder of Out of Africa Entertainment, said the phenomenal win proved South Africa's filmmaking was as good as the rest of the world's. "We are extremely thrilled and proud to be recognised with so many awards at the Canadian Screen Awards.it proves once again that South African crews and cast are as good as any in the world," he said.
Samuels said
it was
important for him to
put the country
on the map as a
great destination for filming.
"Ninety percent was shot in Cape Town, with 10% shot in Canada because of the need for snow in the Nova Scotia scene. Otherwise, we would have shot the entire thing in South Africa."
Samuels
said he
wanted a South African presence to be felt throughout - including among the crew of 110 locals.
"A lot of the time with collaborations between local and international filmmakers, you find the international people want to bring their own crew. "But I was adamant to have mainly South Africans," said Samuels.Despite the country's dominance behind the scenes, the show brought in big-name actors such as Louis Gossett Jnr and Cuba Gooding Jnr, as well as Lyriq Bent and Shailyn Pierre Dixon. The Book of Negroes was produced in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Black Entertainment Television...