Director's Chat: Tim Greene

Director Tim Greene talks to Jackie May about his award-winning movie

What is Skeem about?

Skeem  is a crime-caper, a farce set at a creepy, old holiday resort where two wannabe gangsters are forced to spend the night, halfway home from a drug sale up in Johannesburg.

Their problems escalate when, unpacking the car, their huge box of cash splits open, spilling a million bucks in eye-catching bundles all over the driveway. They scoop it up, head inside and slam the door. But the damage is done: greedy eyes have spotted the cash, and in five adjacent chalets, the neighbours begin to skeem (plot).

So the movie follows one night of madcap mayhem as this motley collection of greedy holidaymakers plot against one another to get their hands on the box full of cash.

Why did you decide to make a popcorn movie after making your drama, Boy Called Twist?

My first feature film fulfilled a dream I'd had since I was 13: to make a movie. Once I'd done that, I had to take a step back and set myself a new goal, and I decided that my next objective would be to make a movie that people actively wanted to see. While Boy called Twist was a great success on many levels, people weren't exactly beating down the doors to get in.

So I wrote Skeem thinking about what I personally would love to see on a Friday night. I like to be entertained. I love popcorn movies, but not the dumb ones.

What does comedian Kurt Schoonraad bring to your film? What role does he play?

In the role of Richie Rich, Schoonraad anchors the comedy of the film. He's the "big brother" character to our leading guy Vista (Wandile Molebatsi), but it's a misguided sense of brotherhood.

Rich is forever slapping Vista about, powered by an over-inflated ego.

He's a lovable fool, and Schoonraad is just the guy to pull off that sort of role. Playing a buffoon is a tricky thing. It's all about hitting the right balance between comedy and veracity.

The rest of the cast consists of other South African household names. How and why did you select them?

I was incredibly lucky in that, as soon as the script went out to the casting directors, there was a sense of excitement in the acting industry. I think people have been waiting for a script like this to come along - something with a bit of balls, really.

What inspired the making of this film?

On the way home from a wedding in the Karoo, my wife and I and a couple of friends stayed overnight at the old Avontura Resort on the banks of the Gariep Dam.

It's a strange place. Although it is well-maintained with plush, green lawns, there's something distinctly creepy about it. They say the old National Party used to hold their bosberaad there, and I can believe it.

We were having a braai, keeping one eye on the people in the adjacent chalets, us watching them, them watching us. We started chatting about what would happen if a couple of Cape Flats gangsters rolled in with a big box of cash. We immediately sensed this could be the basis for a great movie.

I started writing that weekend, and a year later we were back at Gariep to shoot.

How important was this movie for you as a director?

I don't think one could overstate the importance. They say of all the directors who make a first film, only 7% go on to make their second. I'm delighted to be one of those happy few, but the second one is the real decider.

Are you happy with how the film turned out?

I couldn't be happier. The feedback we've been getting has been beyond my wildest dreams, and beating the likes of Scorsese, Clooney, Soderburg and Wim Wenders to win the Audience Choice award at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival has convinced me that Skeem may even have a life internationally.

What are you working on next?

I'm writing a comedy for a Czech broadcaster right now, set in Cape Town, and then it is back to directing TV for a while to earn a living, doing a show for KykNet called Rugby Motors.

Then I'd like to turn my attention to making a thriller. A real, edge-of-your-seat thriller.