{"id":10651,"date":"2020-09-01T12:22:43","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T10:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=10651"},"modified":"2020-09-01T12:22:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T10:22:48","slug":"louw-venters-stam-the-tree-to-premiere-on-dstv-boxoffice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2020\/09\/01\/louw-venters-stam-the-tree-to-premiere-on-dstv-boxoffice\/","title":{"rendered":"Louw Venter’s “Stam” (The Tree) To Premiere On DStv BoxOffice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Stam\u2019 (The Tree), a new film written and directed by Louw Venter and produced by the team behind the multi-award winning \u2018Inxeba\u2019 (The Wound, 2017), will be released on DStv\u2019s BoxOffice in October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film is already generating a lot of buzz in the industry, and is being hailed as uniquely Afrikaans, utterly unpredictable, and without pretention or political correctness in its exploration of the inner world of a set of characters seeking to belong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be a private screening of the film for the industry at the 2020 kykNET Silwerskermfees, which will be held as a three-day webinar, from 2 to 4 September. \u2018Stam\u2019 will have its world premiere in competition at this year\u2019s Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), which runs from 10 to 20 September. For the first time in its 41-year history, DIFF will go virtual. \u2018Stam\u2019 will also be available on KKNK\u2019s (Klein KarooNasionale Kunstefees) digital screening platform in late September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Stam\u2019 is a choral narrative which follows the interlinked lives of five very different characters over the course of a few hours in inner city Cape Town. \u201cNow, more than any other time in living memory, we are being forced to look at the meaning and importance of human connection, a theme that lies at the heart of the film,\u201d says director Louw Venter. \u201cThe pandemic has proved unequivocally that there are inextricable forces binding us together more powerfully than we could ever imagine. We are all part of each other\u2019s stories. \u2018Stam\u2019 is an exploration of these invisible chains that bind us. Connections and relationships that go far beyond familiarity, economics, gender, race or social standing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Stam\u2019 boasts a strong ensemble cast, lead by Inge Beckmann (\u20188\u2019, \u2018The Dark Tower\u2019, \u2018Troy: Fall of a City\u2019, \u2018Escape Room\u2019), Gideon Lombard (\u2018Suidooster\u2019, \u2018Lien se Lankstaanskoene\u2019, \u2018Black Sails\u2019, \u2018Twee Grade van Moord\u2019), Tarryn Wyngaard (\u2018Tess\u2019, \u2018Noem My Skollie\u2019, \u2019Arendsvlei\u2019) Niza Jay (\u2018Inxeba\u2019, \u2018Validictory\u2019), with supporting performances by Armand Aucamp (\u2018Sterlopers\u2019, \u2018Ballade vir \u2018n Enekling\u2019, \u2018Wat kook by Andre Aucamp\u2019), Nicola Hanekom (\u2018Sinbad\u2019, \u2018Song vir Katryn\u2019, \u2018Isidingo\u2019, \u2018Charlie Jade\u2019, \u2018Fishy Feshuns\u2019, \u2018Shado’s\u2019 and \u2018Heartlines\u2019), Jill Levenberg (\u2018Noem my Skollie\u2019, \u2018Suidooster\u2019, \u2018Rugby Motors\u2019, \u2018Final Verdict\u2019 \u2018Stokvel\u2019, \u2018A Place Called Home\u2019), and Oscar Peterson (\u2018Vloeksteen\u2019, \u2018Die Byl\u2019, \u2018Traffic!\u2019, \u2018Suidooster\u2019, \u2018Die Boland Moorde\u2019, \u2018Swartwater\u2019, \u2018Sara se Geheim\u2019 and \u2018Parlement Parlement\u2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cape Town too, with its particular brand of tribalism, decay, magic, gentrification, globalisation and regeneration, plays a central role in the film. \u201cIt\u2019s a city quite unlike anything anywhere else on earth,\u201d Venter says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2020 has seen the global film industry pivoting to a virtual experience, and South Africa is no different. \u201cWe live in a hyper-connected, mobile world,\u201d says Helen Kuun, MD of Indigenous Film Distribution, and distributor of \u2018Stam\u2019. \u201cFrom screening movies at theatres, we are sending audiences to streaming sites, which gives consumers instant gratification. They are in control of what they watch, and how and when they watch it, which is good news for local film as we are seeing an increase in engagement. In terms of character, plot and storytelling, \u2018Stam\u2019 is an excellent film that is bound to benefit from this increased amount of viewing time at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film will follow a new model of theatrical release on BoxOffice in early October. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to be trying something totally new by partnering with BoxOffice for \u2018Stam\u2019s\u2019 commercial South African d\u00e9but,\u201d says producer Elias Ribeiro of production company Urucu. \u201cWe look forward to the film being so widely available to audiences in the safety and comfort of their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Stam\u2019 was produced with the support of M-Net, kykNet, the Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa (DTI), the Netherlands Film Fund, the Netherlands Film Production Incentive and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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