To coincide with the weekend release of local movie, Nommer 37, actors Irshaad Ally and Monique Rockman came out to Liberty Promenade to speak to fans about the movie.
Irshaad, from Athlone, said the movie had made waves not only in South Africa, but also in America, Europe and China.
“Everybody across the world loves this film and have showed their love and support too. We now ask that our local people from Cape Town and South Africa invest in this film and support it. I can put my word on it that anybody who watches this film will love it – because I do.”
Monique, from Blue Downs, added: “This is a fantastic movie especially for females – and coloured females (in particular). We (were) part of a film festival in Texas called South by South West. If you get accepted there, it is an accolade already. This is the first time a movie from South Africa, has been accepted in 12 years.”
Representing producer Gambit Films, was Bradley Joshua, originally from Woodlands and now living in Durbanville.
“What this film stands for is that we South Africans, especially South Africans of colour, can do just as good as the rest of the world,” he said.
“Sometimes we think that the rest of the world is better than us but this film proves that the team we’ve worked with can do great, high quality movies.
“The film represents that we don’t have to stand back for anything because we can do world – class work.”
The director and writer of the film, Nosipho Dumisa, who is from Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal but relocated to Cape Town to study film, said: “This movie is a spin-off from the old film Rear Window, by Alfred Hitchcock.”
Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller is about a photographer who has broken his leg and is confined to his home while he recuperates.
Keeping himself busy by watching his neighbours through his window, he witnesses what he believes is a murder, and decides to solve the crime himself.
“The idea was from my colleague, Darren Joshua who directed Noem my Skollie. In 2014, KykNET contacted Gambit Films to submit an idea. We had one day to submit and Darren remembered the idea to adapt Rear Window to the flats. It made sense to us because the way the blocks were built, you’re always looking into your neighbour’s house through the window.
“Watching this world and the space that I am in, gave me a different perspective on how Randal (Irshaad Ally’s character) in the movie has to watch this world from the outside. I wanted to write a story where the woman is actually out there kicking butt and telling the truth, being the smart one.”
She added that she wanted to tell a story “that everyone can access because this story is a part of Cape Town that a lot of people pretend doesn’t exist”.
Nommer 37 is currently on circuit.