Johannesburg - Shepherds and Butchers which won the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama Audience Award last year, received nine SAFTA nominations in the 11th South African Film and Television Awards it was announced earlier today.
The film is helmed by award-winning director, Oliver Schmitz and produced by Anant Singh and Brian Cox (who also wrote the screenplay).
The drama received nominations for Best Feature Film, Best Achievement in Directing (Oliver Schmitz), Best Actor (Garion Dowds), Best Supporting Actor (Deon Lotz), Best Achievement in Editing (Megan Gill), Best Achievement in Production Design (Mike Berg), Best Achievement in Sound Design (Ivan Millborrow, Charlotte Buys), Best Achievement in Costume Design (Diana Cilliers) and Best Achievement in Make-up and Hair (Marli Kruger and Talli Patcher).
“We are delighted with the nine nominations received by the Shepherds and Butchers team. We congratulate each one of them on their nominations which are a tribute to their respective talents, creativity and skill. We applaud their achievements," says producer Anant Singh.
Set in late 1980’s South Africa, the story follows John Weber, a hotshot lawyer who faces his biggest test when he agrees to defend a prison guard who has killed seven men. What ensues is a compelling charge against the death penalty itself, in a case that changes history.
It is based on the award-winning South African novel by Chris Marnewick, a former advocate of the Durban bar who filled the pages of his book with meticulously researched factual information amassed from his years as a defense attorney.
See the trailer here:
The film will be released on DVD in South Africa on 20 February 2017.
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