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The Cannes jury praised the film for its "writing quality, film mastery as well as its mature and modern outlook on a category of people that are searching for perspective." Forerunners tells the story of four black middle class South Africans shaping the future with their daily choices.
Festival director, Basile Ngangue Ebelle, described the film as: "A documentary that brings us a lot of hope. When one watches it, one cannot remain indifferent. The film is a beautiful aperture through which to see life."
Black middle class
Director Simon Wood was delighted by the positive reaction to Forerunners at its first film festival. "Change is the only constant in all our lives, it's an experience that unifies audiences, but in South Africa change is happening at an exceptional rate. The film uses the transition of the black middle class as a framework to tell a universal story and allows us all to consider where we have come from, what we have lost and what we have gained."
Ngangue Ebelle added, "Across the film one sees South African creativity and that is the strength, that is the beauty, that is... an element of the driving force of life."
Forerunners was the only South African documentary selected for competition at this year's festival and faced tough opposition from big-budget films made by international production houses in North America and Europe.
Unusual perspective on Africa
Honorary president of the jury, Catherine Ruelle, found the film to be "a portrait of what happens today in a positive way, what can be done. ... But it's not only about black (South Africans). For me its very universal, that's why it's very interesting because you could really relate to these people directly."
Jury member Sofi Delaage was touched by the unusual perspective on Africa: "We knew a lot about the poverty and the very rich but we didn't know about how the children of the past will reconstruct the future and it's very good to follow them and to know they exist and that there is a possibility of hope and a better future...it gives you hope that it's possible to create a new society".
Having received such a positive reaction in Cannes, Wood stated he is excited for local audiences to see the film. Forerunners will have its South African premier at the Encounters International Documentary Film Festival in Cape Town and Johannesburg this June and has also been selected for the Durban International Film Festival.
