Lonbraz Kann

Lonbraz Kann
Film poster
Directed byDavid Constantin
Screenplay bySabrina Compeyron
David Constantin
Produced byFred Eyriey
StarringDanny Bhowaneedin
Raj Bumma
Nalini Aubeeluck
Jean Claude Catheya
Jérôme Boulle
Bernard Li Kwong Ken
CinematographySabine Lancelin
Edited byMorgane Spacagna
Production
companies
Caméléon Production
Lithops Films
Atopic
Distributed byInvesco
Release date
  • October 2, 2014 (2014-10-02) (Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryMauritius
LanguageMauritian Creole

Lonbraz Kann (also known as Sugarcane Shadows[1]) is a 2014 Mauritian film directed by David Constantin.

Plot

The story follows the closing of a sugar factory, and how it affects the local residents: the factory workers' houses are destroyed to make space for new up-scale residences, and foreign workers are brought in to help with that construction.

Cast

  • Danny Bhowaneedin as Marco
  • Nalini Aubeeluck as Devi
  • Raj Bumma as Bissoon

Production

The film started in 2006 as a project called Sans Sucre at the Three Continents Festival's "Produire au Sud" workshop in Nantes in France.[2] It participated in the 2010 Francophone Production Forum in Namur Film Festival.[3] In 2012, the film was selected to participate in the Open Doors film lab run by the Locarno Festival.[4] The production received 93,000 euros from ACPCulture+ and 40,000 euros from the International Organisation of the Francophonie, and the filmmakers made it a priority to hire local crew members and equipment before resorting to bringing in skilled people from Europe.[5] The film was shot in November and December 2013[6] at actual construction sites in Mauritius.[1] Constantin cast people with no prior acting experience because he wanted to find local residents who had life experiences that were related to the characters they were playing.[7]

Release

Lonbraz Kann premiered at the Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles in Réunion on October 2, 2014.[8] It also screened at several international festivals, including the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur, Zanzibar International Film Festival, and Seattle International Film Festival.[9]

Reception

The film was awarded Best Screenplay at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival.[1] It also won two awards at the 2015 Africa Movie Academy Awards: Achievement in Cinematography and Achievement in Sound.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Higgins, MaryEllen (December 2015). "David Constantin, director. Lonbraz Kann (Sugarcane Shadows)". African Studies Review. 58 (3). Cambridge University Press: 281–283. doi:10.1017/asr.2015.105. S2CID 152077890. Retrieved 2 October 2018 – via Project MUSE.
  2. ^ "Archives Produire au Sud for Nantes". Festival des 3 Continents. n.d. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Archives - 7ème Forum de Namur". FIFF Namur. n.d. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  4. ^ "2012 Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa". Locarno Festival. n.d. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  5. ^ "CINÉMA: En avant pour "Lonbraz Kann"" [Cinema: "Lonbraz Kann" Moving Forward]. Le Mauricien (in French). 13 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Movie". Lonbraz Kann. n.d. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. ^ Will Martin (8 June 2015). Sugarcane Shadows Director Interview (Youtube video). Youtube. Event occurs at 02:13. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Programme FIFAI 2014" (PDF). Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Lonbraz Kann". Africiné. n.d. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Tony Elumelu Bags Amaa's Award As Mauritania, Nigeria Win Big". All Africa. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018 – via General OneFile.