''Jump the Gun'' is a 1996 South African film directed by
Les Blair
Leslie "Les" Blair (born 23 October 1941, Manchester, England) is a BAFTA winning television, film and theatre director.
Gaining notoriety for his controversial mini-series ''Law And Order'' (shown in 1978 on BBC2), Blair has gone on to direc ...
for
Channel Four Films
Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The company has been responsible for backing many films made in the United Kingdom. The company's first production was '' Walter'', directed by ...
. The film follows six diverse, working class individuals as they try and establish themselves in the newly democratic South Africa. Les Blair's quintessentially British
Kitchen sink realism
Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...
is applied to a South African context. The film stars
Baby Cele, Lionel Newton, and Michele Burgers amongst others. Characters were built from the ground up with South African actors by using improvisation.
The film won the Chicago International Film Festival award in 1997 for best film.
Plot Summary
Set in Johannesburg, the film follows the tangled lives of six very different working-class characters, formerly kept apart by apartheid and now all striving to succeed in the new "rainbow nation". United by their common insecurities, both physical and financial, the film follows their struggle to discover their niche in this brave new world where opportunity beckons, but violence is always lurking.
Cast
*
Baby Cele as Gugu, an ambitious singer looking to make it in the big city. She befriends Thabo and Bazooka to jumpstart her career.
* Lionel Newton as Clinton van Rooyen, a frequently drunk misfit who doesn't quite fit in the recently diversified South Africa. He starts a relationship with Minnie.
* Michele Burgers as Minnie, a hooker who picks up clients at the bar Clinton frequents. She falls for him.
* Thulani Nyembe as Bazooka, the film's villain who attempts to dominate Gugu and corrupt Thabo.
*
Rapulana Seiphemo
Rapulana Seiphemo (born 4 November 1967) is a South African actor and filmmaker. He is primarily known for his role as Tau Mogale in the long-running soap opera '' Generations'' and its continuation, '' Generations: The Legacy''.
Early life
He ...
as Thabo, an earnest band manager who tries to give Gugu a shot at stardom.
* Danny Keogh as J.J., the owner of the bar.
* Marcel van Heerden as Johnny Fouché.
* Nomsa Nene as Sis Buleng.
* Grace Mahlamba as Puti.
* Joe Nina as Henry.
* John Simon Jones as Gun shop owner.
* Sam Mofokeng as Oupa.
* Fana Mokoena as Man in shacks.
* Michael Ketoa as Boy in gun shop.
* Themba Ndaba as Jewellery shop robber.
* Patrick Ndlovu as Sello.
* Francois Stemmet as Party Host.
References
External links
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1997 films
English-language South African films
1990s English-language films
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