''Material'' is a 2012 South African film, directed by Craig Freimond and written by Craig Freimond, Ronnie Apteker, Robbie Thorpe, Rosalind Butler and Riaad Moosa. After playing at Film Africa 2012, it has been shown at numerous film festivals around the world (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

) and gained a reputation as one of the best original South African films and a significant leap forward for the country's film industry. Its portrayal of the lives of Muslims in South Africa was seen as an honest attempt to tackle some of the social issues facing the country's multiracial society.

Plot

Set in the Muslim Indian enclave of

Fordsburg Fordsburg is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 8. Fordsburg is a residential suburb, although housing numerous shops and factories. Today, Fordsburg is a major centre of Indian and Pakistani culture, with a larg ...

, Johannesburg. Material revolves around the tempestuous relationship between Cassim Kaif and his aging father whose one dream is for his son to take over the family's fabric shop, which is struggling to stay afloat. However, Cassim wants to be a stand-up comedian, a notion that his traditionalist father strongly disapproves of. When Cassim lands a gig at a local bar, he has to find a way of keeping it a secret from his family. The film's portrayal of the clash between youth, tradition and religion, alternates between family drama and snippets from the world of stand-up comedy.

Cast

* Riaad Moosa as Cassim Kaif *

Vincent Ebrahim Vincent Ebrahim (born 1951) is a South African actor and comedian. He is known for portraying the roles of Ashwin in the BBC later Sky One comedy series '' The Kumars at No. 42'' (2001–2006, 2014), pub landlord Bobby in the BBC One comedy ser ...

as Ebrahim Kaif * Joey Yusuf Rasdien as Yusuf * Denise Newman as Fatima Kaif * Krijay Govender as Dadi Kaif * Zakeeya Patel as Aisha Kaif * Carishma Basday as Zulfa Ahmed * Royston Stoffels as Rafiq Kaif *

Quanita Adams Quanita Adams is stage and screen actress living in Cape Town, South Africa. She has performed in the movies ''Forgiveness'' (2004, alongside Arnold Vosloo), ''Cape of Good Hope'' (2004) and ''Skeem'' (2011). She has appeared on stage in nota ...

as Shareen * Afzal Khan as Faheem * Mel Miller as Merv *

Nik Rabinowitz Nik Rabinowitz is a South African comedian, actor and author, who has made guest appearances on several comedy shows, including the British panel show Mock the Week. He also appeared in the 2012 film Material. He currently resides in Cape Town. ...

as Dave Gold

Awards

*7th

South African Film and Television Awards South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

(2013) - Best Director of a Feature Film (Craig Freimond), Best Actor in a Feature Film (Riaad Moosa), Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film (Vincent Ebrahim), Best Feature Film, Best Sound Designer of a Feature Film

Sequel

It was titled ''New Material'', alongside arrivals Riaad Moosa,

, Denise Newman and Joey Yusuf Rasdien. It will be released on 1 October 2021.

References

External links

* {{SAFTA Award for Best Feature Film 2012 films English-language South African films 2010s English-language films