| Bunny Chow follows the trials, tribulations and unsuccessful attempts at love of three stand-up comedians as they make their way to the popular rock festival Oppikoppi.
Egos run high and careers are at stake as Kags, an arrogant womaniser, Joey - a devout yet conflicted Muslim - and Dave, a somewhat innocent and naďve Ugandan immigrant with aspirations of “making it big”, embark on a roadtrip to South Africa’s biggest annual rock festival. They are joined by Cope, a wandering acquaintance.
The quartet slips out of their normal lives for a few dusty and increasingly absurd days with hopes of mass debauchery, drugs, rampant sex, true love and conquering the rock stages with their comedy but they get a bit more than they bargained for.
The film made the official selection for the Toronto International Film Festival and had its world premičre in the festival’s new Vanguard programme which showcases films that are stylistically bold and appeal to adventurous, risk-taking audiences.
MTV Films Europe has come on-board as co-producer and will assist in world sales and will provide a global marketing platform in the territories that the film is released.
Said MTVE’s Bobby Allen: “It is a perfect fit for our brand and our youthful demographic. It is a breath of fresh air, at once cool, hip and very now.”
It is a sentiment echoed by Alex Okosi of MTV Networks Africa: “Tsotsi put South African cinema firmly on the map and gave a great boost to the SA movie industry. By putting MTV’s weight behind independent film-makers like John Barker and quality projects like Bunny Chow, we hope to bring African film-makers and films to even greater worldwide attention and commercial success.”
Starring some of South Africa's funniest stand-up comedians the film is based on a story by David Kibuuka, John Barker, Salah Sabiti and Joey Rasdien. Bunny Chow stars Kibuuka, Sabiti, Rasdien as well as Kim Engelbrecht, Kagiso Lediga, Angela Chow, Jason Cope and Keren Neumann. It is directed by John Barker and produced by Lediga, Isaac Kaminsky and Leanne Callanan.
Director John Barker started off directing hip hop inserts for Channel O in South Africa. While he was writing and directing short films, he worked on a few TV shows, the Pure Monate Show being one of them. Bunny Chow is his first full-length feature film.
He explains the name: “Bunny Chow is a metaphor for Jozi as a ‘rainbow’ city. Think of all the different ingredients that go into a bunny chow, those represent the
different people that make up this city. Jozi is the bread - the backdrop upon which all this is taking place. To get to the food stuff you have to peel away the outside layers and mop up the juices.”
The film will be released in South Africa in March by Ster-Kinekor. Go to www.bunnychowmovie.com
The film is co-produced by Film I Vast and Republiken Films in Sweden, and SABC2. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), Ster-Kinekor Distribution, Magus Visual, Terraplane, and Ministry of Illusion (MOI) are also partners on the project. Dv8 Films' new sales entity, Deviant Selling, together with MTV Films Europe, is handling worldwide sales. Virgin Mobile,strong belivers in the power of laughter are also supporting the campaign and locally produced film.
Bunny Chow is presented by MTV Film Europe and Dog Pack/Dv8 Films, a co-production with Film I Vast and SABC2 in association with the National Film and Video Foundation, Ster-Kinekor Distribution, Ministry of Illusion, Magus Visual and Terraplane.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID:
“A hopeful signal of change in the new South Africa, Bunny Chow is an exuberant hop in the hay, a bonk in the back seat and a flamboyant middle finger to the nation’s apartheid past.” – Denis Seguin, Screen Daily
“Bunny Chow is a fun, rowdy portrait of the melting pot that is contemporary post-apartheid, post-Truth and Reconciliation Johannesburg, capturing a laid-back generation where races mix freely and everyone is looking for a thrill.” – Jon Daives and Sarah Barmak, The Festival Daily.
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