(Judy
Naidoo)
The search is on to discover new young movie talent.
Multi-award winning filmmaker Judy Naidoo is
Durban’s own home-grown talent. Having enjoyed tremendous success on the local
and international film festival circuit where her debut feature Hatchet Hour
scooped several prestigious awards, including more recently Best Director and
Best Picture at the New Hope Film Festival in Pennsylvania, USA, she recently
arrived back in South Africa to begin work on her new feature, Kings of
Mulberry Street.
The film
is an original idea by Naidoo and is set entirely in KwaZulu-Natal. On filming
in KZN she said, “It’s a great privilege to make this film and most especially
to be able to go back to my hometown, to where I come from. In a way this film
pays homage to my childhood in Verulam, in the 80s. I’m very excited by the
prospects of discovering and working with Durban’s finest talent.”
Billed
as ‘a little film with big heart’, Kings of Mulberry Street follows the
escapades of two young Indian boys who have to overcome their differences and
band together in order to defeat the bullying local crime lord who threatens
their families. It is a charming and hilarious adventure, with universal themes
that will appeal to the whole family. The film also pays tribute to classic 80s
Bollywood movies and their heroes.
While
various characters in Kings of Mulberry Street need to be cast, the main
focus is on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for two talented young boys to
play the lead roles. Director Naidoo is determined to find these two child
stars, as well as other talent, in KZN.
“We are
looking for children who have a desire to act, and perhaps some natural
performing ability. No special requirements are sought, but the child must be
able to read. This is an opportunity to grow and expose our talent locally as
well as internationally, and Kings of Mulberry Street seeks to enable
our young KZN talent to shine.”
Durban
based casting director Kajal Bagwandeen of Imagine Worx will be holding
auditions in and around Durban from September 2017, and filming will take place
early in 2018.
More
information will become available from time to time on Kings of Mulberry
Street and Imagine Worx Facebook pages.
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