(Director Karin
Slater)
When five young Zulu women venture into the wilderness,
their lives change forever
Sisters of the
Wilderness, a new South African social impact feature documentary, directed
by award-winning filmmaker, Karin Slater, will have its world premiere at the
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival in Cape Town and
Johannesburg in June; with further festival screenings at the Durban
International Film Festival and at the Nature, Environment, Wildlife Filmmakers
(NEWF) Congress in Durban in July and at the Mzansi Women's Film Festival in
Johannesburg in August.
Set in the iMfolozi wilderness, South Africa, in the oldest
game park in Africa, the iconic Hluhluwe-iMfolozi park, where the White Rhino
was saved from extinction, Sisters of the
Wilderness tells the story of five young Zulu women venturing into the
wilderness for the first time on a journey of self-discovery, reminding them
that everyone is intimately linked to nature.
The film follows the women as they walk in big game country
and camp under the stars, totally surrounded by wild animals. Exposed to the
elements and carrying on their backs all they need for the journey, they face
emotional and physical challenges, and learn what it takes to survive in the
wild.
“We want to ‘transfer’ the audience to an ancient place
where no barriers separate human and nature,” says creator / producer, Ronit
Shapiro, of One Nature Films, whose experience in the iMfolozi wilderness and a
meeting with South Africa’s legendary conservationist, the late Dr Ian Player,
inspired her to make this film. “A journey into wilderness is an intense
experience where one can expect to undergo a personal transformation and build
leadership.”
Director Karin Slater says, “I was born in Empangeni and
spent my early years, close to the iMfolozi wilderness. I have a deep love and
connection to this area. I know what the wilderness has done for me over the
years.”
Sisters of the
Wilderness serves as a foundation for an outreach programme that will use
multiple platforms to re-connect global audiences with nature.
The film also explores the plight of this wilderness area
threatened by an open-cast coal mine on its border, as well as the severe
poaching that is decimating the rhino population here.
Shapiro has engaged London-based, Evolutionary Films, as the
film’s international sales agency.
For more information go to
http://www.sistersofthewilderness.com/
For Durban International Film Festival – www.durbanfilmfest.co.za
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