KNYSNA NEWS - A film dubbed an "African supernatural" movie is being shot on location in Karatara near Knysna, featuring a nine-year-old Knysna girl in a prominent role as well as dozens other locals as extras.
The movie entitled 8 is a horror film, and will be ready for the big screen in October 2019.
Cape Town production company Man Makes A Picture (MMAP) has been shooting in and around Karatara for the past three months and will conclude next week before moving on to other locations.
Director Harold Loubscher describes the film as follows: "An old man, fated to collect souls for eternity, seeks atonement after trading his daughter’s soul."
He adds, “It's the first time the African supernatural is being explored in a movie, based on African mythology. It's basically about a family moving to a farm and everything goes south from there. We want this to feature internationally – it is really a showcase for talent, for locations, cast, for crew, for everyone. I can't really divulge more than that,” he says.
'Knysna a perfect fit'
Loubscher says the Knysna area "was a godsend" as it fitted perfectly in with the movie which is a period piece.
“We were looking for locations all over South Africa when one of my friends told me about Portland Manor. We came to check it out and it turned out to be a perfect location: we could stay in the hotel, shoot around the venue, and relax in the bar after a long day's work. It is also close to numerous other locations we found to be perfect for this movie,” he said, mentioning the forests, farms and vintage locations found in Karatara.
Highland Home in Karatara is just one of the locations for the movie. On the right is director Harold Loubscher.
About the actress, he says they found her after a nationwide search for the right nine year old.
“And we found her right here in Knysna, which is incredible. In total, we've hired more than 20 locals as extras and crew. Knysna has been just incredible for our production,” he says.
“Our international release will be done first. We've received some interest from festivals such as Sundance, and hopefully we can get into Cannes too. The movie is planned for release around Halloween next year.”
One of the lead actors takes a break during shooting.
Loubscher, who explains that this is his first feature film after a string of short films, says the script for the movie took him about 10 years, before finally coming to light at the beginning of this year.
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