The cast of John Barker's 'The Umbrella Men', a South African crime comedy that will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
The cast of John Barker's 'The Umbrella Men', a South African crime comedy that will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
John Barker’s 15-year labour of love is heading to the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada next month.
The film, The Umbrella Men, is the director’s fifth feature film. It premiered on eTV’s streaming platform Evod in June.
“Toronto was such a long shot, but we submitted it anyway and I’m so happy that it’s been selected. This is great for South Africa, I’m so proud and honoured that we got in,” Barker said.
The comedy heist film is about a group of musicians who are forced to rob a bank during the annual Cape Town Minstrel Carnival to save their nightclub.
After returning to the city for his estranged father’s funeral, musician Jerome Adams, played by Jaques de Silva, finds out that his father bequeathed him his “Ghoema Club” and minstrel troupe, The Umbrella Men.
A dodgy deal engineered by family rival Tariq Cupido, played by Abduraghman Adams, means Jerome has two weeks to repay the club’s bank debt or risk repossession. Using the carnival as a cover when thousands of people take to the streets, Jerome decides to rob the bank.
The Umbrella Men was filmed in Cape Town’s Bo-Kaap, regarded as the home of the Kaapse Klopse or Cape minstrels. Through the film Barker shares his fascination with the culture and authentically depicts a marginalised, often misrepresented people.
For many who find themselves in the city during the end-of-year holiday, attending the Tweede Nuwe Jaar (Second New Year) or Cape Town Minstrel Carnival is quite the event. The parade takes place every year on January 2 and sees thousands of “klopse” take to the streets in colourful and extravagant attire.
With faces painted, they march through the streets singing and dancing to the ghoema (hand drum) and instruments such as tambourines, trumpets and banjos.
For Barker, the international exposure is validation for a project dear to his heart and an opportunity to share this unique culture.
“This is a huge international festival and the eyeballs on the film will be great exposure for the film and the actors. I’m also excited for the Bo-Kaap community and the minstrels to be seen around the world,” he said.
The film festival runs from September 8 to 18 and attracts more than 400,000 people annually. The Umbrella Men is scheduled for two press and four public screenings.
Credits: Leonie Wagner, Timeslive
