US premiere for The Number at Pan African Film Festival

Khalo Matabane’s ‘The Number’.

The Number, directed by Matabane, will have its United States premiere at the prestigious Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles on Saturday, 10 February.  Established over 25 years ago, PAFF is dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding among peoples of African descent.

Khalo Matabane said, “The selection of The Number by the Pan African Film Festival is recognition of the importance and relevance of our South African story to people of African descent and the African diaspora at large. We look forward to sharing this unique story at PAFF.”

The Number is the extraordinary tale of the nigh-impossible redemption of high-ranking Magadien, a ‘Magistrate’ of the 28’s, one of the notorious Numbers prison gangs. It charts his journey as a man who finds his humanity –  from being a hardened prisoner, loyal to his gang, to him turning his back on them and the criminal way of life; to choosing his family and building a relationship with his son.

The Number received acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival where it had its World Premiere in September last year.

The film was shot in Durban, KwaZulu Natal and features 35 ex-offenders from Kwa Mashu and Wentworth who gave incredible performances, giving a strong authenticity to the world of the story,

The film has been licensed to the United States, Japan and other territories, and it will be presented to buyers at the Berlin International Film Festival next month and it will be released in South Africa later this year.

The Number is a Born Free Media presentation in association with Videovision Entertainment, Distant Horizon, The KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission of South Africa, The National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, The Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, World Cinema Fund, Gebrueber Beetz Filmproduktion, Tiktak Productions, Agenc Film Reunion and The Gauteng Film Commission.

The film stars Mothusi Magano, Kevin Smith, Lemogang Tsipa, Warren Masemola, Deon Lotz, Presley Chweneyagae and Charlton George.  It is edited by Megan Gill, Ronelle Loots and Nick Costaras with music by Philip Miller, production Design by Willie Botha and costume design by Ruy Filipe. Casting directors are Moonyeenn Lee and Khalo Matabane and the director of photography is Dewald Aukema.

It is executive produced by Anant Singh, Robert Naidoo, Sanjeev Singh, Tsholo Mashile and produced by Carolyn Carew and Khalo Matabane.  The Number is based on the book by Jonny Steinberg with the screenplay by Paul Ian Johnson and directed by Khalo Matabane.