FEATURE FILM

HOTELE LERALLANENG

(HOTEL ON THE KOPPIES)

Two storylines involving young artists in lockdown intersect in this South African drama about creativity, mindfulness and wellbeing. Jabu is an ambitious novelist plagued by demons of addiction, who accepts a place on the jury at a film festival in Johannesburg so he can be closer to his young son. He has been clean for months now, and is working on the side as part of the scriptwriting team for the most popular soap in South Africa. All with the aim of becoming the father he previously failed to be. Roxanne is a filmmaker on the verge of her international breakthrough, struggling with an unplanned pregnancy that cannot be legally terminated.

The coronavirus pandemic means both these creatives suddenly find themselves stuck, right at a critical point in their lives. Director, screenwriter and producer Charlie Vundla, who grew up in Johannesburg, expands this drama into a reflection on this time of relative stagnation, going in search of the most authentic expressions of the deepest feelings and uncertainties.

-IFFR.com