Lonbraz Kann
{{short description|2014 Mauritian film}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Lonbraz Kann
| image = Lonbraz Kann poster.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = David Constantin
| producer = Fred Eyriey
| screenplay = Sabrina Compeyron
David Constantin
| based_on =
| starring = Danny Bhowaneedin
Raj Bumma
Nalini Aubeeluck
Jean Claude Catheya
Jérôme Boulle
Bernard Li Kwong Ken
| cinematography = Sabine Lancelin
| editing = Morgane Spacagna
| studio = Caméléon Production
Lithops Films
Atopic
| distributor = Invesco
| released = {{Film date|2014|10|2|Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles}}
| runtime = 88 minutes
| country = Mauritius
| language = Mauritian Creole
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Lonbraz Kann (also known as Sugarcane Shadows{{cite journal |last1=Higgins |first1=MaryEllen |date=December 2015 |title=David Constantin, director. Lonbraz Kann (Sugarcane Shadows) |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/603095 |access-date=2 October 2018 |journal=African Studies Review |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=281–283 |doi=10.1017/asr.2015.105 |s2cid=152077890 |via=Project MUSE |url-access=limited }}) is a 2014 Mauritian film directed by David Constantin.
Plot
The story follows the closing of a sugar factory, and how it affects the local residents: the factory workers' houses are destroyed to make space for new up-scale residences, and foreign workers are brought in to help with that construction.
Cast
- Danny Bhowaneedin as Marco
- Nalini Aubeeluck as Devi
- Raj Bumma as Bissoon
Production
The film started in 2006 as a project called Sans Sucre at the Three Continents Festival's "Produire au Sud" workshop in Nantes in France.{{cite web |url=http://www.3continents.com/en/produire-au-sud/archives-pas-a-nantes/ |title=Archives Produire au Sud for Nantes |author= |date=n.d. |website=Festival des 3 Continents |access-date=2 October 2018 }} It participated in the 2010 Francophone Production Forum in Namur Film Festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.fiff.be/archives/2010/7_e_forum_2010 |title=Archives - 7ème Forum de Namur |author= |date=n.d. |website=FIFF Namur |access-date=2 October 2018 }} In 2012, the film was selected to participate in the Open Doors film lab run by the Locarno Festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.locarnofestival.ch/pardo/professionals/locarno-pro/open-doors/Past-editions/2012-Sub-Saharan-Francophone-Africa.html |title=2012 Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa |author= |date=n.d. |website=Locarno Festival |access-date=2 October 2018 }} The production received 93,000 euros from ACPCulture+ and 40,000 euros from the International Organisation of the Francophonie, and the filmmakers made it a priority to hire local crew members and equipment before resorting to bringing in skilled people from Europe.{{cite news |author= |date=13 October 2012 |title=CINÉMA: En avant pour "Lonbraz Kann" |trans-title=Cinema: "Lonbraz Kann" Moving Forward |url=https://www.lemauricien.com/article/cinema-en-avant-lonbraz-kann/ |language=French |work=Le Mauricien |access-date=2 October 2018 }} The film was shot in November and December 2013{{cite web |url=http://eli357.wixsite.com/lonbrazkann/movie |title=Movie |author= |date=n.d. |website=Lonbraz Kann |access-date=2 October 2018 }} at actual construction sites in Mauritius. Constantin cast people with no prior acting experience because he wanted to find local residents who had life experiences that were related to the characters they were playing.{{cite AV media |people=Will Martin |date=8 June 2015 |title=Sugarcane Shadows Director Interview |medium=Youtube video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkJxj-ddnYI |access-date=2 October 2018 |time=02:13 |publisher=Youtube }}
Release
Lonbraz Kann premiered at the Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles in Réunion on October 2, 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.festivalfilmafriqueiles.fr/images/stories/telecharger/programme_2014.pdf |title=Programme FIFAI 2014 |publisher=Festival international du film d'Afrique et des îles |access-date=2 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210103917/http://www.festivalfilmafriqueiles.fr/images/stories/telecharger/programme_2014.pdf |archive-date=10 February 2015}} It also screened at several international festivals, including the Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur, Zanzibar International Film Festival, and Seattle International Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.africine.org/?menu=film&no=14254 |title=Lonbraz Kann |author= |date=n.d. |website=Africiné |access-date=2 October 2018 }}
Reception
The film was awarded Best Screenplay at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival. It also won two awards at the 2015 Africa Movie Academy Awards: Achievement in Cinematography and Achievement in Sound.{{cite news |author= |date=16 October 2018 |title=Tony Elumelu Bags Amaa's Award As Mauritania, Nigeria Win Big |url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A431842165/ITOF?u=philly_free&sid=ITOF&xid=49ff2421 |work=All Africa |access-date=2 October 2018 |via=General OneFile |url-access=subscription }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://eli357.wixsite.com/lonbrazkann Lonbraz Kann - Official Site]
{{Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Cinematography|state=expanded}}
{{Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Sound|state=expanded}}