Drum (2004 film)
| Drum | |
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 Drum DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Zola Maseko |
| Produced by | Dumisani Dlamini |
| Written by | Jason Filardi |
| Starring | Taye Diggs as Henry Nxumalo
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| Music by | Terence Blanchard Cédric Gradus Samson |
| Cinematography | Lisa Rinzler |
| Editing by | Troy Takaki |
| Distributed by | Armada Pictures International |
| Release date(s) |  September 10, 2004 (Toronto Film Festival) October 30 (London Film Festival) January 2005 (Sundance Film Festival) July 22 |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Country | U.S.A./South Africa |
| Language | English/Afrikaans/German |
| Budget | $3,600 (estimate) |
| IMDb • Allmovie | |
Drum is a 2004 film about a South African journalist named Henry Nxumalo, played by Taye Diggs, who works for Drum magazine. It was director Zola Maseko's first film and deals with the issues of apartheid and the forced removal of residents from Sophiatown. The film was originally to be a six-part television series called Sophiatown Short Stories, though Maseko could not get the funding. For his work with Drum, Maseko received the top prize at FESPACO, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, in addition to a cash prize of 10 million CFA francs (US$20,000) at its closing ceremony in March 2005. He was the first South African to do such.
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The story is set in mid-1950s Sophiatown, a township in Johannesburg that is one of the few areas in South Africa where blacks could own property. Drum begins with sportswriter Henry Nxumalo reporting on a boxing match with Nelson Mandela. Nxumalo works for the Drum magazine. The magazine, despite being financed by whites, had a multiracial staff as was frequently read by blacks. Drum's British editor, Jim Bailey, asks Nxumalo to write on the township crime scene, and Nxumalo, while at first unwilling, finally agrees. While on the job, he encounters a gang leader by the name of Slim.
Nxumalo had known Slim from shebeens, illegal township drinking places. He understands how much crime Sophiatown sees when he witnesses one by Slim. Meanwhile, Nxumalo begins undercover investigations like travelling to a Boer farm. Pretending to be a normal worker, he is treated like a slave and almost dies. He becomes a celebrity when his story is published, further reinforced by getting himself in prison and reporting about its conditions.
Racism and apartheid play a major part in the film, and Nxumalo frequently fights it. However, he is no match to the plan to evict residents and ultimately destroy Sophiatown. Constantly harassed by the government, at the end of the film he is stabbed to death. The attacker has never been identified.
Drum is Zola Maseko's first feature film. He originally wanted to tell Sophiatown's story in a six-part television series called Sophiatown Short Stories. Unsuccessful in convincing the South African Television Company to pursue such a series, he decided to change the medium to that of film.[1] He secured a large amount of his funding by convincing Taye Diggs to fill the lead role.[2]
American screenwriter Jason Filardi was asked to write the script by production company Armada and subsequently "fell in love" with Drum's plotline. In preparation for this task, he read books on Nxumalo and the history of South Africa, and stayed for a month in Johannesburg.[3] Filardi said that his work on the film was his fondest experience with the medium.[4] Filming began in May 2004[5] and lasted for six weeks.[6] On May 29, producer Dumisani Dlamini died after being shot in the head at his home in Johannesburg.[5]
Drum premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2004. It was the lead film in the festival's Spotlight on South Africa program.[6] The Sundance Film Festival picked up the film, airing it on January 20, 2005,[7] as did the Cannes Film Festival in May.[3] On June 21, Drum was screened at the Boston International Film Festival during its first session.[8] The film was also shown at the Munich Filmfest on June 25, being the first film to be so.[9] Wherever it was shown, Drum was mostly met with favorable reviews, with Variety saying that it was "conventional yet compelling in its storytelling."[10] One critical review was by the Arizona Republic, which called the film "well-meaning but static look at apartheid in the 1950s" and didn't think Diggs looked like a South African.[11]
For his work with Drum, Maseko received the top prize at FESPACO, the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, in addition to a cash prize of 10 million CFA francs (US$20,000) at its closing ceremony in March 2005. He was the first South African to do such.[12] In addition, Drum is only the second English language film to have won the Golden Stallion at FESPACO, the first being Kwaw Ansah's Heritage Africa in 1989.[13]
The film premiered in South Africa at the 26th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) on July 17, 2005 where it won the Best South African Film Award. It was released at 29 South African movie theaters on July 22. "Mock celebrations" with placards and toyi toying were held at the Essenwood Fleamarket, The Workshop Fleamarket, Bangladesh Market, Warwick Triangle, and The Stables Fleamarket in KwaZulu-Natal. The production crew held a contest in which South African schoolchildren would have to research a lost community and the winners would get to meet the actors.[14]
Outside film festivals, the first release in the United States was at the Olde Mistick Village theater in Filardi's hometown of Mystic, Connecticut, on December 22, 2006. Despite wide releases in Europe, Drum did not obtain one in the U.S, mostly due to a failure to find distributors. Instead, it went straight to DVD.[4]
- ^ Dembrow, Michael. "DRUM". Portland Community College. Retrieved on 2008-11-16.
- ^ "African filmmakers hailed by US star", The Star (South Africa) (2005-03-03), pp. p. 4. Retrieved on 17 November 2008.
- ^ a b Aberbach, Katie (2005-06-28). "Catching up with Jason Filardi", The New London Day, NewsBank, p. 1D. Retrieved on 2 December 2008.
- ^ a b Dorsey, Kristina (2006-12-05). "Coming Home — Screenwriter Jason Filardi returns to Mystic with his movie", The New London Day, NewsBank, pp. 1D. Retrieved on 3 December 2008.
- ^ a b Makua, Joseph (2004-06-04). "Tributes move Dlamini's family to tears", The Star (South Africa), pp. p. 3. Retrieved on 16 November 2008.
- ^ a b Martin, Sandra. "Capturing jazz-loving Sophiatown", The Globe and Mail, 2004-09-09. Retrieved on 16 November 2008.
- ^ "Drum". Variety. Reed Elsevier Inc. (2008). Retrieved on 2008-12-03.
- ^ Sutherland, Scott (2005-06-16). "Boston International Film Festival", The Boston Globe, NewsBank, pp. 33. Retrieved on 1 December 2008.
- ^ Meza, Ed (2005-06-03). "Munich Filmfest to follow 'Drum' beat", Variety, HighBeam Research, Inc.. Retrieved on 17 November 2008.
- ^ "Drum (Movie Review)", Variety, AccessMyLibrary.com (2004-11-01). Retrieved on 17 November 2008.
- ^ Muller, Bill (2006-10-05). "'Drum'", The Arizona Republic, NewsBank, pp. 23. Retrieved on 26 November 2008.
- ^ Knight, James; Manson, Katrina (2005-03-05). "South African Wins Africa's Top Film Prize", Reuters, The Washington Post. Retrieved on 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Drum wins top African film prize", BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation (2005-03-05). Retrieved on 16 November 2008.
- ^ Naidu, Rivonia (2005-07-21). "Drum to hit SA cinemas", Daily News (South Africa). Retrieved on 17 November 2008.
- Drum at Allmovie
- Drum at the Internet Movie Database
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