Wikipedia
Renowned South African movie-maker Anant Singh says the emergence of Hollywood star Sidney Poitier “out of colonial Bahamas to become a superstar” had inspired him as a South African living under apartheid to pursue his own ambitions in the film industry.
Singh paid tribute to Poitier who has died at the age of 94.
In a message of condolence, Singh said that Poitier visited South Africa in 1956 to star in the first film adaptation of ‘Cry, the Beloved Country, a film that he later re-made.
“While in South Africa, he experienced apartheid first-hand. Sidney was a trailblazer and his choice of films were hugely inspiring to me and others living in oppressed societies around the world,” he said.
Singh said after making his first film, ‘Place of Weeping’ in 1986, he “cold-called” Poitier and introduced himself where the movie star invited him over for a visit while he was in Los Angeles.
“He invited me to lunch at his home in Beverly Hills, just the two of us! Here I was, an anonymous filmmaker from South Africa lunching with my hero, the great Sidney Poitier!
This was the start of a relationship of more than four decades. I am fortunate to have had him as a mentor and friend.”
The Bahamian-American star was famous for his roles in among others, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, In the Heat of the Night, and Lilies of the Field, for which he became the first Black man to win a Best Actor Oscar.
