The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) has selected the multi-award-winning MultiChoice film Barakat as South Africa’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 94th Academy Awards® in 2022.
This makes Amy Jephta the fourth female director to be submitted to the Oscars® by South Africa, and the first woman of color.
Barakat follows Muslim widow Aisha Davids as she tries to bring together her fractured family over Eid-al-Fitr to break the news about her new romance.
South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) nominee Vinette Ebrahim (Skemerdans) stars as the aging matriarch, while her four sons, still struggling to come to terms with the death of their father two years earlier, are played by Joey Rasdien (Material), Mortimer Williams (Erfsondes), Keeno-Lee Hector (The Riviera) and Danny Ross (Number 37).
The cast also includes SAFTA winners Quanita Adams (Forgiveness) and June van Merch (Sara se Geheim) as well as SAFTA nominees Bonnie Mbuli (Noughts & Crosses, Catch a Fire) and Leslie Fong (Isidingo).
Barakat is told in Afrikaaps, the widely spoken Cape dialect of the Afrikaans language. The first Afrikaaps dictionary is currently in development, after being announced earlier this year.
Take a look at the trailer right here :
You can Stream Barakat here now or watch it on kykNET on 18 December 2021 at 20:00.
