Anant Singh on removal of film from Durban Film Festival line-up
Anant Singh is crying foul over the treatment of a film he's produced by the management of the Durban International Film Festival.
In a statement released by his company today it was announced that the apartheid-era film Shepards And Butchers, directed by Oliver Schmitz, has been withdrawn from the festival due to a disagreement over screening times.
Singh says they had requested the film to scheduled between 7 - 8 pm but festival organisers could only give them the 6pm time slot.
He feels the film, which is a true story and based a book written by Durban advocate, Chris Marnewick and also shot in Durban was given low regard by officials at the Durban Film Office.
"Next week we are going to be premiering in a very prolific spot in the Sydney Film Festival. Two days later we're in Shangai then we're in London. The world festivals are embracing the film and here we are in our own town with the insults of the process and how this film has been treated - it's very sad," he said.
Acting Festival Director, Peter Machen says any rescheduling would have affected other film offerings.
"We did everything we could to accommodate them. There are nearly 200 films on the programme and we need to respect all of the films. It's certainly a very important film - it's a Durban film in the sense that Anant produced it.
"For me, it's a very important South African film. We couldn't have done anything more to accommodate them. There were no other time or place where we could screen the film," he said.