TWU sweeps SAFTAS

VEELS GELUK, MABROOK and CONGRATULATIONS to our dear friends and filmmakers, Shamim Sarif and Hanan Kattan for the 11 awards they won at the SAFTAs this year for THE WORLD UNSEEN.

The SAFTAs are the local version of the Oscars where South Africa promotes the best in film and television. Cast and crew and everyone who made The World Unseen possible are surely flying high today.

The World Unseen wins for:

Best Director Feature Film (Shamim Sarif)
Best Writer Feature Film
Best Editor Feature Film
Best Supporting Actor (Daniel Dennis)
Best Supporting Actress (Natalie Becker)
Best Ensemble (Acting)
Best Cinematographer (Michael Downie)
Best Production Designer (Tanya Van Tonder)
Best Costume Designer (Danielle Knox)
Best Sound Design
Best Hair & Make Up

On her way to Cape Town, Shamim was kind enough to provide some thoughts about the film's much deserved wins. "Winning these in South Africa is extra special for me because of my family’s history here, which formed the backdrop of The World Unseen. The book and the movie are about passion and integrity and I was privileged to work with a cast and crew who embodied those qualities themselves. Starting with my wife, the producer of this movie and the reason we were all able to get those awards – Hanan. She flew out to be with me for that one night. And had I been able to receive the award in trousers and flats instead of a dress and heels, my joy would have been complete..."

If you are like Gabriella and me then you are incredibly clever and astonishingly beautiful. Um, no, that’s not what I meant to say…out loud. If you are like us, you are inspired by Hanan and Shamim, and you can’t get enough of them. If you are on Facebook, you can join groups for either or both The World Unseen and I Can’t Think Straight. Shamim has also started writing a behind-the-scenes-of-her-life blog.

You can buy books and cds here (over there to the right) and dvds are due to be released this spring at which time they will be available here, as well. In the meantime, you can check out the making of the music video, Broken written and sung by Leonie Casanova.



If you want more than that, you’ll have to audition for their next film. I do believe that Shamim’s novel Despite the Falling Snow will be under production soon. In the words of our prolific friend and godmother to our children, they’re “hot like fire!”