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FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES

MENOANA E MEHLANO EA MARSEILLES

By Michael MATTHEWS

NATIONAL FILM & VIDEO FOUNDATION OF SOUTH AFRICA (NFVF) - as FIN / PROMO

Western - Completed 2017

Twenty years ago, the young ‘Five Fingers’ fought for the rural
town of Marseilles, against brutal police oppression. Now, after
fleeing in disgrace, freedom-fighter-turned-‘outlaw’ Tau returns
to Marseilles, seeking only a peaceful pastoral life. When he finds
the town under new threat, he

- Year of production
- 2017
- Genres
- Western
- Countries
- SOUTH AFRICA
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Budget
- N/A
- Director(s)
- Michael MATTHEWS
- Writer(s)
- Sean DRUMMOND
- Producer(s)
- Asger HUSSAIN, Dylan VOOGT, Yaron SCHWARTZMAN
- Synopsis
- Twenty years after fleeing from the brutal police aggression in colonial Marseilles, a member of the Five Fingers returns seeking peace, but with the town under new threat, he must reluctantly fight to free it, in this thriller from South African filmmaker Michael Matthews.
  
  Near the colonial town of Marseilles in the rugged Eastern Cape of South Africa, a group of rebellious friends dubbed the Five Fingers use well-placed eggs and slingshots to drive off the oppressive police force. But when the cops seize quick-tempered Tau's childhood love, Lerato, he goes from throwing eggs to shooting bullets. Scared of capture or worse, Tau flees, returning 20 years later to a town, and friends, transformed by the violence caused that day. With the crooked cops now replaced by a caustic gang, Tau must marshal what remains of the Fingers to once again defend their home.
  
  Steeped in the tradition of the western, Five Fingers for Marseilles subverts the genre by placing the story within the Indigenous community, with the settlers and the divisions brought on by colonialism shown to be the enemy.
  
  Gorgeously captured by director of photography Shaun Harley Lee and stylishly helmed by Michael Matthews, the film honours its cinematic forebears while exploring new territory. Following years of consultation with the local community, Five Fingers represents a new style of film production for South Africa while emerging as one of the best westerns of the year and one of 2017's most compelling debut features.