With an increase in school drop-outs and unemployment in Humansdorp, local film production company, Galaxy Castings, will release their debut film Kruisfontein – Daar’s ’n slang in die gras, which will provide young people in the Kouga region with a platform to showcase their talents.
Pastor Marshall Geswint, a youth developer with a long history of identifying talent and introducing young people to the business aspect of film production, said many of the unemployed youth have dropped out of school because of a variety of socio-economic challenges.
As a result, he said that they often see young people roam around the streets of Kouga with not much to do, and instead are involved in criminal activity, substance abuse, and have had conflict with the law.
To address the many diverse challenges that young people face, Geswint said Galaxy Castings had been established six years ago, but was reinvented last year when a partnership was formed with him as the assistant producer and administrator, alongside his strong team of community leaders, including, professional actor, Denzil Booysen, AFDA graduate, and cinematography expert, Llewellyn Breda.
“With our skills and leadership capacity, we have joined forces for the purpose of establishing a filming hub within the region of the Eastern Cape and beyond,” said Geswint.
He said that Galaxy Castings creates opportunities for young unemployed people, by offering them an opportunity to join and showcase their talents on their new short film, Kruisfontein – Daar’s ’n slang in die gras.
“Galaxy Castings is on a mission to address many of these diverse challenges young people face, by using creative art through the lens of a camera. We strongly believe that our film production company can contribute tremendously to helping create sustainable filmmaking projects within our region while training and developing actors, scriptwriters, and young people in the field of production,” said Geswint.
He said that they have a few unemployed young people helping on set, and their short-term goal is to identify five learners from Humansdorp Secondary School who will be given the opportunity to assist on set as well.
“We are currently in discussion with the Humansdorp Secondary School’s School Governing Body in the hope that a few of their learners can join our team,” said Geswint.
He said that Kruisfontein – Daar’s ’n slang in die gras is currently in production and is expected to be released in December this year.
The film, an action and thriller feature, focuses on the life of a retired soldier who lost his friend in the war.
When the retired soldier returns home, he focuses all his attention on his new farm which he has named Kruisfontein, while not forgetting about the commitment he has made to take care of his late friend’s family in his absence.
“The main actor has a great vision to develop the farm, so he works very hard. He is also determined to remain dedicated to his late friend by taking care of his family,” said Geswint.
Unfortunately, despite his efforts, intruders invade his farm through greed, hatred, and deception, and the situation on the farm becomes very challenging.
Geswint said that the viewer will be surprised to learn who the intruder is, as this person is loved and respected by the entire community.
To put the Kouga region in the spotlight, he said that they have identified about six to seven locations where they plan to film which include Jeffreys Bay, Kruisfontein, and various farming areas throughout the Kouga region.
Geswint said that they are currently in communication with Showmax, Netflix, and various other streaming platforms where they plan to showcase the film. With their first film in progress, Geswint said that he is hoping to receive donations of food for their actors, film gear, and financial support to cover travel expenses.
“Over the next three years we plan to build a platform for creative arts in the Kouga region, by filming a documentary, an eight-week series, and our very own telenovela,” said Geswint.
For more information visit the Kruisfontein Feature Film Facebook page or email trailblazersafricanpo@gmail.com.
