In this parody of an American travel show profiling the sites and attractions of South Africa, the host makes assorted mistakes and shares erroneous information as he makes his way through–or more accurately, bungles about–the country. There’s one scene for example where he inadvertently brushes his sandwich against ancient cave hieroglyphics. In another scene he butchers the pronunciation of a province repeatedly even after being told twice by a local how to properly say it.
A voiceover intervenes with a call to locals–who know the country–to travel about South Africa, “They’re exploring our country. Why don’t you?” An end tag contains the website address and a toll-free number for Kulula, a low cost airline in South Africa.
“American” is one of three travel show takeoffs–the other two spots centering on ill informed hosts of tourist tip programs in Japan and Sweden. Their common bond is that they are all embarrassingly ignorant of South Africa. All three commercials were directed by Anton Visser of Velocity Films, Cape Town and Johannesburg, for agency King James, Cape Town.
The agency ensemble consisted of executive creative director Alastair King, art director Greg Cameron, creative head/copywriter Paige Nick and producer Sam Kelly.
Prenneven Govender produced for Velocity. The DP was Michael Cleary.
Editor was James Hosking of Left Post Production, Cape Town.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More