Beat the Drum
Encyclopedia
Beat the Drum, written and produced by W. David McBrayer
and directed by David Hickson, is an award-winning South Africa
n film starring Clive Scott and Owen Sejake.
Premiering at the 2003 Mill Valley Film Festival
, Beat The Drum won 30 international film festival
awards, including the prestigious Montreal Zenith D'Or and the Monaco International Film Festival Angel Award, the festival's top honor. The film also won Best Picture, Best Director (David Hickson), Best Supporting Actor (Owen Sejake), Best Actor (Junior Singo), Best Music (Klaus Badelt and Ramin Djawadi) and several Audience Awards.
McBrayer has said that he wrote Beat The Drum to "help give a voice to the voiceless. I simply wanted to be an honest witness to the plight of these kids. When there is a tear in the human fabric we should all feel it."
, taking along only a drum given to him by his father, for the gritty streets of Johannesburg
in search of work and his uncle. The trip proves to be enlightening for young Musa, who is faced with the culture shock of urban society. Meanwhile, a wealthy lawyer from a privileged family learns he has AIDS, and a truck driver's dangerous sexual proclivities endanger his wife.
heralded the film as “Spectacular," calling it a "handsome well-crafted family drama...naturalistic performances...affecting human drama...first-rate!" Leonard Maltin of Entertainment Tonight
called it, "a film with a big heart and a vital message.” The Hollywood Reporter said, "Audiences were enthralled by this movie." In its on-air interview with director David Hickson and young star Junior Singo (Musa) CNN called the movie, "Profoundly moving and spiritually uplifting."
W. David McBrayer
William David McBrayer is an award-winning American film, television producer, writer and entrepreneur.-Education:McBrayer attended the University of Tennessee...
and directed by David Hickson, is an award-winning South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n film starring Clive Scott and Owen Sejake.
Premiering at the 2003 Mill Valley Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual, non-competitive film festival presented by the California Film Institute. Known as a filmmakers’ festival, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival offers a non-competitive environment for exhibiting independent and world cinema.Founded in 1978 by MVFF...
, Beat The Drum won 30 international film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
awards, including the prestigious Montreal Zenith D'Or and the Monaco International Film Festival Angel Award, the festival's top honor. The film also won Best Picture, Best Director (David Hickson), Best Supporting Actor (Owen Sejake), Best Actor (Junior Singo), Best Music (Klaus Badelt and Ramin Djawadi) and several Audience Awards.
McBrayer has said that he wrote Beat The Drum to "help give a voice to the voiceless. I simply wanted to be an honest witness to the plight of these kids. When there is a tear in the human fabric we should all feel it."
Synopsis
A young South African orphan named Musa (Junior Singo) leaves his AIDS-ravaged village in KwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
, taking along only a drum given to him by his father, for the gritty streets of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in search of work and his uncle. The trip proves to be enlightening for young Musa, who is faced with the culture shock of urban society. Meanwhile, a wealthy lawyer from a privileged family learns he has AIDS, and a truck driver's dangerous sexual proclivities endanger his wife.
Reception
VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
heralded the film as “Spectacular," calling it a "handsome well-crafted family drama...naturalistic performances...affecting human drama...first-rate!" Leonard Maltin of Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
called it, "a film with a big heart and a vital message.” The Hollywood Reporter said, "Audiences were enthralled by this movie." In its on-air interview with director David Hickson and young star Junior Singo (Musa) CNN called the movie, "Profoundly moving and spiritually uplifting."