Eternity (2010 South African film)
Encyclopedia
Eternity is a South African horror film which tells the story of a clash between vampires over the use of a serum
that would allow them to walk in the daylight. The film was directed by Christopher Lee dos Santos, written by Anton Ernst and Wolfgang Muller, and stars Hlomla Dandala
, Ian Roberts
, David James
, and Andre Frauenstein.
, Dos Santos agreed to direct the film after the first director bowed out for personal reasons, only 14 days before filming began. He states, "I wanted to make it known to the Producer of the film, I was interested for one reason and one reason alone... The money."
Dos Santos also commented regarding the short timeframe, "David James for example, I only met 2 days before principal photography ... He had created this whole character that he was briefed on from the original director and of course himself, and suddenly this young dude (yours truly) comes in 2 days before shoot and tries to cock it up... Ha ha... Man, what a ride. But seriously, David James did a great job working with me and allowing me to mess up his six months of prep ..."
in various nightclubs in Johannesburg, and Brest continues to work as a drummer for the all-girl band Chix With Stix. Frauenstein stated that he slept during the day and did not see the sun for three months in order to prepare for the role.
Nightclub owner Lolly Jackson was scheduled to appear in the movie but was murdered before filming began.
and in an abandoned power plant. The movie incorporated the use of parkour
throughout.
Serum
Serum may refer to:*Blood serum, a component of blood which is collected after coagulation.**Antiserum, blood serum with specific antibodies for passive immunity*Serous fluid, any clear bodily fluid*any drug derived from an animal's blood or serous fluid...
that would allow them to walk in the daylight. The film was directed by Christopher Lee dos Santos, written by Anton Ernst and Wolfgang Muller, and stars Hlomla Dandala
Hlomla Dandala
Hlomla Dandala is a South African actor, television presenter and director. He is best known for his roles as Derek Nyathi in Isidingo , title character Jacob Makhubu in Jacob's Cross , and host of All You Need Is Love from 2002-2003.Hlomla is the son of Mvume Dandala and has a sister Gqibelo...
, Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts (South African actor)
Ian Roberts is a South African actor, playwright and singer. A native English speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans and Xhosa.-Early life:...
, David James
David James (South African actor)
David James is a South African film, theater, and television actor known mainly for playing the villainous Koobus Venter in the 2009 Oscar-nominated science fiction film District 9.- Personal life :...
, and Andre Frauenstein.
Plot
The movie begins with a scientist, Tevis Shapiro (Ian Roberts), working on a treatment for HIV/AIDS using vampires as test subjects who, in the process, accidentally discovers a serum that would allow vampires to exist in the daylight. This causes a clash between vampire clans; those who would resist its use in favor of tradition and those who are eager to use the serum for freedom to live in the light and to permanently defeat humans, most specifically vicious vampire Borlak (David James). When Shapiro goes missing, Borlak kills the man's wife and threatens his daughter Jenny (Rikki Brest), who is rescued by her new love, young vampire Billy (Andre Frauenstein) whom she has coincidentally just met in a local nightclub. Borlak is then joined by Billy's ex-girlfriend Lisa (Christina Storm) who is hoping to sabotage Billy's new relationship. Billy joins forces with police officer and vampire hunter Joe Kau (Hlomla Dandala) to defeat Borlak and destroy the serum, but not before Jenny is killed during their final confrontation. In the end, Billy allows Kau to kill him as well in order to reunite with his lost love.Cast
- Hlomla Dandala as Joe Kau: A police detective with a belief in vampires that is dismissed and ridiculed by his peers.
- David James as Borlak: A violent, rebellious and ambitious vampire that wants to "claim the rights of the Johannesburg clans" and walk in the daylight so as to defeat humans.
- Andre Frauenstein as Billy: A "handsome, sensitive" young vampire that expresses loneliness while still enjoying the nightlife of Johannesburg, and who finally finds true love in human girl Jenny.
- Christina Storm as Lisa: Billy's ex-girlfriend that tries to restart their relationship, and who then subsequently joins forces with Borlak in order to sabotage Billy's new love.
- Ian Roberts as Tevis Shapiro: A doctor researching a treatment for HIV/AIDS who creates a serum that would allow vampires to walk in the daylight.
- Rikki Brest as Jenny: The daughter of Doctor Shapiro.
Production and distribution
The script was written by Anton Ernst and Wolfgang Muller; Ernst also produced the film. The movie was directed by Christopher-Lee dos Santos. Christopher Grant Harvey acted as Director of Photography and as post-production editor. The film was distributed by Indigenuous Film Distribution to theaters in December 2010 and was released to DVD in February 2011.Direction
According to his own production blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, Dos Santos agreed to direct the film after the first director bowed out for personal reasons, only 14 days before filming began. He states, "I wanted to make it known to the Producer of the film, I was interested for one reason and one reason alone... The money."
Dos Santos also commented regarding the short timeframe, "David James for example, I only met 2 days before principal photography ... He had created this whole character that he was briefed on from the original director and of course himself, and suddenly this young dude (yours truly) comes in 2 days before shoot and tries to cock it up... Ha ha... Man, what a ride. But seriously, David James did a great job working with me and allowing me to mess up his six months of prep ..."
Casting
Eternity was the first feature film for both Andre Frauenstein and Rikki Brest. Frauenstein had previously worked as a deejayDeejay
A deejay is a reggae or dancehall musician who sings and toasts to an instrumental riddim .Deejays are not to be confused with disc jockeys from other music genres like hip-hop, where they select and play music. Dancehall/reggae DJs who select riddims to play are called selectors...
in various nightclubs in Johannesburg, and Brest continues to work as a drummer for the all-girl band Chix With Stix. Frauenstein stated that he slept during the day and did not see the sun for three months in order to prepare for the role.
Nightclub owner Lolly Jackson was scheduled to appear in the movie but was murdered before filming began.
Filming
The majority of the filming took place in May and June 2009, in the inner city of SowetoSoweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
and in an abandoned power plant. The movie incorporated the use of parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
throughout.