Director
Nosipho Dumisa
Writer
Nosipho Dumisa
Cast
Irshaad Ally, Ephraim Gordon, Luke Jansen, Elton Landrew, Deon Lotz, David Manuel, Monique Rockman, Danny Ross, Sandi Schultz
Producer
Bradley Joshua, Benjamin Overmeyer
Cinematographer
Zenn Van Zyk
Composer
James Matthes
Editor
Simon Beesley
contact
Gambit Films
Official selection
SXSW 2018
'Richly satisfying' this singularly crafted and striking well-made Hitchcockian thriller announces the arrival of a promising filmmaking talent?
Joel Leydon, VARIETY
This is a film you should walk into with as little information possible, and just allow the savagery and intelligence to swallow you whole
Aaron B. Peterson, HOLLYWOOD OUTSIDER
A thrilling example of cinematic storytelling
James Roberts, GLIDE MAGAZINE
Once a small-time gangster, now a broken paraplegic confined to his wheelchair after having been horrifically beaten by dope dealers he tried to hustle, Randal Hendricks (Irshaad Ally) has gotten to know the ins and outs of his block especially well. Equipped with binoculars, he spends much of his time gazing out windows at the happenings around his Cape Town apartment complex. One day, Randal accidentally witnesses the brutal drug-related murder of a sleazy neighbourhood cop. Still owing impossible amounts of money to the gangster who crippled him, Randall rolls the dice and tries to blackmail the killers, hoping to clear debts and protect himself and his increasingly under-threat girlfriend. His plans have never worked out well. Trapped in his apartment with limited mobility and an even more restricted field of view, this one will work out worse than any other.
A slum-set Hitchcockian thriller with street smarts to spare and fistfuls of broken teeth, NUMBER 37 is tough, sophisticated and gripping to the extreme. Writer/director Nosipho Dumisa's blistering feature debut is an exhilaratingly tense experience, revealing a gifted storyteller in full, calculated control. What she's done here is nothing short of the revitalization of noir, exploring themes of fate, ambition and desperation through repurposed conventions that hit hard as thrilling social commentary both regionally specific and universally relatable. Part of an emerging wave of potent and cinematic South African genre works, NUMBER 37 launched at SXSW in March and left audiences gobsmacked. We're sweat-soaked excited to bring the film to Canada, where it and its stunningly talented maker will no doubt be adored. Don't miss this. Mitch Davis
Showings
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