In a community vibrant with migrants from across the African Continent, against the backdrop of unspoken love, Ayanda and the Mechanic is a coming of age story about a young woman who tries to navigate a path for herself. But this is a world where everything keeps shifting - everything except the one thing that really does need to change. Ayanda and the Mechanic presents a new role model to young girls - on the cusp of adulthood - that allows them to consider new options and possibilities for their own lives. It showcases a successful, young woman, an entrepreneur, who manages to navigate her way through the grease and garages that define a man's world.

Writer/Director: Sara Blecher

Country: South Africa
Company: Real Eyes Productions


2015, South Africa, Feature Drama, 112 min. (LA FilmFest 2015) / 109 min. (Durban 2015), Zulu / Sesotho / English

NOTE OF THE PRORGAMMER (LAFF 2015)
In a vibrant and diverse Johannesburg community, 21-year-old Afro-hipster Ayanda has a knack for taking neglected pieces of furniture and "bringing them back to love." Eight years after her father's death, she is determined to revive his prized garage, which is in deep debt and in danger of being sold. Director Sara Blecher's sophomore work crackles with infectious energy and style, capturing a vividly contemporary view of a South Africa where cooperation trumps xenophobia. This one-of-a-kind film melds gorgeous still-frame montages inspired by the possibilities of a modern African aesthetic and documentary-like techniques to explore its core theme: how do we let go of the things and people we love?
-Steven Jacobson (Los Angeles Film Festival 2015)

Directed by: Sara Blecher
Screenwriter: Trish Malone
Producers: Terry Pheto, Busi Sizani, Robbie Thorpe
Cinematographer: Jonathan Kovel
Editor: Nicholas Costaras
Music: Tiago Correia-Paulo
Cast: Fulu Moguvhani, OC Ukeje, Nthati Moshesh, Kenneth Nkosi, Jafta Mamabolo, Thomas Gumede, Sihle Xaba, Venessa Cooke

in cinemas 28th of August 2015 (South Africa)


2015 | 36th DIFF - Durban FilmFestival, South Africa
* Film d'Ouverture / Opening Night Film
* African Premiere
* Screening / Projection : 16 July 2015, 19:00 pm,
Venue:SUNCOAST SUPERNOVA
http://www.durbanfilmfest.co.za/index.php/films/feature-films/item/322-ayanda-and-the-mechanic.html

2015 | LA FilmFest, Los Angeles, USA | JUne 10-18, 2015
* World Fiction Competition

_____________

DE

Die einundzwanzigjährige "Afro-hipster" Ayanda versucht die Autowerkstatt ihres Vaters vor der Schließung acht Jahre nach seinem Tod zu bewahren. In einer Welt von schmierigen Overalls, Gender Stereotypen und alten Autos, versucht sie, das Geschäft wieder zu beleben. Erinnerungen an ihren Vater und die Realität stellen sie bei ihrem Kampf um einen Platz in einer männerdominierten Welt vor Herausforderungen.

Film von Sara Blecher (South Africa, 2015, 105 min, Engl.)
105' FSK 18 Drama

Eröffnungsfilm des Cinema Africa 2015 (Cinema Africa! 2015 Bayreuth FilmFest- Opening Film)
www.cineplex.de/bayreuth/filmreihe/cinema-africa/1556/