A BAFTA-nominated queer film is revving up for a U.S. release.
According to Deadline, South African drama Moffie is set to release in some U.S. theaters and on digital through IFC Films on April 9. Ahead of that reels, IFC has dropped a new trailer.
Moffie follows a young closeted man named Nicholas Van der Swart (played by Kai Luke Brummer). Audiences watch Nicholas struggle as he serves his mandatory military service during Apartheid in 1980s South Africa. Surrounding this coming-of-age story is the militaristic, social, and racial grief that overtook the country during the time. That strife is matched by Nicholas’ difficulty after making a connection with a fellow recruit (played by Ryan de Villiers).
The film, written and directed by Oliver Hermanus, is an adaption of André-Carl van der Merwe’s memoir of the same name. Both film and novel explore and expose the effects of institutionalized homophobia, and the very title is a tribute to that. You see, “moffie” is a local derogatory term for homosexual.
While this will be Moffie’s U.S. release, the film has already been celebrated on the indie film market. The movie premiered in Venice Film Festival’s Horizon’s section in 2019. It then made the rounds at the London Film Festival and received three British Independent Film Awards nominations. Then earlier this week, producer/co-writer Jack Sidney was nominated for a BAFTA.
Again, check out the trailer to see if the film sounds interesting to you. You can then watch the movie in select theaters or online on April 9.
Source: Deadline,
