Johannesburg – Anton Fischer might have waited decades for success in the film industry, but the writer and co-producer of the first short fiction film about the District Six forced removals has finally been rewarded during a significant year in his life.
“It is a huge achievement to have my first film produced in the year I turn 60 and to have it screened at two international film festivals,” said Fischer.
Fischer explained that the film shot in Cape Town last year, before the arrival of the novel coronavirus but the post-production process was delayed because of the lockdown.
Measures to curb the spread of the virus had an impact on the film reaching audiences as restrictions meant that gathering of more than 50 people were prohibited and that alternative ways of screening Address Unknown had to be assessed.
The movie, which tells the tale of the painful forced removals of thousands of people from the Cape Town inner city during the 1970s by the apartheid regime, has already received rave reviews. This includes former District Six postman Zain Young, whose experiences form the backdrop to the film.
Because the Durban International Film Festival will be held online for the first time as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, from September 10 to September 20, Fisher is cognisant that this will be a completely new experience for cinema-goers and the response will be difficult to predict and to plan for.
