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‘Old Righteous Blues’ Hits Right Notes in Portrayal of Fractured Cape Malay Community Coming Together
Muneera Sallies' portrait of Christmas choir bands in South Africa's Cape Malay community shows a town rallying together to heal wounds of the past.
It stars Ayden Croy as Hantjie Jansen, an ambitious young musician with a lifelong dream to restore his town’s Christmas choir band, the Old Righteous Blues, to the glory it had before a bloody leadership battle split it — and the community it once held together — apart. The film’s version of events begins with a vicious struggle for the reins of the titular kerskoor, dividing the town into no-go zones as opposing families split into enemy camps. Some locals were hired to work on set as technicians and personal assistants, while others provided security and catering and ensured that the production didn’t require “a single outside background actor.”
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