A Dry White Season
Euzhan Palcy
© Park Circus, Amazon MGM
Johannesburg, 1976. Ben du Toit, an Afrikaner history teacher, leads a peaceful life until the day his black gardener, Gordon, and his young son Jonathan are arrested, tortured and killed in the name of apartheid. The family man that he is then realises the lie he has been living and tries to restore some form of justice.
Cast : Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae, Jürgen Prochnow, Susan Sarandon, Marlon Brando
Scenario : Colin Welland, Euzhan Palcy
Cinematography : Pierre-William Glenn, Kelvin Pike
Editing : Glenn Cunningham, Sam O'Steen
Music : Dave Grusin
Scenario : Colin Welland, Euzhan Palcy
Cinematography : Pierre-William Glenn, Kelvin Pike
Editing : Glenn Cunningham, Sam O'Steen
Music : Dave Grusin
Production : Davros Films, Star Partners II Ltd., Sundance Productions
Distribution : Park Circus
Distribution : Park Circus
For her second feature film after the success of Sugar Cane Alley (1983), Euzhan Palcy adapted a novel by André Brink, published in 1979 and based on real events. A Hollywood production, A Dry White Season was filmed during apartheid in dangerous conditions while Nelson Mandela was still in detention. Impressed by the determination and courage of its director, Marlon Brando agreed to come out of retirement to play the role of the lawyer. Censored in South Africa, A Dry White Season was a critical success. "With my camera, I don’t film. I repair... I modestly try to heal the wounds created by history," explained Euzhan Palcy in 2019, when she was the guest of honour at the Créteil Women’s Film Festival.