While You Weren't Looking

While You Weren't Looking is a 2015 South African drama film directed by Catherine Stewart. The film examines the struggles experienced by lesbians living in suburban South Africa compared to those living in townships.

While You Weren't Looking
Film poster
Directed byCatherine Stewart
CinematographyAmelia Henning
Production
company
Out in Africa
Release date
  • 28 October 2015 (2015-10-28)
Running time
104 minutes
CountrySouth Africa
Language
  • English
  • Xhosa
  • Afrikaans
BudgetZAR 8,000,000

Plot synopsis

20 years after the end of apartheid, Dez and Terri are a mixed-race lesbian couple living in one of the most affluent suburbs of Cape Town. Their adopted daughter, Asanda, who is 18, is of mixed racial heritage. Dez and Terri are being torn apart by their marital insecurities, while also facing social pressure to "be normal" and "fit in", in spite of the wide range of LGBT rights guaranteed by the post-apartheid regime. Asanda, is caught up in exploring her own sexuality, wavering between her boyfriend Greg, and queer "Tommy boy" Shado. The family housekeeper, who is from the same township as Shado, makes it clear that she is unwelcome in the upper-class neighborhood. Conversely, Asanda's first visit to the township makes her feel she isn't "black enough". The developing relationship between Asanda and Shado forces Dez and Terri to confront their own prejudices.[1][2][3]

The film includes various takes on race and gender politics, from the personal stories of the protagonists, to the passionate voice of a university lecturer, to the images projected in the film. Subplots bring the suburban lesbians' lives into harsh contrast with the lives of queer women in the township.[1]

Cast
  • Camilla Waldman – Terri
  • Sandi Schultz – Dez
  • Fezile Mpela – Joe Thulo
  • Lionel Newton – Mack
  • Petronella Tshuma – Asanda
  • Thishiwe Ziqubu – Shado
  • Tina Jaxa – Milly Thulo
  • Jill Levenberg – Yasmin
  • Terence Bridgett – Tiny
  • Pascual Wakefield – Greg

Production

The film was shot in and around Cape Town over 24 days, and is an Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival production.[4] The film received funding by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and additional support from the Department of Trade and Industry, as well as a small grant from The Other Foundation.[3]

Release

The film's international premiere took place at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on 2 May 2015, and the South African premiere was at the Durban International Film Festival on 20 July of the same year.[5] The original cut of the film is 104 minutes, but a shortened version of 74 minutes was also released.

The film was an official selection of multiple international film festivals, including:

Reception

Online magazine Spling! gave the film a "satisfactory" 6 out of 10 stars, positively citing the strong local talent, the incorporation of local music and art, and the beautiful photography. The review also opined that the theme of LGBTQ acceptance, as expounded upon by the academic lecture featured in the film, is too disconnected from the narrative itself, and also that each subplot was complex enough to warrant a vehicle of its own.[1] The Back Row's review was harsher regarding the same issues, quoting "lovelorn gay lecturer Mack"'s cry that "If you can ‘queer’ gender, you can ‘queer’ anything" as the noble thesis of the film, calling for broadmindedness and acceptance for South Africa to move forward, but then condemns it as failing to match its vision with artistry, instead featuring clumsy dialogue and artificial performances.[11]

Sharon Calingasan's FilmDoo review, on the other hand, found the film "compelling" and lauded it for taking on the larger issues of the LGBTQ community in South Africa, while celebrating "individuality and humanity in its truest sense."[12] The GLIFF review of the film found the approach to dealing with LGBT, class and racial relations deft and sensitive, and reviewer Don Simpson felt that the "interjections from a queer theory class provides While You Weren’t Looking with an intellectualism that cleverly compliments and comments upon the narrative."[13]

Awards
YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)Result
2015[14]Pink AppleAudience Award – Best Feature FilmCatherine Stewart (director)
Nodi Murphy (producer)
Warren Gray (production designer)		Won
Queer Film Festival BremenAudience Award – Best Feature FilmCatherine StewartWon
Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film FestivalBest Narrative Feature FilmCatherine StewartWon
Long Beach Qfilm festivalBest DirectorCatherine StewartWon
2016[15]South African Film and Television AwardsSAFTA Golden Horn for Best Achievement in Production Design – Feature FilmWarren GrayNominated
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References
  1. "Movie Review While You Weren't Looking – Movie Reviews Trailers – SPLING | Movie Critic | Movie Reviews | Film News | Celeb Interviews". www.spling.co.za. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  2. Barquin, Juan Antonio (2 April 2015). "Most Anticipated Films at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 2015". Miami New Times. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  3. "While You Weren't Looking | Berlin Feminist Film Week". berlinfeministfilmweek.com. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. "While You Weren't Looking this local LGBTQI movie was winning awards". theplumlist.com. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  5. "Durban International Film Festival – WHILE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING". durbanfilmfest.co.za. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  6. joshl. "WHILE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING". 2015 Damn These Heels LGBT Film Festival. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  7. "while you weren't looking". Amy Jephta. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  8. "While You Weren't Looking – 2015 Outfest". outfest.org. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  9. "While You Weren't Looking". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  10. "While You Weren't Looking | Palm Springs International Film Festival". www.psfilmfest.org. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  11. "The Back Row: Out In Africa". The Back Row. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  12. "REVIEW: WHILE YOU WEREN'T LOOKING (2015)". filmdoo.com/ (in Japanese). 2 October 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  13. "While You Weren't Looking | aGLIFF Review". Smells Like Screen Spirit. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  14. Contributor (2 January 2016). "SA feature "While You Weren't Looking' travels the world". Screen Africa. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  15. "While you weren't Looking". Rae Donnelly. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
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