South Africa has selected Muneera Sallies’ drama Old Righteous Blues as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) has announced.
The film is among the final entries revealed for the category, with submissions closing on October 2. To date, over 80 films have been confirmed as contenders.
Set in South Africa’s Western Cape, Old Righteous Blues follows a young man’s mission to reunite a divided community by restoring the once-glorious Old Righteous Blues Christmas Choir Band. The choir, torn apart by a feud started by his father two decades earlier, left the town fractured, with rival bands battling for dominance, leading to violence and broken families.
‘This film delves deep into brotherhood, pain, love, dreams, and courage,’ said Sallies. She was immediately drawn to the project after reading the script and visited the streets of Bo-Dorp Robertson to experience the setting firsthand.
The film is based on an original idea by writer-producer Carol Shore, who was inspired by the Western Cape’s Christmas choir tradition after moving to the region 25 years ago.
The selection was made by the South African Academy Awards Selection Committee after thorough deliberation and scoring. NFVF’s acting CEO, Lebogang Mogoera, praised the film as a reflection of South Africa’s rich storytelling talent, adding that its universal themes of redemption and community would resonate globally.
‘This film is a testament to the exceptional storytelling talent within South Africa. We are honoured to have Old Righteous Blues represent us on such a prestigious global platform, and we believe its universal themes of redemption, community, and overcoming the past will captivate audiences worldwide,’ Mogoera said.
Distributed by Indigenous Film Distribution, the film has already been pre-sold to Afrikaans-language network KykNET. It premiered at the Silwerskerm Film Festival in 2023 and has since screened at the Romford Film Festival in the UK and Panther City Film Festival in Texas, USA.
