South African crime writer Rudie Van Rensburg’s “Piranha” is set to be adapted into a new crime drama series from Strong Studios. Titled “Endangered,” the project is being shopped as a six-episode limited series written by screenwriter Jake Riddell and directed by BAFTA award winner Stuart Urban (“The Mystery of Suzy Lamplugh”).
“Endangered” follows the story of Montgomery Smith, a rich but exiled Englishman who is being pursued for smuggling endangered rhino horn, and also tells the tale of the veteran detective Captain Kassie Kasselman, who’s after him.
“While researching rhino poaching, I became increasingly aware of how serious of a problem it is,” said Van Rensburg in a statement. “It’s a great honour to have such renowned filmmakers helming the production of ‘Endangered,’ and I’m delighted that this issue will be brought to the attention of a wider audience.”
The Van Rensburg tale is set...
“Endangered” follows the story of Montgomery Smith, a rich but exiled Englishman who is being pursued for smuggling endangered rhino horn, and also tells the tale of the veteran detective Captain Kassie Kasselman, who’s after him.
“While researching rhino poaching, I became increasingly aware of how serious of a problem it is,” said Van Rensburg in a statement. “It’s a great honour to have such renowned filmmakers helming the production of ‘Endangered,’ and I’m delighted that this issue will be brought to the attention of a wider audience.”
The Van Rensburg tale is set...
- 9/19/2023
- by Sophia Scorziello
- Variety Film + TV
It’s hard to encapsulate the half-sunny, half-funeral vibe of “Leonor Will Never Die”, a touching end-of-life drama that’s also a loving homage to kitschy Filipino action cinema. Writer-director Martika Ramirez Escobar pays tribute to her title character, a fictional Pinoy genre filmmaker who, at the end of her life, wakes up inside one of her unproduced screenplays.
Escobar’s debut feature frequently shifts between sad, dimly lit conversations with Leonor (Sheila Francisco) and her concerned loved ones, particularly her adult son Rudie (Bong Cabrera), and scenes within “Return of the Owl,” Leonor’s unfinished dream project, which follows the generic adventures of tough guy construction worker Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides).
Some psychedelic transitions, including trippy dream sequences and photo montages, help to establish the slippery nature of Leonor’s subjective reality. A few sequences from “Return of the Owl” also seem credible, but even they ultimately feel monotonous and...
Escobar’s debut feature frequently shifts between sad, dimly lit conversations with Leonor (Sheila Francisco) and her concerned loved ones, particularly her adult son Rudie (Bong Cabrera), and scenes within “Return of the Owl,” Leonor’s unfinished dream project, which follows the generic adventures of tough guy construction worker Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides).
Some psychedelic transitions, including trippy dream sequences and photo montages, help to establish the slippery nature of Leonor’s subjective reality. A few sequences from “Return of the Owl” also seem credible, but even they ultimately feel monotonous and...
- 12/2/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon) and Leonor (Sheila Francisco) in Leonor Will Never Die. Martika Ramirez Escobar: 'The presence of the ghost is inspired by a true story of my own grandma, who would say of her son, who did pass away, that she would sometimes feel his presence in her bed' Photo: Music Box Films The film within a film device is given a playful run over the jumps by Martika Ramirez Escobar in her debut Leonor Will Never Die, where even the ‘normal’ world has a touch of the supernatural. There might be a fear on the part of the viewer that Leonor (Sheila Francisco) won’t make it through the first five minutes of the film, let alone its entirety in what turns out to be a cleverly worked sight gag. She might look like your average gran but Leonor was once a famous action film director. Now,...
- 11/27/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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