Bronté Snell and Shamilla Miller in The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island
At last year's Toronto International Film Festival, one of the highlights was lively South African musical comedy heist film The Umbrella Men, which featured a gang of amateurs led by reluctant musician Jerome (Jacques De Silva) who come up with an elaborate scheme to steal money from a corrupt bank and thereby save their beloved club. Equally lively were the interviews with director John Barkers and stars Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison and Bronté Snell which followed, given that they had never expected to find themselves on the world stage. This year they're back in Toronto with a sequel, The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island - which, as you can imagine, means that the seemingly perfect getaway in the first film turned out to have complications.
This time around, the female characters have moved to the fore,...
At last year's Toronto International Film Festival, one of the highlights was lively South African musical comedy heist film The Umbrella Men, which featured a gang of amateurs led by reluctant musician Jerome (Jacques De Silva) who come up with an elaborate scheme to steal money from a corrupt bank and thereby save their beloved club. Equally lively were the interviews with director John Barkers and stars Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison and Bronté Snell which followed, given that they had never expected to find themselves on the world stage. This year they're back in Toronto with a sequel, The Umbrella Men: Escape From Robben Island - which, as you can imagine, means that the seemingly perfect getaway in the first film turned out to have complications.
This time around, the female characters have moved to the fore,...
- 9/10/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
When South African director John Barker was seven years old, the Johannesburg native experienced Cape Town’s Minstrel Carnival for the first time. The annual celebration, which is rooted in the traditions of slaves dating back to the early years of colonial rule, is a colorful, raucous pageant unique to the Mother City — an event that Barker would later spend 14 years bringing to the big screen.
“The Umbrella Men” finally premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival, 16 years after Barker’s 2006 debut, “Bunny Chow,” debuted at the prestigious North American fest. Barker’s fifth feature was the closing film this week at the Joburg Film Festival, which wrapped Feb. 5 in the South African city.
“The Umbrella Men” is set in the Bo-Kaap, a formerly segregated Cape Town neighborhood that’s home to the city’s Cape Malay community, where the hip-hop producer Jerome Adams (Jaques de Silva) has returned...
“The Umbrella Men” finally premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival, 16 years after Barker’s 2006 debut, “Bunny Chow,” debuted at the prestigious North American fest. Barker’s fifth feature was the closing film this week at the Joburg Film Festival, which wrapped Feb. 5 in the South African city.
“The Umbrella Men” is set in the Bo-Kaap, a formerly segregated Cape Town neighborhood that’s home to the city’s Cape Malay community, where the hip-hop producer Jerome Adams (Jaques de Silva) has returned...
- 2/6/2023
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Jaques De Silva in The Umbrella Men
John Barker's music-filled heist comedy thriller The Umbrella Men was one of the most entertaining film s to screen at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, and if you've read the first part of my interview with director John Bsrker and stars Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison and Bronté Snell, you'll have noticed that it seems like it was just as much fun to make. In the second half of our conversation, we discussed favourite moments, the importance of getting the chemistry right, and the excitement of hitting the festival circuit.
I mention a line in the film about the importance of not basing a heist on what you’ve seen in recent films.
“Yeah, I mean, we had to use that,” says John. “And also, because the heist is such a popular genre and there are so many films,...
John Barker's music-filled heist comedy thriller The Umbrella Men was one of the most entertaining film s to screen at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, and if you've read the first part of my interview with director John Bsrker and stars Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenan Arrison and Bronté Snell, you'll have noticed that it seems like it was just as much fun to make. In the second half of our conversation, we discussed favourite moments, the importance of getting the chemistry right, and the excitement of hitting the festival circuit.
I mention a line in the film about the importance of not basing a heist on what you’ve seen in recent films.
“Yeah, I mean, we had to use that,” says John. “And also, because the heist is such a popular genre and there are so many films,...
- 9/23/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Bronté Snell, Rob van Vuuren, Joey Rasdien, Jaques De Silva and Keenan Arrison in The Umbrella Men
One of the most enjoyable heist movies to reach the screen in recent years, Toronto International Film Festival hit The Umbrella Men follows a group of musicians who decide to rob a bank in order to save their beloved nightclub and community hub, covering up the activities, covering up their activities with Capetown’s annual Minstrel Carnival. It’s a wildly entertaining ride, and very much in keeping with the character of the team behind it, director John Barker and lead actors Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenean Arrison and Bronté Snell, all of whom were in high spirits when we got together for an interview, despite a long day packed with promotional work. John kicked off the discussion, talking about how the project began.
“I've made a slice of life film and it did really well,...
One of the most enjoyable heist movies to reach the screen in recent years, Toronto International Film Festival hit The Umbrella Men follows a group of musicians who decide to rob a bank in order to save their beloved nightclub and community hub, covering up the activities, covering up their activities with Capetown’s annual Minstrel Carnival. It’s a wildly entertaining ride, and very much in keeping with the character of the team behind it, director John Barker and lead actors Jaques De Silva, Shamilla Miller, Keenean Arrison and Bronté Snell, all of whom were in high spirits when we got together for an interview, despite a long day packed with promotional work. John kicked off the discussion, talking about how the project began.
“I've made a slice of life film and it did really well,...
- 9/18/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Everybody loves a good heist movie, but they’re astoundingly difficult to do well. The plotting has to be efficient and precise. The characters have to be engaging, the chemistry between them just right. The script needs to convince in positioning them as the good guys and the banks, or its wealthy customers, as the enemy. As a consequence, there are relatively few which really satisfy. Screened as part of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, The Umbrella Men is a welcome addition to their number.
Its title comes from a group famed for their musical performances in an annual Cape Town carnival – a group within which Gershwin Adams was once a leading light. The story proper begins at his funeral, where his son Jerome (Jaques De Silva), who now lives in Johannesberg and plans to return there as soon as possible, is pressured to take up his legacy. He’s.
Its title comes from a group famed for their musical performances in an annual Cape Town carnival – a group within which Gershwin Adams was once a leading light. The story proper begins at his funeral, where his son Jerome (Jaques De Silva), who now lives in Johannesberg and plans to return there as soon as possible, is pressured to take up his legacy. He’s.
- 9/10/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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