Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story

Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story is a South African drama film, directed by Daryne Joshua. Based on true events, the film tells a story of the damaged relationship between a woman and her son, who is addicted to drug abuse. It also narrates the itenary of events that led to the murder of her son, as well as the legal process that followed afterwards.[1] It received multiple nominations at the 15th Africa Movie Academy Awards.

Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story
Film poster
Directed byDaryne Joshua
Written byAmy Jephta
Starring
Release date
  • September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)
Running time
123 minutes
CountrySouth Africa
LanguageAfrikaans

Cast

Production

Director of the film, Daryne Joshua stated that he didn't want to accept the role considering the sensitivity of the story. But after a personal encounter with Ellen Pakkies (the real person whom the title character was based), he decided to go ahead with the project.[2]

Release

The film was released in South Africa on September 7, 2018.[3]

Reception

Critical reception

In its review, Peter Feldman for The Citizen praised the lead characters, as well as the script and production. Describing it as one of South Africa's best films in recent times, it got a 4/5 overall rating.[4] Likewise, DRM.am gave it a four star, with much of its praise going for the underlying message in the film. It stated, the film "...is a constant reminder how easy it is to judge somebody without really knowing the reasons behind the facts."[5] Giles Grifin for Life Righting Collective recounted from the theme of the film how the society have failed to adequately protect persons living with addicts or even the addict themselves.[3] Daily Maverick suggested that the execution of the film was so special that it should be celebrated even outside of South Africa.[6] It received a 8/10 excellent rating from Spling Movies, who applauded the "soundtrack, raw honesty and confessional drama" of the film. It also got acclaim for the social responsibility message, and was recommended as a model for other movies.[7]

Accolades

The film was screened at Rotterdam international Film Festival, as well as Seattle International Film Festival.[2] It won three awards including category for best actress, best actor and best scriptwriter at kykNET Silwerskerm Festival.[8]

References
  1. "South Africa: Ellen Pakkies Was 'Desperate'". allAfrica. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  2. Dordley, Lucinda (2018-06-25). "Ellen Pakkies movie makes international waves". Cape Town etc. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  3. Grifin, Giles (2018-10-01). "Film review: The Ellen Pakkies Story".
  4. Feldman, Peter (2018-09-07). "Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story review AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to Facebook Share to TwitterShare to WhatsAppShare to Email". The Citizen. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  5. "Review: The Story Of Ellen Pakkies". Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  6. Spector, JBrooks (2018-09-27). "A cinematic event that deserves wide audiences in South Africa and abroad". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  7. "Movie Review: Ellen – The Ellen Pakkies Story". Spling Movies. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  8. "'Ellen, The Ellen Pakkies the Story': A tragic tale of the awful cycle of abuse". Independent Online (South Africa). Retrieved 2020-10-13.
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