Bird Boy: a South African story lands in.... Fleetwood | First Takes at CineWyre

SYNOPSIS: August, a troubled young orphan, finds an abandoned ostrich egg and raises a giant, bird-brained best friend. When his ostrich is taken away, August risks everything to get him back.

On the topic of feature films - the third and final one on the CineWyre selection has just screened, and while this review has been written WELL in advance (the joys of time travel, eh!) it's not often you get a film from an exec producer of Paddington and Spy Kids landing in Fleetwood's Marine Hall - especially one with such a South African flair to it. Bird Boy was a rare submission in these festivals, as making a family friendly film full stop is easier said than done in the current production landscape.

Joel Soisson does a good job at the helm of this 1 hour 18 minute family friendly piece - not too long to bore audiences, and not too short either, it feels like the optimal length for a feature of this ilk with enough pace to keep audiences engaged for its duration. Working to a script he wrote, Soisson blends, heart, humour, belonging and family itself into a film that punches well above its weight, aided by cinematography from Marius van Graan and a good score from Daniel Heppel, and that's even with some issues with CG and elements of the edit that most audiences won't even notice. To think that this is a relatively big budget film, rolling out across the festival circuit and sticking the landing technically is something that I thought was impressive, having seen the nearly 300 films competing for a CineWyre spot.

Leading this indie film (and exec producing too) is Téa Leoni, a very likeable lead, with Tony Kgorge, Neil Sandilands, Brandon Auret and Candice van Litlenborgh rounding out the supporting players with the heart, the soul, and the awareness of an independent film like this - they're all so committed to the project, which is commendable. Undoubtedly the star of this film though is young Litlhonolofatso Litlhakanyane as August, as even playing the role against a CG ostrich (nothing in the EPK to suggest it was practical, that's what I'm going off here), he is a scene stealer and sells the role with the conviction and the wholesomeness it deserves.

THE VERDICT

Bird Boy was a brilliant way to conclude the Festival's two blocks of curated family friendly content, and with a cast and crew like that you can see why it had all the tech quality needed to thrive on the festival circuit. It's something a bit unique, something a bit different, and a shining light on the kind of film you can see at a festival anywhere in the world.

RATING: 3.5/5