Long Street (2009)

Set in Cape Town, Long Street is an intimately rendered portrait of the fragile relationship between recovering drug addict Sia (Sannie Fox) and her mother Maria (Roberta Fox). Sia is thrown out of rehab and has to return to her mother's home. The two women have long stopped trusting each other, and their relationship has collapsed into a simmering sea of anger and disappointment. At the same time, Sia's father is suffering from writer's block and has a deep desire to reconcile with his daughter and estranged wife, but cannot find a way to express himself. When a Zulu singer named Andiswa (Busi Mhlongo) enters their lives, her powerful presence and musical genius brings the mother and daughter together again. Andiswa uses the healing power of her voice to allow Sia and Maria to forge their relationship anew and discover things they didn't know about each other and themselves. This story is very close to director Revel Fox's own experience as a father. He dealt with his own daughter's heroin addiction and cast her and his wife to play Sia and Maria, both of whom are actresses and singers in their own right. The result is a poetic, powerful, music-driven film about contemporary middle class ennui in urban South Africa. With its sparse dialogue, Long Street is an authentic and gently moving film that tells its story with feeling, compassion and elegance.