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The Dossier

A snapshot of two individuals whose protracted love affair has reached a tumultuous end. 'The Dossier' tells of the brief but entertaining clandestine meeting between a high ranking government official and a disgruntled S.A.I.S spy. There’s a lot at stake, as the official’s only chance of attaining highly sensitive intel is through his old lover and mistress, a spy who is also bent on holding onto to her disengaged ex-lover. Things however do not unfold as either one of them expects. Emotions soon get in the way of national duty, producing unexpectedly comical results. Shot completely in one long take, The Dossier interrogates the ever shifting power dynamics at play in relationships.

  • Fanyana Hlabangane
    Director
    BlueTouch Abyss (2011), Matilda in Law (2014); Blowing in the wind (2015).
  • Fanyana Hlabangane
    Writer
    BlueTouch Abyss (2011), Matilda in Law (2014); Blowing in the wind (2015).
  • Sifiso Khanyile
    Producer
    Prisoner 46764: The Untold Legacy of Andrew Mlangeni
  • Abena Ayivor
    Key Cast
    Boesman and Lena, The Royal Blood, Oil, Wild at Heart, Machine Gun Preacher
  • Lebohang Motaung
    Key Cast
    Zero Tolerance, The Wild, iNkaba, Rhythm City and Zabalaza.
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 29 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 21, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    4,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    South Africa
  • Country of Filming:
    South Africa
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 1080 x 1920
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Anaphora Films
    Country: South Africa
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Fanyana Hlabangane

Writer/Director Fanyana Hlabangane graduated from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, where he studied a three year course in filmmaking. After spending time interning as a researcher at a commercials house, he moved on to try his hand at narrative storytelling, working under content development at a South African Production company for a number of years. Between these interventions, he also wrote and directed a short film BlueTouch Abyss (2011) and two made-for-tv films Matilda in Law (2014); Blowing in the wind (2015). Fanyana is currently working as a writer for a number of South African television shows, including SABC’s ‘Isidingo’ and Mtv’s ‘Shuga’ series.

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Director Statement

Our film not only pays homage to spy films, it also subverts the basic tenets of the genre. The intended exchange between our characters is clandestine, therefore much like its genre tropes, it happens in the dark and in secret. Not only will our sense of geography be compromised, we’ll also never get to see our characters, as they’ll both be mere silhouettes and outlines.
What will provide visual contrast to our lowly lit, desaturated single
shot will be the city lights shimmering in the background, something which will give the film an added dramatic dynamic.

All we have with our characters is 10 minutes. We don’t know what happened before we arrived, nor will we know what happens next after the credits roll. We are going to soak in a lot of subtextual things expressed through continued exposition, as the conflict between Jeff and Bongi ebbs and flows. But our attention as an audience won’t wane because we’ve got nowhere to be but with them for a solid ten minutes. No edit will influence how we want people walking away feeling. This is will be our character’s doing. Below are a few references of the many ways in which a long take can be employed. In our case, we’re aiming for something measured, gradual and slow. It’s all up to the characters to take us on that journey.