Experiencing Interruptions?

Cabin Fever

The world’s first feature film filmed under lockdown conditions, using no crew and no specialist movie equipment, and tailored to the locations and props available to the actors in lockdown, Cabin Fever tells the story of a second wife and step-mother, locked down alone in Cape Town, and struggling to keep her far-flung family together when news breaks that her husband’s first wife is dying of Covid-19.

  • Tim Greene
    Director
    Boy Called Twist, Skeem
  • Tim Greene
    Writer
    Boy Called Twist, Skeem
  • Tim Greene
    Producer
    Boy Called Twist, Skeem
  • Jenna Upton
    Key Cast
    "Sarah"
  • James Cuningham
    Key Cast
    "Andrew"
  • Keenan Arrison
    Key Cast
    "Trevor"
  • Ndoni Khanyile
    Key Cast
    "Londi"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 28 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 20, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    South Africa
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital - cell phone
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Distribution Information
  • Video Vision Entertainment
    Distributor
    Country: South Africa
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Tim Greene

Best known as the director who crowd-funded a feature film (Boy Called Twist, 2004) years before crowd funding was even a thing, Tim Greene has always been an innovative film maker, given to finding creative solutions to the challenges facing film makers on the fringes of the industry.

An award winning South African film maker, he's best known for writing and directing the feature films BOY CALLED TWIST (2004) and SKEEM (2011), and as a showrunner on numerous award–winning TV shows.

Based in Cape Town, he is the winner of two SAFTA Golden Horn awards, for BEST DIRECTOR: TV DRAMA for HARD COPY in 2006 and for BEST SCREENPLAY for SKEEM in 2011.

SKEEM also won BEST COMEDY SCREENPLAY and BEST COMEDY at the Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards in 2013, and scooped the prestigious AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival in 2011.

TV credits include award–winning shows including UMLILO, THOSE WHO CAN’T, CLASS ACT, SWARTWATER, HARD COPY and INTERSEXIONS, which won a Peabody Award in 2011.
His first feature BOY CALLED TWIST, based on Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist, was one of the world's first crowd–funded films. It screened in Cannes' Tous Les Cinemas Du Monde, and was awarded BEST FEATURE at the Apollo Film Festival in 2005.

His third feature film, CABIN FEVER (2020) was shot during the 2020 Covid lockdown using no crew and no specialist film equipment.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Cabin Fever came about as a creative response to the lockdown... a way for artists to stay connected, constructive, engaged, productive and ultimately sane.

We set out to create a human drama that was resonant of the moment, that might eventually become a part of the historical document of the pandemic, a drama that wouldn't and couldn't have been made at any other time.

On a personal level it was also a huge challenge to see if we could create a drama that was compelling enough to sustain a full length feature film, told entirely through video calls, messages and meetings.

With no two actors ever in the same room, and many in different countries and time zones, even an act as simple as holding a rehearsal became a logistical challenge. But we all believe the end result is something quite extraordinary.

To our knowledge, it is the only film created on planet Earth in April 2020, a unique claim to fame.

But we also hope the the film will be able to transcend the moment of its creation and stand on its own two feet as a moving exploration of connectivity, family and forgiveness.