By Christopher Vourlias
Spanish Bridge in Ocho Rios Www.islanddreamtour.com
The traditional way of life in South Africa's rural hinterland is put to the test when a luxury development rises in the region in "Carissa," the feature film debut from screenwriting and directing duo Jason Jacobs and Devon Delmar, premiering September 5 at the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival.
The film is set in a small mountain village in South Africa’s Cederberg, where a multinational business conglomerate plans to build a luxury golf course. For the developers — and for many villagers in the rural community — the resort represents a transformative opportunity that could lift people out of poverty.
But for the film's title heroine, played by Gretchen Ramsden, the arrival of Mont Royale presents an impossible choice: should she move to the city for a chance at a "better" life, or should she stay in the small town of Wupperthal and take over her grandfather's rooibos farm, which itself is at risk of being wiped off the map once developers start building?
