
Powerfully telling the story of a South
African hero’s journey to freedom, Catch a Fire is the new
film from director Phillip Noyce (The Quiet American,
Rabbit-Proof Fence). The political thriller takes place
during the country’s turbulent and divided times in the
early 1980s, and in the new South Africa of today.
Derek Luke portrays real-life hero Patrick Chamusso. Patrick
is a charming and loving husband to his wife Precious
(Bonnie Henna), and a caring father to his two young
daughters. He works as a foreman at the centrally located
Secunda oil refinery, which is a symbol of South Africa’s
self-sufficiency at a time when the world was protesting the
country’s oppressive apartheid system. In his spare time,
Patrick coaches a local boys’ soccer team. Carefully toeing
the hard line imposed on blacks by apartheid, Patrick is
completely apolitical.
Academy Award winner Tim Robbins plays Nic Vos, a Colonel in
the country’s Police Security Branch. The shrewd and
charismatic Vos strives to maintain order in volatile
situations, which have become more and more frequent as the
outlawed activist organization African National Congress
(ANC) rallies blacks against apartheid. Vos is also
concerned for the safety of his wife and two daughters. He
and his family live a world away from the Chamusso family…
…until the innocent Patrick comes under suspicion and is
arrested (in June 1980) for sabotage of the Secunda oil
refinery. His alibi is compromised, and Patrick is desperate
to shield Precious from a past indiscretion and keep his
job. But he is ill-prepared to withstand brutal
interrogations by Vos’ men. As Vos further insinuates
himself into the lives of the Chamussos, to Patrick’s shock
and shame, Precious herself is jailed and tortured. Although
he and Precious are soon released from custody, Patrick is
stunned into action and completely reorients his sense of
self and purpose. He leaves his family to join up with the
ANC.
Becoming a rebel fighter and political operative, Patrick is
radicalized on behalf of his people and his country. He
ultimately envisions a formidable and dangerous follow-up
strike against the Secunda refinery, risking his own life
and future. Change must and will come, for Patrick and his
family, and for South Africa itself.
A Focus Features presentation in association with
StudioCanal of a Working Title/Mirage Enterprises
production. A Phillip Noyce Film. Tim Robbins, Derek Luke.
Catch a Fire. Bonnie Henna. Music by Philip Miller. Costume
Designer, Reza Levy. Production Designer, Johnny Breedt.
Editor, Jill Bilcock, A.C.E. Directors of Photography, Ron
Fortunato, ASC, Garry Phillips. Executive Producers, Sydney
Pollack, Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin. Produced by Tim Bevan,
Eric Fellner, Anthony Minghella, Robyn Slovo. Written by
Shawn Slovo. Directed by Phillip Noyce. A Focus Features
Release.
3
©2006
Focus Features. All rights reserved.
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