The Lucky Specials are a cover band in a dusty town in southern Africa. Mandla (Oros Mampofu) is a miner by day and plays lead guitar by night. He dreams of making it big in the music industry. When tragedy strikes, the band, Mandla and their friend Nkanyiso (Sivenathi Mabuya) struggle to hold everything together.
Produced by Discovery Learning Alliance and Quizzical Pictures in association with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, with support from Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and USAID and PEPFAR through Management Sciences for Health (MSH), THE LUCKY SPECIALS weaves messages into the narrative to help audiences understand and respond to one of the world’s biggest killers – TB – which killed 1.8 million people worldwide in 2015 (more people than died from AIDS-related causes that year). With a unique fusion of live-action drama and state-of-the-art animation, THE LUCKY SPECIALS reveals the unseen world of TB from the inside out.
South African director Rea Rangaka (Ode in Blood) – who will attend the screening – led a phenomenal cast, including musician Blondie Makhene as Mandla’s mentor Bra Easy; Richard Lukunku (Thina Sobabili), Thomas Gumede (A Place Called Home) and Fulu Mugovhani (Ayanda) as Mandla’s bandmates; and Linda Sebezo (Gauteng Maboneng) as a businesswoman who threatens to make The Lucky Specials’ dreams fall apart.
“Media, particularly film, has immense power to entertain, to express emotions and to inform individuals in a way that nothing else can,” said Aric Noboa, president of Discovery Learning Alliance and producer of THE LUCKY SPECIALS. “This film has it all: a new genre of music created specifically for the movie, a great story and a powerful message. We are proud to work with distinguished partners and to bring this story to audiences across Africa and around the world.”
“When I read the script, it connected,” said Rangaka. “I am drawn to films that have powerful messages, especially when they come packaged in a good story. This story, as well as working with a great cast and crew, made THE LUCKY SPECIALS a deeply personal experience for me; I think audiences will understand and identify with what the characters are going through.”
“Films like THE LUCKY SPECIALS create an opportunity for great storytelling while giving viewers something that they have not seen before,” said Harriet Gavshon, managing director at Quizzical Pictures. “Innovation was key in bringing aspects of the film to life, combining drama with animation.”
“It’s always a great feeling bringing a character to life on-screen, and my character Mandla encounters a complex set of situations that take him down an unexpected path,” said Mampofu. “Figuring out how he evolves throughout the course of the film was fulfilling for me, and I think will be captivating for viewers as well.”
THE LUCKY SPECIALS was honored with awards at the Pan-African Film Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) and has been selected for the Toronto Black Film Festival, the Harare International Festival of the Arts and the San Francisco Black Film Festival.
Music made specifically for the film is available on iTunes. Learn more about THE LUCKY SPECIALS by visiting www.luckyspecials.comor find updates on Twitter or Facebook (@LuckySpecials).
