Presentation Pack - Made in Africa Films

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In The Garden Of The King
PRODUCER’S STATEMENT
“In the Garden of the King” is a fictional tale, based
on actual events, surrounding the Belgian genocide in
the Congo between 1890 and 1910, seen through the
eyes of 3 protagonists, each living in a different part
of the world, and in different eras.
The result is a screenplay that is both
entertaining and informative, and cries out
for major stars due to its appealing and
varied characters.
Cinematically, it is our intention to make
a film that is “big” - beautifully crafted,
helmed by an accomplished director, and
carefully cast with the right talent.
History’s greatest forgotten atrocity – the
Belgian colonisation of the Congo, is
recognised as one of the bloodiest genocides
of our recent times. Yet, oddly, there has
never been a feature film about this subject.
It is, therefore, our intention to create a film
in the tradition of the Epic, as the memory
of those slaughtered in the name of greed
deserves no less.
The nature of this story demands a bold
approach, with careful attention to detail in
terms of historical accuracy and a delicate
sensitivity in not trivialising the severity
of this genocide for the sake of “easy”
entertainment.
The 3-story structure also affords us the
opportunity to expose the connection
between the past and the present, and lift
the veil on a part of history that has been
conveniently ignored for too long, yet still
resonates in the Congo today.
As responsible filmmakers and caring
human beings, it is not only our
responsibility to expose this harrowing
story, but to create a cinematic tribute to
the countless millions, and to highlight the
plight of those who continue to suffer under
King Leopold 2’s legacy.
In The Garden Of The King
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SYNOPSIS
Logline
A present-day Belgian aid worker; a Victorian merchant and a
colonial Congo girl warrior... Three lives intertwine powerfully
across time and place as each, striving for a moral place in the
world, is challenged by unexpected involvement in history’s
greatest forgotten atrocity - the Belgian genocide of Congo.
Synopsis
2004. After witnessing brutality and
tragedy, aid worker Jelome Delpy leaves
war-ravaged Democratic Republic
of Congo, disillusioned. She returns
home to Belgium, intent on a life
of conventional normality, with the
comfort and support of her wealthy
family. Taking a job in the family
business - Delpy Industries - Jelome is
assigned to recover the company’s early
history. As she comes across compelling
evidence of Belgian atrocities in the
Congo, she learns that Delpy Industries
itself is the subject of a class action
lawsuit led by ambitious lawyer Martina
Jongwe, seeking reparations for colonial
crimes against the Congo. Seeking to
extricate her family’s name from crimes
against humanity, Jelome is forced to
return to Congo, digging deeper into
long-buried family and corporate secrets
that will force a dangerous choice
between country, family and truth.
Congo, 1887. The tribal childhood of
eleven-year old Anjelane - preoccupied
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In The Garden Of The King
with her father Bakari’s training of
eager junior warrior, Shomari, and
the influence of Anglican missionary,
Reverend John Harris - is shattered
forever by the arrival of the first colonial
agents of Belgian King Leopold II. Led
by the brutal Jean-Luc Dhont, Anjelane’s
village soon finds itself at the eye of the
storm of unbridled violence and excess
characterizing Belgian colonialism.
Anjelane’s life is changed forever when,
on a drunken rampage, Dhont kills her
father and rapes her mother, Bahiva.
Escaping, Shomari disappears into the
forest. Six years later, Anjelane continues
a bitter, surreptitious campaign of lowlevel sabotage against Dhont, now the
wealthy owner of the Dhont Trading
Company. When Dhont’s brother,
Didier, attempts to rape Anjelane, Bahiva
intervenes - stabbing him to death.
Urging her mother and Reverend Harris
to blame her for the killing, Anjelane
flees into the forest. Discovering his
brother’s body, Dhont destroys the
village and everything in it, investing all
resources in an effort to find and punish
Anjelane. With everything lost, Anjelane
finds camaraderie in the forest, linking
up with the left-over warriors of various
tribes, bound together in resistance to
the Belgian colonizers. Distinguishing
herself as a brave warrior, Anjelane finds
friendship in the midst of brutality - and
love in the discovery of a long-lost friend.
But, pursuing a vengeful trail for the
unprovoked crimes against her village
and family, Anjelane knows she will
ultimately have to face the tyrant who
took away all she once cared about.
1897. English merchant trader Edmund
Morel, reaping immense wealth off
limited Congo concessions, is intrigued
to discover Belgium’s number one export
to its colony: rifles. Probing deeper,
Morel begins to suspect the
tremendous wealth yielded by
Congo trade is, in fact, built
on the brutal development
of colonial blood industries.
With the assistance of
mysterious Belgian mercenary,
Claude Maisel, Morel
carefully pieces together an
alarming picture of cruel and
systematic genocide. As he
attempts to bring the situation
in Congo to world attention,
Morel will encounter deadly
enemies at home and abroad.
Caught between the very basis
of his own livelihood and the
dictates of his conscience,
Morel, ultimately, will be
forced to choose between the
interests of his social class and
those of black African people
he will never once meet.
Through it all, as his once peaceful parish
is gradually eradicated, Reverend Harris
becomes an eyewitness to genocide.
Befriending, Sophie, the widow of
Dhont’s brother, Harris also learns the
dark secret at the heart of a powerful
corporate dynasty - an inconvenient truth
that will resound through generations,
linking all three stories into a complete
picture of colonial Africa’s darkest period.
It will also, however, enable Jelome,
Morel and Anjelane to finally confront
lies with truth; darkness with hope - and,
ultimately, overcome evil through the
active, inspiring exercise of individual
conscience and force of will.
In The Garden Of The King
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The Producers
Philip Contomichalos & Sascha Muller
Made In Africa (MIA) Films is based in Cape
Town, South Africa and was founded in 2000
by Philip Contomichalos. Philip’s experience
spans 31 years in the film production business,
23 years in South Africa.
Our business expertise includes: the development of feature films, international
feature film co-productions, and full-service production of international feature films,
commercials and stills.
At Made In Africa (MIA) Films, we believe that South Africa’s time has come to take its
rightful place in the world of global film production. Having spent considerable time
and effort developing a slate of universally appealing film projects for the international
market, we are now in the “packaging stage” on a number of our projects.
Our projects are high-quality films that can attract A-list talent, and we have recently
entered into a co-production agreement with an Academy Award-winning producer.
Philip has worked in the UK film and commercials industry, in various capacities,
on the following films (amongst others):
• White Hunter, Black Heart, directed by Clint Eastwood
• Batman, directed by Tim Burton
• High Spirits, directed by Neil Jordan
• Empire of the Sun, directed by Steven Spielberg
• Tank Malling, directed by James Marcus
• The Child Eater, directed by Jonathan Tamuz
• Dealers, directed by Colin Bucksey
• The Fruit Machine, directed by Philip Saville
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In The Garden Of The King
Recent film and TV projects include
Safari
Director: Olivier Baroux
Producer: Richard Grandpierre
Production company: Eskwad/Pathe
Hit Man
Director: Xavier Gens
Producers: Adrian Askarieh, Charles Gordon,
Pierre-Ange Le Pogam
Production company: Europacorp
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Le Dernier Gang
Director: Ariel Zeitoun
Producers: Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Ariel Zeitoun
Production company: AJOZ Films/Europacorp
Pars Vite Et Reviens Tard
Director: Regis Wargnier
Producers: Cyril Colbeau-Justin,
Jean-Baptiste Dupont
Production company: Gaumont/
LGM Cinema
The Trail
Director: Eric Valli
Producers: Cyril Colbeau-Justin,
Jean-Baptiste Dupont
Production company: Gaumont/
LGM Cinema
The Fall
Director: Tarsem
Producers: Tarsem, Lionel Kopp, Tommy Turtle
Production company: Googly Films/@Radical
Media
Dissonances
Director: Jerome Cornuau
Producers: Jerome Cornuau, Miguel Courtois,
Gilles de Maistre
Production company: Tetra Media
Le Enfants Du Karoo
Director: Laurent Ferrier
Producer: Philip Contomichalos
Production company: Canal +
CONTACT Sascha Müller
(Head of Development)
MOBILE +27 82 881 0267
PHONE +27 21 487 8200
EMAILsascha@miafilms.co.za
SKYPEsaschamuller1969
73 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town,
South Africa, 8001
www.miafilms.co.za
Philip Contomichalos & Sascha Muller
In The Garden Of The King
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COMPARABLE FILMS
Schindler’s List
Gandhi
The Killing Fields
Amistad
Worldwide Gross: $321million
Worldwide Gross: $34million
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In The Garden Of The King
Worldwide Gross: $52million
Worldwide Gross: $65million