Eleven years ago, when screenwriter Shawn Slovo (A World Apart) approached South African Patrick Chamusso about making a film on Chamusso's life, the ex-political prisoner couldn't help but be a bit skeptical. "Who's going to watch an ordinary-man film?" Chamusso wondered.
Yet, on Oct. 22, audiences filled the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills for a free screening of Focus Features' Catch a Fire to watch such a film. Directed by Phillip Noyce (The Quiet American, Rabbit-Proof Fence), it is about Chamusso's transformation from conflict-avoiding family man to African National Congress rebel fighter after he was falsely accused of sabotaging a power plant and he and his wife were arrested, tortured, and interrogated by South Africa's apartheid government in the early 1980s.
The screening, hosted by Back Stage West and The Hollywood Reporter, was followed by a Q&A session moderated by Back Stage National Film & TV Editor Jenelle Riley. The audience gave a standing ovation when Chamusso took the stage with actors Derek Luke (Glory Road) and Bonnie Henna (Drum).
Luke, who won best actor for Antwone Fisher at the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards, portrayed Chamusso in the film. He said shadowing this "ordinary man" and his brood of 90 adopted children in South Africa was an important part of his process. "I felt like part of playing Patrick was to get these kids from pure love to see whether they would respond to me, because they respond to him like he's a God," Luke said.
South African Henna, who plays Patrick's wife, hopes other South Africans respond favorably to the film. "I think for young South Africans to see another young South African like myself telling a story of this nature on the history of South Africa will bring it home to them," she said. "It's an opportunity to own a piece of my history without any guilt or burden."