New SA film bags coveted international award. “Fanie Fourie’s Lobola”, a romantic comedy about an Afrikaans man and a beautiful Zulu woman who fall in-love (much to their parents’ disapproval) claimed the Audience Award at the Seattle International Film Festival. The event, taking place over a 25-day-period is the largest film festival in the US. More than 400 film-makers, actors and industry officials attended the event this year.

According to the SABC, the movie won the same award at the Sedona International Film Festival in Arizona earlier this year as well as the Jozi Film Festival in Johannesburg. The movie was directed by Henk Pretorius with Zethu Dlamini and Eduan van Jaarsveldt who play the couple. The pair develop a relationship after Fourie accepts a dare from his friends to take Zethu to his uncle’s wedding. Their love is put to the test when they have to maneuver their way through lobola (dowry) negotiations. Judging from the snippets the film promises to be hilarious yet socially relevant. The movie opened in South Africa in March to much critical acclaim as it sits at number four on the industry top-ten beating other international films.