UK Premiere / Best Debut Feature Nominee

Short Synopsis

A light hearted investigation of modern South Africa.

Review

A bunny chow (AKA a bunnie) is a popular South African dish: a loaf of bread is cut in half, the soft inside scooped out and replaced with a variety of curried meats, vegetables or beans; it’s often consumed after a hard night of drinking. Here the dish becomes a metaphor for the rich cultural diversity that exists in the gritty urban jungle that is Johannesburg.

Bunny Chow follows the lives of three young comedians living in JHB as they try to make it whilst keeping their love lives off the rocks. Kags is a bit of a wise guy, always giving his friends a hard time and keeping his girlfriend, Kim, in a perpetual state of paranoia with his constant womanising. Joey is a devout Muslim although his faith (and his girlfriend) often take a backseat when the worldly delights of the lively JHB club scene are on offer. Dave is an ambitious up n’ comer trying to make his mark in the comedy scene. His romantic misadventures provide a constant source of amusement for the rest of the crew.  Joined by hopeless slacker, Cope, they embark on a road trip to an annual rock festival held at Oppikoppi, where their trials, tribulations and adventures with the opposite sex unfold, often with amusing results.

With a largely improvised script and a fresh cast, John Barker’s Bunny Chow is energetic, funny and intelligent; a welcome break from the tired ‘man slips on a banana peel’ style of past South African comedy features.

Will Pearce