An action comedy movie with international appeal

It’s great to see graduates of The Writing Studio reaching success! Writer-director Bonginhlanhla Ncube (better known as Mr. B) and screenwriter Carl Roddam have joined forces for Safe Bet, a film that was officially selected in 6 festivals and traveled to entertain audiences in the US and Europe 4 months after completion.

In Safe Bet, Frank (Wandile Molebatsi)’s lifelong friend Khaya (Godfrey Thobejane) turns up with another money-making scheme, Frank is tempted into throwing in the entire boss’s money into a fixed boxing match.

Read an exclusive interview with Writer-director Bonginhlanhla Ncube and screenwriter Carl Roddam

Safe Bet was completed in July, 2015 and it immediately commenced its festival run. After the private screening held at the Durban International Film Festival, the film immediately got a theatrical release from Sterkinekor, South Africa’s leading and biggest cinema chain. Also from the same festival a worldwide sales deal was secured with Ten10Films, a distribution wing of Restless Global.

The general feedback was that the comedy in the film is of universal nature. As an action comedy movie of an international appeal it was no surprise that the movie was invited to screen at Europe’s largest comedy festival, Comedy Cluj in Romania at one of the largest theatres in Bucharest.

Cinema Florin Piersic, Bucharest, Romania The US tour saw Safe Bet maintaining its 100% win rate when it snatched Best Action Sequence, Best Narrative Feature Film, Best Kids/Family movie and Best International Feature Film missing BET’s $5,000 reward by just an inch since BET was awarding Best Short Film. Safe Bet may as well have earned its highest award when Mr. Bonginhlanhla “Mr. B” Ncube, the Director, received recognition from the California State Assembly for his outstanding work in Safe Bet