Inxeba’s release postponed indefinitely

Two movie houses have postponed the release of Inxeba. This comes amid threats by several groups to picket and boycott its screening.

Postponed

Hemingways Mall in East London made an announcement on Friday morning that they had postponed the screening of the film. However, no reasons were given.

Walmer Park shopping centre in Port Elizabeth then announced that the screening had been postponed following pressure from members of the community.

Inxeba depicts the traditional ritual of ukwaluka – a Xhosa tradition into manhood – as well as sexual identity in the form of a gay love story.

Despite the backlash and initiation forum threats‚ producer Elias Ribeiro said it was important to showcase the rich untold stories of the country.

“We have had a positive response from many people in the Xhosa community who feel the movie is well presented. There have also been people from a conservative perspective who are upset‚” he said.

At a pre-screening of ‘Inxeba’ this week, Elias told the audience that they were aware of plans to boycott the film. They hoped peace would prevail.

“We’ve shown the film to whoever wanted to watch it. We were prepared for the backlash but have decided to just let the audience decide. I have yet to meet a person who has watched this film and still have an issue with it. Having said that, we hope love not hate will prevail this week. We hope the threats against the film will not materialise.’