NEW MATERIAL follows Cassim Kaif (Riaad Moosa), a young Muslim stand-up comedian living in Fordsburg, Johannesburg. He is balancing the demands of a new marriage, a young child, and caring for his ageing parents. While his father Ebrahim (Vincent Ibrahim) has reluctantly accepted his son’s chosen career, it remains a simmering issue.

Cassim’s career is going reasonably well, but he performs mostly to Johannesburg Muslim audiences and yearns to expand his audience and his range. His best friend and agent, Yusuf (Joey Rasdien), has come to his rescue by planning a national tour for Cassim. Yusuf is totally out of his depth.

One of the many problems they encounter is raising sponsorship. They are forced into an uneasy alliance with their sponsor, notorious Laudium businessman Shabir Sulabie (Rajesh Gopie) who fancies himself as a showman. Yusuf believes it’s worth the risk and so the ill-fated tour begins. 

The history of ‘Material’ (2012)

‘Material’, released in 2012, was directed by Craig Freimond and written by Freimond, Ronnie Apteker, Robbie Thorpe, Rosalind Butler and Riaad Moosa. After playing at Film Africa 2012, it went on to screen at numerous film festivals around the world (BFI London, Busan International Film Festival, The World Film Festival Montreal) and gained an A rated reputation for its originality.

Set in the Muslim Indian enclave of Fordsburg in Africa’s City of Gold, ‘Material’ chartered the tempestuous relationship between Cassim Kaif, played by local stand-up comedian Riaad Moosa, and his father, Ebrahim, whose one dream is for his son to take over the family’s struggling fabric shop.

The movie combined moments of heart-wrenching family and personal drama with hilarious snippets of stand-up comedy and everyday life in one of the continent’s most cosmopolitan cities.

SAFTA Awards (2013)

·        Golden Horn Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film: Vincent Ebrahim

·        Golden Horn Award for Best Actor in a Feature Film: Riaad Moosa

·        Golden Horn Award for Best Achievement in Directing in a Feature Film: Craig Freimond

·        Golden Horn Award for Best Achievement in Sound Design in a Feature Film: Charlotte Buys

·        Golden Horn Award for Best Feature Film: T.O.M. Pictures