South Africa’s Totem Zea and Dutch production company PRPL are teaming on “Third Wheel,” one of the big buzz titles this week at Fantasia’s Frontières Co-Production Market, combining entertainment in its propulsive psychological thriller drive plus a swingeing comment on post-colonial power dynamics in Africa.
To be directed by Zoe Ramushu, whose short “It Takes a Circus” was nominated for the 48th Student Academy Awards, the movie project is produced by her partner Reabetswe Moeti-Vogt at their South African label Totem Zea, behind Black female-fronted comedy “Real Estate Sisters.”
Also producing is Netherlands-based PRPL, headed by CEO Ellen Havenith, whose “When It Melts” won best performance at Sundance while its “Tiger Stripes” won the Grand Prix at Cannes’ Critics’ Week, both in 2023.
“Third Wheel” will be presented at the Frontières Co-Production Market, which kicks off in Montreal Wednesday with a day-long pitching session of projects.
Also written by Ramushu, “Third Wheel” turns on Thina, 26, a Black surgeon who was adopted by the white family for whom her biological mother still works.
