Capetonian/South African actor starring in Greenaway’s EISENSTEIN film
British director and Cannes and Venice film festival favorite Peter Greenaway has started lensing one of his most anticipated projects in Guanajuato, Mexico. The biopic of film director Sergei Eisenstein titled ‘Eisenstein In Guanajuato’. The film stars former Capetonian resident and South African born and raised (for twenty years), Stelio Savante. Savante is best known […]
British director and Cannes and Venice film festival favorite Peter Greenaway has started lensing one of his most anticipated projects in Guanajuato, Mexico. The biopic of film director Sergei Eisenstein titled ‘Eisenstein In Guanajuato’. The film stars former Capetonian resident and South African born and raised (for twenty years), Stelio Savante. Savante is best known in the States for producing and performing the lead role in 9/11 Commemoration play 110 Stories starring opposite the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Susan Sarandon, Melissa Leo, Jeremy Piven, Katie Holmes, Neal Patrick Harris, James Gandolfini, Tony Shalhoub, Cynthia Nixon and John Hawkes. He was recognized in David Levin’s A&E documentary for his role and his charitable contributions to the arts in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedies.
Greenaway’s film touches on many aspects of Eisenstein’s life during his two week stay in Guanajuato, Mexico in the 1930’s. “At a time when cinema is dying, it is pertinent to celebrate cinema’s greatest practitioner. The business of cinema never seems to change. Many of the problems Eisenstein had in 1931, have reappeared all over again. Difficulties of financing, problems of logistics, cultures and language barriers. Such as Eisenstein rose to these problems, so do we,” said Greenaway. The film is expected to be released in September 2014.
Savante has also just wrapped filming opposite Jim Caviezel (The Passion Of The Christ) for an upcoming episode of J.J Abrams’ CBS hit Person Of Interest, and a supporting role in the sex trade thriller Selling Isobel starring opposite Matthew Marsden and Amber Benson.
South African audiences are familiar with Stelio from his roles in A Million Colours (Winner of two SAFTA awards), What If (Winner of two MovieGuide awards), Ugly Betty (for which Stelio received a SAG nomination along with ensemble cast) and several prime-time episodics including Law & Order SVU, Criminal Intent, Without A Trace, NCIS and Sopranos. In 2013 he was seen in the US cinema releases of The Secret Village and Jimmy. And was last in South Africa in 2012 to film Where The Road Runs Out.
