Euzhan Palcy is the first woman of African descent to ever direct a Hollywood Studio movie, MGM’s A Dry White Season.
Starring Donald Sutherland, Marlon Brando, Susan Sarandon, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae and Jurgen Prochnow, the socially conscious drama was produced by Paula Weinstein.
Narrative Premise:
In 1976, South Africa during apartheid, Ben Du Toit (Donald Sutherland) is a teacher at a school for whites only.
When the son of his gardener, Gordon Ngubene (Winston Ntshona), gets beaten by white police after he gets caught during peaceful demonstration for a better education policy for black people, Gordon asks Ben for help.
After Ben refuses to help because of his trust in the police, Gordon gets caught by the police and is tortured by Captain Stolz (Jürgen Prochnow).
Against the will of his wife Susan (Janet Suzman) and his daughter Suzette (Susannah Harker), Ben tries to find out more about his gardener’s disappearance.
The murders of both Gordon and his son by the police prompt Ben to bring this incident up before a court with Ian McKenzie (Marlon Brando) as lawyer, but he loses.
Nonetheless, he continues to act by himself and supports some black people, including his driver Stanley Makhaya (Zakes Mokae), to promote social change.
Euzhan Palcy is best known for her films focusing on social change and cultural issues.
My Oscar Book:
Oscar Nominations: 1
Supporting Actor: Marlon Brando
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
The winner of the Supporting Actor Oscar was Denzel Washington for another political movie, Glory.