By Wanique Block
International actor Idris Elba stars in a new thriller called Beast.
Opening in South Africa on the 12th of August 2022, the film sees Idris portray a father who is trying to protect his daughters from a massive rogue lion.
Idris Elba is joined by South African actor Sharlto Copley together with Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries.
Beast was shot entirely in South Africa with locations in Cape Town and Limpopo. The final showdown was however filmed in the Northern Cape, on the Namibia border.
“You see both South Africa and Namibia in some shots,” says the film’s director, Baltasar Kormákur.
“We are proud that we were able to bring a production of this size to this area,” producer James Lopez says.
Produced by Will Packer, James Lopez, and Baltasar Kormákur; the production team also wanted to protect the natural environments and habitats in which they were filming. For one particular scene of Nate Daniels (Idris Elba) in a watering hole, the production built an actual watering hole to avoid disturbing an existing one used by animals.
Kormákur noted that it was important to not showcase a glamorised version of South Africa but a realistic one.
In doing so Namibian costume designer Moira Anne Meyer, who lives in South Africa, brought rich cultural references to the design and wardrobe of all actors on set.
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