Comart Films has come to tiff this year because of the international word of mouth that Toronto is a must-attend event for any art house specialist. The company made the trip from Capetown, South Africa.

Comart distributes art house product and operates its own independent theater in South Africa, a market that has long been dominated by English-language mainstream Hollywood movies.

Films like Lynne Stopkewich’s Kissed, which screened in Toronto last year, and Kerby Dick’s Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, which is at tiff this year, are typical of the films in which Comart specializes and for which the company is attempting to create a niche in the challenging South African market.

‘We handle films that our competitors dare not touch because they are too controversial or they are foreign-language films, which are not widely accepted,’ says Comart director Michael Berkel. ‘At the end of the day we are the only distributor from South Africa buying subtitled movies.’

This year, Berkel skipped the Venice Film Festival, which he says is more of a showcase for commercial u.s. product, in favor of the long trip to Toronto.

‘More and more people, colleagues from other companies and other countries, were talking about Toronto, especially at the last Cannes festival,’ he says.

Berkel is not seeking specific titles at tiff, but says he’s hoping to find new material not screened at Cannes: ‘I’m traveling with an open mind and a tight purse.’

Comart formed as a distributor in 1989 and deals in film, tv and home video properties. It also programs its own repertory theater, The Labia, which is a landmark in Capetown and the oldest cinema of its kind in the country.

‘People often come to the theater without knowing what is playing because they expect something different,’ says Berkel.

The company also has a museum cinema in Pretoria and is busy developing other independent theaters into art houses.

Comart’s recent acquisitions include Peter Greenaway’s Pillow Book, picked up last year at Cannes, Kissed, acquired at Cannes this year along with Alain Berliner’s Ma Vie En Rose and Junk Mail from Norway’s Pal Sletaune.

‘Junk Mail is an ideal example of a film nobody would buy for South Africa,’ says Berkel. ‘First of all it is subtitled and it is a dark comedy; a quirky, original concept. It’s not directly appealing to the mass public but a beautiful film. When we saw it we knew we would have no competition.’

Berkel also cites Ma Vie En Rose, which although ignored by the majors was picked up for numerous territories except South Africa, where its challenging subject matter ensured ‘no one would touch it.’

Comart acquired the documentary Sick in advance of Cannes, a purchase facilitated by Peter Balsito’s l.a.-based Filmfinders network, a subscription service which connects project to distributor.

Berkel says tiff also represents the opportunity to meet people and make connections not possible at other events. Although developing the art house niche in a market like South Africa has been difficult, Berkel says experience has proved that the right title, even from the most unlikely origin, if handled well can be successful.

In terms of the South African home video market, Berkel says the distribution picture isn’t bright. ‘There are outlets but 99% of the titles are blockbuster hits,’ he says. ‘It’s difficult to find video shops prepared to make space for something more demanding than Con Air or Men in Black.’

Although it is changing, South Africa’s censorship policy remains stringent. Berkel says during apartheid, most controversial films were banned or cut significantly. Now, he says, the government has allowed the company to import a film like Sick, but has attached the proviso that it be played only in Comart’s art house theater venue and only after 10 p.m.

Comart has also gained broadcast windows for its properties, which are being run on the severely cash-strapped public broadcaster SABC3 once a week after 10 p.m. and Monday nights after 10 p.m. on M-Net, the country’s pay channel which came into play about two years ago. Cable tv is unavailable and satellite services are becoming a more popular option for underserved areas, but they largely offer sports and mainstream programming, says Berkel.

The country’s political history is another obstacle, he says. ‘Things are changing, but we have to deal with the past as well.’