Just Now Jeffrey, a comedy movie set in 1980s South Africa, tells the coming-of-age story of oblivious teenager Jeffrey Greenbaum. Jeffrey is unaware of the radically changing world around him; he is only interested in girls. Along with his best friend, Brad Berman, they devise a plan to have their first romantic experiences before finishing high school. However, the pair become entangled in a crazy web of love, lust, videotape piracy, rugby violence, a d political protest.
SA production company Bioscope Films teamed up with local film services company Moonlighting Films to produce Just Now Jeffrey. It was filmed in Cape Town using an all-South African cast and crew.
The cast includes Rob van Vuuren, Nicky Rebelo, Nik Rabinowitz, Natasha Loring, Frances Sholto-Douglas, Mila Rayne and Meghan Oberholzer. It introduces newcomers Julian Robinson, as Jeffrey, and Dino Vavatzanidis, as Brad.
Brett Morris and Hylton Tannenbaum collaborated on both writing and directing the film. The two have been best friends since they were 12 years old. After more than 25 years of working in advertising, and winning several international awards, their lifelong dream of making a movie has been realised.
The directors said: “Just Now Jeffrey has been several years in the making. It was our intention to create a unique coming-of-age comedy that represented and normalises our youths as teens growing up in 1980s SA. We have also always wanted to give a voice to a generation that grew up in SA towards the end of apartheid.
“We found that South Africans were generally painted with the same brush, and we wanted to show all of the complexity and nuances across the political spectrum during that time: from right to left and everything in between.”
The movie’s soundtrack consists of a combination of original music scored by Alun Richards, and a wide range of local and international 1980s hits by artists including Twisted Sister, Soft Cell, Joy, Petit Cheval, Cinema, Sweatband, Wonderboom and Sipho Hotstix Mabuse.