US star Kevin Spacey debuts South African short

The Associated Press, Saturday, May 12, 2012, 11:10pm (PDT)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- U.S. actor and director Kevin Spacey sees opportunity for expanding film making in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Spacey spoke about his international outlook during a brief visit to South Africa Saturday for the premiere of a local short film he helped produce and in which he stars.

With backing from a whiskey company, Spacey ran a contest to find film making talent from the United States, Russia and South Africa.

A script from each country was chosen, and Spacey starred in and helped produce the three films, including South African Alan Shelley's "A Spirit of a Denture," which was given a red carpet premiere in Johannesburg.

The 26-year-old Cape Town writer-director's movie is about a workaholic dentist who gets a visit from a pirate.

Spacey recently starred in "Inseparable," by Chinese-American director Dayyan Eng. In the movie, which was filmed in China, Spacey plays an American expat who befriends a Chinese man played by Chinese-American actor Daniel Wu who is bogged down by work and marital problems.

"There is no doubt that as you start to look around the world, you start to look at the Asia-Pacific region, you start to look at what's happening here, you look at what's happening in European cinema, there's a lot going on," Spacey said in Johannesburg.

Spacer, who is artistic director at London's Old Vic Theatre, added: "I like the idea of going to as many places as possible and (having) as many experiences as you can."