# Boy Called Twist > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Boy_Called_Twist > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Boy_Called_Twist.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Called_Twist > Source revision: 1339112433 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) 2004 film by Timothy Greene Boy Called Twist Film poster Directed by Tim Greene Written by Charles Dickens (novel) Tim Greene Based on Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Produced by Aurelia Driver Clare van Zyl Steven Markovitz Starring Jarrid Geduld Cinematography Mike Downie Edited by Ronelle Loots Music by Murray C. Anderson Release date 2004 (2004) Running time 115 minutes Country South Africa Language English ***Boy Called Twist***, is a 2004 film that tells the story of a [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town) street kid, based on [Charles Dickens](/source/Charles_Dickens)’ classic 1838 novel *[Oliver Twist](/source/Oliver_Twist)*. It was the first film directed by [Timothy Greene](/source/Timothy_Greene). Fundraising for the film involved small donations from a thousand investors, leading to the longest Associate Producers listing in the history of cinema.[1] ## Plot Twist's mother dies in childbirth in the middle of nowhere. Fearing blame, the locals bury her in an unmarked grave and drop the baby off at a rural orphanage, where he is named Twist. Growing up in the dusty wastes of the Swartland, sold from orphanage into [child labour](/source/Child_labour) on the farms, and later to a rural undertaker, Twist finally takes his fate into his own hands and escapes to [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town). Wide eyed at the wonders of the city, he falls in with Fagin - an ancient Ethiopian [Rastafarian](/source/Rastafarian) who runs a network of child thieves. His new friend Dodger teaches him the tricks of the trade, but the inexperienced Twist is caught trying to steal from Ebrahim Bassedien. Although neither understand it, there is a strange affinity between this old man - who has lost his daughter - and the young boy who never knew his mother. Bassedien takes the little stroller in and for a moment it seems that the trauma is over - as the little boy encounters love for the first time in his short and brutal life. Enter Monks - the only person who knows Twist's true identity. He is paying Fagin to keep the little boy marginalised. If he ends up in jail or dead on the street, so much the better, for Monks stands to lose his inheritance if anybody ever discovers that Twist is Bassedien's grandson. The brutal gangster Bill Sykes, and his [prostitute](/source/Prostitute) girlfriend, Nancy, steal Twist back for Fagin, and the struggle for a little boy's soul begins in earnest. **Release** 18 November 2004. **Cast** Jarrid Geduld as Twist Bart Fouche as Bill Sikes Lesley Fong as Fagan Kim Engelbrecht as Nancy ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** See the article "[Timothy Greene](/source/Timothy_Greene)" for details of fundraising for the film. ## External links - [*Boy called Twist* official site](https://web.archive.org/web/20051001131729/http://www.twistmovie.co.za/) - [*Boy called Twist*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461472/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) v t e Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist Characters Oliver Twist Bill Sikes Fagin Mr Brownlow Nancy Rose Maylie Monks The Artful Dodger Charley Bates Mr Sowerberry Mr. Bumble Film adaptations 1909 1912 (American) 1912 (British) 1916 1922 1933 1948 Oliver! (1968) 1974 Las Aventuras de Oliver Twist (1987) 2005 Film retellings Manik (1961) Chitti Tammudu (1962) Oliver & Company (1988) Twisted (1996) Twist (2003) Boy Called Twist (2004) Twist (2021) TV adaptations 1962 TV serial 1982 American–British TV film 1982 Australian TV film 1985 TV serial Saban's Adventures of Oliver Twist (1996 TV series) 1997 TV film 1999 TV series 2007 TV series Stage adaptations Oliver Twist (1905) Oliver! (1960) Songs "As Long as He Needs Me" "Consider Yourself" "Food, Glorious Food" "I'd Do Anything" "Oliver!" "Oom-Pah-Pah" "Where Is Love?" "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two" "Be Back Soon" "Reviewing the Situation" Related Oliver! (1962 original Broadway cast recording) Oliver! (soundtrack to the 1968 film) Oliver & Company (soundtrack to Oliver & Company) Escape of the Artful Dodger (2001 TV series retelling) Fagin the Jew (2003 graphic novel) Oliver and the Artful Dodger (1972 TV film) I'd Do Anything (2008 TV series) Dodger (2022 TV series) The Artful Dodger (2023 TV series) This South African film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:SouthAfrica-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3ASouthAfrica-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:SouthAfrica-film-stub) This 2000s drama film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:2000s-drama-film-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3A2000s-drama-film-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:2000s-drama-film-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Boy Called Twist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Called_Twist) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Called_Twist?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.