There seems to be a film movement in South Africa. This movement is taken to the streets. Local filmmakers have refused to wait for their projects to be commissioned or funding to arrive, they are just simply making their film in spite of these odds and bearing the costs. It seems that the need to tell stories is far greater and more urgent than waiting for a king size blockbuster budget to arrive.
The new Sollywood movement has been an inspiration. It is proudly South African and concerned about telling meaningful South African stories set within our community. They are aiming at creating a positive image of this beautiful country. What’s not to like about them? We have just recently seen what a unified nation can do to the image our country. It’s a great idea but I also do not think Sollywood should limit itself solely to telling South African stories. We have seen how important some of these stories are but I think we can tell universal stories while retaining our local flavour. But that’s for another day, the good news is we are seeing more and more local films being made with exciting platforms to showcase the talent such as the DIFF along with informative workshops and seminars.
Even aspirant filmmakers such as myself can showcase their talents and at local festivals and film challenges. African cinema may not win a lot of Academy awards but that still does not deter us from making movies with passion and enthusiasm. Looking up at the heavens is is indeed clear that the future is bright.
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