eKasi: Our Stories is a South African drama anthology television series created by Vusi Twala and produced by various productions companies for e.tv in which each week a different "eKasi" (township) story is told, reflecting the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the community.
Each of the episodes is a self-contained story with its own unique cast, many of whom are members of the community - not professional actors.
eKasi: Our Stories features a variety of aspirational, gritty local dramas filmed in South African townships, with a different story each week.
Set initially in Soweto and later expanding to other townships across the country, the dramas reflect the hopes, dreams and aspirations of communities using a backdrop of strong township vigour and visual texture.
The dramas capture many moments which define day to day township experiences. They are told from authentic township settings which have been etched in the collective memory of many South Africans.
The series features a mixture of well known actors and local township talent with no experience.
eKasi: Our Stories was launched in 2009 with five episodes produced by one production company and has grown tremendously; there are now multiple production companies filming many dramas across a number of provinces.
This is part of an ongoing initiative to train and develop talent in the various disciplines of the South African television industry. The aim is to encourage ordinary South Africans to tell their stories in the most authentic way while ensuring on-going skills development in different parts of South Africa.
e.tv continues to provide training and workshops to the writers, producers and crew in order to ensure that the eKasi: Our Stories concept remains a sustainable development initiative.
Mentors are also provided for scriptwriters and scores of new actors continue to develop their acting careers through eKasi: Our Stories.