For a long time there have been questions raised about why the South African film industry doesn’t join the big movie-making business with our own South African stories. AND just as the question kept coming up, the answers and reasons people came up with would pile up and the movies never got made.
But FINALLY, an enthusiastic team of people, (Actor, Director) Tiro Venter and (Executive producer) Linda Khumalo, decided to take on the challenge and NIKE! Yep, just do it! They got together and wrote a script, got funding for the movie, cast the actors, bought equipment and got a crew of a young, vibrant and energetic people and filmed the movie Ingxoxo (The Negotiation).
The movie is centered around the lobola negotiations for a Zulu young man (Siyanda Ndlovu) and a Pedi young woman (Mokgadi Mphahlele) – when the families don’t know what is expected? And the challenges faced by the couple to ensure their wedding happen against all odds.
The movie deals with issues of culture, tradition, friendships, new lifestyles, clashing values, in-law drama, couple misunderstanding, secrets and much more.
With stars such as Reshoketswe Sebotsane, Patrick Mofokeng, Clementine Mosimane, Magic Hlatswayo, Kid Sithole, Nomalizo Malefo and the music of Conrey Siqubu, you really can’t get more South African than that!
Their realistic goal is to bring back the Bioscope era where movies were shown in the town halls, the church halls and school halls for a minimal fee.
The difference is, the movies will not be the badly dubbed Bruce Lee movies we witnessed (yes, I am THAT old) but stories from our townships, stories about our lives and experiences – OUR SOUTH AFRICAN STORIES! – the way we want them to be told.
The way we experience them, not the watered down stories of distorted tales of our cultures and traditions. Stories that will take you back to the tales of Bophelo ke semphekgo, Mopheme (which I hear is back on our screens on Welfare channel 1 on a Friday) and Mokgwenyana Mmatswale; in terms of the storyline, the acting and the overall feeling of being able to relate to some of the things depicted because it is home brewed.
Be honest; how many of the movies that you have a genuine interest in get shown in the mainstream theaters. AND how far are those theaters? The costs to get to and back from the theatre, the ticket prices and popcorn!! Yep, our townships need to feel the experiences of going to the movies and this is a great start. AND EVEN BETTER, they will be distributing their movies to the street corner sellers so when you buy a Sollywood (
www.sollywood.co.za) movie; you are certain it is original not a pirated copy. The DVD will be sold with English, Swahili, French, Spanish and Slovak subtitles.
The project took 3 weeks to film after a month of scriptwriting and workshops; the underestimation of the editing cost them 3 months but eventually the R1,8 million spent was well worth it for the tale that is told.
They are aware that there is still room for improvement and they will grow, and expand the project but their main objective is to have authentic and natural tales with an honest perspective being provided to our townships. They are not all complacent at the quality of their product and acknowledge that in time, the movies will be just as good as other film-industry ventures.
The movie will be shown at their bioscope partners in Limpopo, Gauteng, North West and Kwazulu-Natal from the 28th May 2010. Check out the website
www.ingxoxothemovie.co.za for the trailer and details of where to catch the movie ekasi!