By Nothando Yolanda Tshuma
Fourth-year Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies (SJMS) television students recently showcased three intriguing documentaries at the Amazwi Museum.
Masiyembo: The role of media in African culture.
Directed by Zintle Plaatjie, Masiyembo (which translates to “going back to the roots”) was shot in the Eastern Cape (Port Alfred and Kwanomadolo). The documentary follows a traditional Xhosa healer (Gogo Nonkwenkwezi) who uses the power of the Internet to spread traditional African spiritual customs that most people might not know of. All her teachings embody ukubuyela embo because she uses her acquired knowledge to teach and uplift African spirituality in modern times. Masiyembo combines the modern and the past to understand better African spirituality and how traditional healers navigate the complex digital world.
“I chose to do this documentary because of my little brother, Esethu Plaatjie, who is newly going through his own spiritual journey,” Plaatjie said. The shared frustration with the negative connotations attached to African spirituality in digital platforms fuelled her desire to explore this topic.
During the visit of Enver Samuel, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who came to the SJMS to give insight into cinematography, Plaatjie told Samuel that her creativity stems from anger. “To be fair, there is nothing wrong with anger. Anger gets things done! I guess that is the deeper reason why I am so headstrong in the making of this documentary,” Plaatjie said.
This documentary aims for African spirituality to be visible in all conversations, including digital ones.
“I am angry that my brother is struggling to find information that delves deeper into his own journey. I’m angry that he feels stuck. I am angry that he is told to take off Iqhiya and beads on school grounds because it does not fit in with their school identity,” she said. Masiyembo unlocks the door to the multifaceted, beautiful nature of African spirituality in its authentic form.
Crew members were Andrea Cole, Aphiwe Themba and Nthabiseng Mokonyane. “They are all co-producers who made this documentary a success,” Plaatjie said.
“Their resilient support and creative abilities transformed my idea into a cinematic art piece. I am grateful they saw the vision and were willing to be part of the representation train with me. They spent three days in Port Alfred and five days in Kwanomadolo, in Alice. Andrea’s brilliant ability to edit and see scenes in her head was of utmost help. Her creativity really shone, and we are grateful she shared her beautiful mind with us,” Plaatjie said.
Aphiwe and her open nature to communicate well made them less stressed throughout the documentary-making process. “She is a good speaker and a true journalist.” Without Nthabiseng’s ability to multitask and see things, we could not made the process go smoothly. She is a great asset in production, and I know she will thrive wherever she goes with those skills,” she said. They want the audience to know that African spirituality is not backwards. It is a way of life that deserves to be represented and told.
Ayanda Kota: Man of Truth.
“Initially, I did not know who Ayanda Kota was,” said Anda Tolibadi, the director of Man of Truth. Upon attending his funeral, he realised the impact that he had made on the community as they eulogised him. This triggered an interest in knowing who this person was. “My documentary style … is telling stories from the ground, So I believe in giving the voice to those who do not have a voice,” Tolibadi said.
The title Man of Truth highlights the type of man that Kota was – someone who fought for the truth.
Kamva Ntsomi oversaw the whole production, Mthunzi Sitampu played a huge role in the cinematography and editing of the documentary, and Kerry Lanaghan, the scriptwriter, travelled to Johannesburg to get some content and interviews.
The first time Tolibadi pitched this idea was during Kota’s funeral. “They were not happy about it,” Tolibadi said.
“I pitched it again to them two months later after the funeral. That is when I spoke to his fiancée and some of the UPM members, and once his fiancée agreed, I was like, okay, that is like a green flag to actually, you know, like, do it.”
According to Tolibadi, reaching out to Kota’s sister was difficult as she was reluctant to partake in the interviews, but upon seeing the trailer, she was willing to take part, and so did the family.
“I want people to know who Ayanda Kota was, and I want them to have more interest in the type of person he was,” Tolibadi said.
“I want the family of Ayanda Kota to at least feel proud of the things that he did and maybe just rewatch it and feel that he is still there somehow.”
“A lot of work needs to be done, especially here in Makhanda. After seeing this documentary, I want people to feel the need for social change,” he said.
The Making of Tita Tari Ta?
The Making of Tita Tari Ta documents the behind-the-scenes shooting of a short film. “Tita Tari Ta” translates to “Who Am I?” in Qora, the language of the Korana, originally a nomadic Khoikhoi group.
The two main themes of the documentary and film are representation and Identity.
Luyanda Dube directed the documentary. Siphesihle Sibiya was head of editing, Ephreeda Banda was head of production, and Lance Myburgh was the director of photography.
Sibiya said he joined this team because she did not know about the Korana people and wanted to learn about them. Banda, who comes from a multiracial background, was interested in issues of representation and identity.
Dube said, “Indigenous people are fighting for representation in the sense where they have been misrepresented and labelled as coloured when they are actually not.”
“It took us three days to film the film itself at Ndlambe (Port Alfred). However, shooting the documentary was a process,” he said.
The team faced ethical challenges while shooting this documentary. “We considered ethics because we are representing a misrepresented tribe. We did not want to add to the stereotyping, the misrepresentation,” Dube said.
“The film itself is ethically challenging because it touches on tradition and the rites of passage, and that is a sacred thing as it involves certain procedures that are often protected from the public in some cultures. The film contains two rites of passage: one is called Habab, where the transitioning of a young girl to become a young woman is shown. This includes when she gets her first menstruation, then she goes through that rite of passage.”
“The second is idi Dorob or Doro; it is the rite of passage for a young boy transitioning into becoming a young man in society.”
“I want an audience member to leave knowing that Indigenous people still exist,” Dube said. People should educate themselves about Indigenous people through research such as social media and searching the internet and at least learn how to greet in their language.”
