Lindiwe Suttle's story of abuse in Montsho's good hands

Mmabatho Montsho is set to direct international short film Desmond’s Not here Anymore, based on the award-winning screenplay by Lindiwe Suttle Müller-Westernhagen.

The script writer, the daughter of veteran talk show host Felicia Mabuza-Suttle, won the 2019 HollyShorts Screenplay competition. She told Sowetan last year that Montsho was her dream director to spearhead the project.

According to Lindiwe, 44, the film is scheduled to start shooting in Seattle, Washington state in the US, in July.

“Reading the Desmond’s Not Here Anymore script was an experience in its own right,” Montsho said.

“Lindiwe’s writing is breathtaking, and her way with characters and world-building is reminiscent of Toni Morrison; it invites you to walk hand-in-hand with each character as they work through their personal horrors in search of true healing. I am looking forward to bringing this experience to the screen.”

Montsho has previously helmed short films Joko Ya Hao and The Award Ceremony, which won best short film at the Worldwide Women’s Film Festival in Arizona.

American actor Yolonda Ross, famous for her work in The Chi and The Get Down, has been cast as the lead in the film. 

“Having Ross as the lead is such a blessing because of her impressive depth. Black female actors played only 20% of the speaking roles in 2019. And Ross is over 40. That’s important to me as a 44-year-old screenwriter and a needed change in the industry,” said Lindiwe.

Lindiwe said she was inspired by Band Aid director Zoe Lister-Jones to bring together an all-female key crew in making the film. Berlin-based director of photography Agnesh Pakozdi and American costume historian Shelby Ivey Christie has joined the team. 

“I wanted to leave this precious story in the hands of women,” Lindiwe said.

The film put the spotlight on three topics of sexual abuse, dementia and self-care. The screenplay depicts unconditional love of a mother-daughter relationship as the character Abigail takes care of her mother Selma, who is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s. While nursing her mom, she keeps asking her, “where’s Desmond?” triggering Abigail to face her childhood traumas.

“I’m a survivor of abuse and sat with this ‘secret’ for so long that I felt I had to tell my story. I started writing it but got stuck in fear,” Lindiwe said. 

“The 12 pages took a year to write. Finally, watching a documentary on sexual abuse served as a trigger. Their stories helped me finish telling mine.

“I had hoped to heal my own wounds and maybe inspire other sexual abuse survivors to tell their story.”