The Soweto International Film Festival is set to spotlight Africa’s next generation of cinematic storytellers, with emerging filmmakers Chris Djuma and Isaac Kasende leading the charge.
Djuma, a Swiss-born, South African-raised playwright and filmmaker whose short film, Rearview, has been screened internationally, and Kasende, a Congolese-born director who began making no-budget films as a teenager, will showcase their work alongside Sisanda Henna’s Little Africa films, which screen on November 20.
The festival opens on Wednesday at the Soweto Theatre.
Here’s what the filmmakers had to say about the festival and storytelling:
ISAAC KASENDE:
How has Johannesburg shaped your filmmaking?
Johannesburg has an unmatched energy. I remember weekends in Troyeville and Kensington with friends, catching the bus at Gandhi Square after long walks from Bree taxi rank. That authentic urban Mzansi culture — a melting pot of people from all over — shaped how I see people and how circumstances shape them. All of that has influenced the films I make and the stories I’m drawn to.
What lessons have shaped your craft?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that filmmaking takes grit. You can’t give up. Even at the lowest level, you need determination and people who believe in you as a storyteller.
Making films made me happy — even when I wasn’t being paid or when it felt amateurish — and that pride is something no one can take away from you.
How do you view the balance between art and business?
I respect both sides of filmmaking, the creative and the business. They’re equally important. You can be creative, but for a film to be seen, there has to be some form of advertising, even if it’s just word of mouth. From the start, the art and the business sides are in a sort of marriage.
What are your thoughts on the current filmmaking landscape?
It’s a great time for filmmakers, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds. For a long time, filmmaking depended on the means you had, or it was easier if you had means. Technology has levelled the playing field a bit. I think we need more boldness.
Cinema feels very calculated right now, which makes things repetitive. I’d love to see wild concepts and fearless storytelling, without filmmakers worrying that one film will end their career.
What would you like to see change in the industry?
I’d love to see more new voices with fresh concepts being funded, even on small but decent budgets, instead of relying only on “tested and tried” ideas.
CHRIS DJUMA:
What do you hope audiences take away from your work?
I hope the work sparks conversations that make audiences reflect on the choices of the characters and their own lives. I want them to see their own humanity and ask themselves what they would do in similar situations.
What inspired Rearview, and what truths were you exploring?
The story was inspired by being mugged on my way to Park Station. People watched, but no one helped, and I found myself asking: “How far are you willing to go to help a stranger?” I was also inspired by news events, the war in Eastern DRC, the conflict between meter taxis and e-hailing drivers, the treatment of people from other African countries and the absence of the deaf community on screen.
How have the spaces you’ve worked in shaped you?
The spaces I’ve worked in gave me opportunities to show my work, but the people in those spaces shaped me. They challenged me with questions like: “Why this story? Why now? What do you want to say?” They taught me to respect story deeply and showed me how many ways a story can be expressed through a look, a symbol, a word, a dance, or a song.
If you could direct a story about this moment in SA, what would it look like?
It’s a country in waiting. A tired security guard stands at yet another commission of inquiry, hearing the truth from the most powerful men in the country. He watches, inside and outside the courtroom, and wonders if the ending will ever change so a new story can begin.
What excites you about the new generation of storytellers?
We’re tired of being “starving artists”. We’re finding creative ways to get our stories made and seen. There’s a real understanding that it’s not just about one person; our wins are stepping stones toward building a more sustainable community and industry.
