Timely portrait of a public servant
The film, ‘Whispering Truth to Power’, was sparked by Madonsela’s passion about corruption and inequality,
WHEN Shameela Seedat’s Whispering Truth to Power made its debut in South Africa last week at the Encounters Documentary Film Festival, it elicited a strong reaction.
In her first feature-length documentary, the human rights lawyer turned film-maker tracks the work of South Africa’s first female public protector Thuli Madonsela as she built her corruption case against former president Jacob Zuma, which effectively led to his resignation earlier this year.
Seedat’s 86-minute film on the Madonsela’s last year in office had such an impact overseas that it was awarded the special jury prize at the prestigious Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto on May 4. Praising the film, the jury said: “It’s a timely portrait of a public servant who uses her office for good at a pivotal moment in South African politics.”
Formal filming of the documentary started in February, 2016, on the turbulent eve of the Constitutional Court showdown between opposition parties and Zuma around the Nkandla debacle. Seedat continued filming throughout the year until Madonsela’s last day in office, ending with the release of her State Capture report, which probed allegations of collusion with, and undue interference by, the Gupta family.
Speaking ahead of the screenings, Seedat said: “I am really eager to see how the film will play out in its home country. By trying to weave in various layers of a complex reality, the film may not quite be what many viewers expect,” adding, “I always gravitated to storytelling and drifted towards documentaries.”
Seedat worked for 15 years as a lawyer and says that her interest was sparked in making a film about Madonsela because of the passion she displays. “When producers approached me about making a film about her, that was just the beginning.”
But Seedat admits making the film was by no means plain sailing.
“My first challenge was that the logistics of actually making the film were extremely difficult – we’d go to her office in Pretoria, and she wasn’t there.
“But my inner instincts then were to make an observational film, where you just film her going about her life rather than conducting interviews, and that worked. So we did this and just took a step backwards to watch the dynamics of her office.”
The year she made the film was a critical time as it was the end of Madonsela’s term. “Right until her last day, she was fighting off interdicts, and the film is not a conventional documentary. We managed to piece together a profile, and observing her story is actually a heart-warming experience.”
Seedat continues: “The film aims to pull people in, to engage them in robust conversation. We also looked at her daughter who was a student, and the issue of how she fought for change at the universities and the generational fight. So it’s not just about corruption, but about the complexities of politics and inequality in many senses of the word in this country.”
Seedat is well-equipped to make such a film. She’s a former Fulbright scholar governance specialist and worked for the South African Constitutional Court and, among others, has also consulted for Parliament, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and Global Integrity.
She’s published widely on human rights and democratic accountability and has addressed the parliament of the DRC, the UN Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, the International Civil Forum against Corruption in Indonesia, and South Africa’s National Anti-Discrimination forum.
Since she turned to film-making in 2010, she has produced a large body of commissioned work as a director, producer, researcher and script writer. Her director credits include narrative documentaries for CGTN’s Faces of Africa series and, as a producer, she won many awards for the documentary Shahrazad.
Seedat says the film was a tough journey. But, much like the subject of her film, Madonsela, who was lauded for doing a great service to her country, Seedat is doing the same in offering greater insights into our very own warrior woman.