Film-maker Botha’s quirky work inspired by Annie Leibovitz
TACKLING edgy human stories, film-maker Yolande Botha’s style has been described as dark comedy-meets-documentary. Her latest offering, Lina and Leo, 2015, was nominated in six categories at the Independent Mzansi Short Film Awards last month.
The film received attention in the categories of Best Short Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Sound Mix and Edit, Best Production Design, and was also awarded Best Use of Music for a collaboration with Riaan Smit and his band Crimson House Blues.
“The music is bluesy with a feeling of bittersweet melancholy that just adds to the main character’s lonely, strange struggle,” says Botha.
Botha has been pursuing her dream of becoming a filmmaker since completing a BA Honours in Scriptwriting & Directing at AFDA School of Motion Picture in 2011. Lina and Leo, 2015 follows a struggling journalist, who visits an obscure Karoo town to hunt down a hugely successful, reclusive surrealist artist.
The 25-minute film encompasses some strange characters and ultimately, the protagonist gets more surrealism than he bargained for.
“I was inspired by a photograph of William Burroughs buried up to his shoulders in the desert by Annie Leibovitz,” says Botha. “I really love exploring people and subcultures on the periphery – anything that others might turn their noses up for – I just think we shouldn’t judge those different from us.”
From writing to post-production, the film took two years to complete with many talented people contributing along the way.
“I love the collaborative nature of film because I really enjoy working with people and letting everyone contribute their creativity,” adds Botha. “The biggest challenge is always sourcing funding, as any independent filmmaker will tell you.”
With 13 years experience working as a copywriter and ‘conceptualiser’ in advertising, Botha has a long list of awards garnered along the way, including several Bronze, Silver, Gold and Grand Prix Loeries. A self-confessed “concept is king” fanatic, she says she learnt this tip from the advertising world and the need for “pass-on worthy” content.
“Both directing in film-making and being a creative director require getting the best from people and working towards a shared vision which is ultimately good, creative work. Also, my sense of how to engage an audience visually directly links to grabbing a consumer’s attention.”
With the amount of passion, attention to detail and laughter that goes into every project, it’s very clear that Botha loves what she does, and so does her global audience: her previous short film, Every Six Months, was shortlisted as one out of 10 films, chosen from over 600 entries worldwide in the UK’s Colchester Film Festival 60-Hour Film Challenge. Lina and Leo, 2015 also recently screened at the Durban International Film Festival.