SA film about sexual abuse makes its debut at festival
MAKING its world premiere at the Cape Town International Film Festival, the feature film Captive explores the narrative of sexual assault.
Captive tells the story of 19-yearold Debra Kabongo, an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who moves into her aunt’s house in Johannesburg with the hopes of studying medicine.
However, things take a turn for the worse when she experiences sexual abuse at the hands of her in-law and she must make a choice of whether to submit to him or fight him.
Directed by film-maker David Kabale, 25, the film resonates with his own upbringing.
“I was born in the DRC and when we relocated in 1996 we came to South Africa with nothing. My father is a doctor and came here for a better opportunity, given what was happening in our country, but he was rejected here. He had to build his career from scratch.
“Now we do outreach programmes and a lot of people talk about being taken advantage of when they relocate because they are reliant on family here.”
Kabale said he was also inspired by the #MeToo campaign, with additional influence from rape victims at Rhodes University.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have to search too much for inspiration. My parents work in the community and with the #MeToo movement. We saw how sexual advances were often from people close to victims, knowing the victim can’t do anything because they rely on those people.”
Much like in the movie, the victim’s uncle doesn’t see her as his niece but rather as prey, said Kabale .
He said the film’s narrative was two years in the making.
“It was a very organic process. The story kept changing with all the news of varsity girls getting raped.”
Captive was shot in Johannesburg and took about two-and-a-half months to complete.
Kabale graduated from Afda, The South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance, in Johannesburg in 2014, and started his own production company called Silverback Media the following year.
Captive is their first feature film, co-produced by Jungle City Pictures.
The film features lead actor Prisca Kamaria, Joe Kazadi, Gugu Dhlamini and Uduardo Kassonga.
“I want as many people to see it as possible. It is more of an awareness campaign, so I would like to take the movie to communities, to show it can happen to anybody. We want people who are going through this to come forward and speak about it.”
All festival films are being screened at Nu Metro and Ster-Kinekor Cinema Nouveau at the V & A Waterfront until October 19.
All movie screenings are R50.