EC film a learning experience

’Sew the Winter to My Skin’ depicts life of a Robin Hood-like rebel

It's been showcased around the world; it opened the Cape Town Film Festival late last year and now Sew the Winter to My Skin, a film directed by Mdantsaneborn Jahmil Qubeka has been – and gone.

It was screened at The Cinema in the Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg at the weekend.

Qubeka, together with lead actor Ezra Mabengeza, launched the film on Friday evening.

It was shown again on Saturday and Sunday and was an eye-opening experience for many locals who attended.

King William's Town resident Mzundzini Mazosive said he was proud to watch a film produced by a local artist.

“Besides having someone tell the story of what life used to be like under apartheid, it was even better to know that the person behind it comes from the Eastern Cape, where most of the icons who were at the forefront of fighting apartheid came from.

“The quality of the film itself is exceptional. These are the stories we want to see to preserve our history and let our children know where we come from,” he said.

The film depicts the life of Robin Hood-like rebel John Kepe, played by Mabengeza, who steals from the rich to give to the poor.

Kepe, the renegade, was active as early as the 1920s but kept going into the 1950s during the time when apartheid was being written into law and Afrikaner Nationalism was triumphant.

The film – which boasts a few Eastern-Cape born actors like Zolisa Xalavu, Brenda Ngxoli and Mandisa Nduna – showed at the Toronto Film Festival in 2018.

Zwelitsha resident Thandeka Matiso, who was with her son, 13, said it was a good time to have the film aired to remind people where they come from.

“It was a great film, very intense and thought-provoking.

“You can't help but remember where we come from and to be grateful for some of the things we take for granted now.

“We are reminded that there are people who fought and lost their lives for us to be where we are today.

“There couldn't have been a better time to have the film at our cinema as we are heading towards election season,” she said.

Matiso said while the movie was a bit difficult for her son to understand, it was a learning experience for him to get some insight into a history that is not taught enough at schools.

There couldn't have been a better time to have the film at our cinema