Entre stage on big screen
might be perceived as documentary but, to me, cinema is cinema is cinema. There is no distinction between genre in how we make films. The only difference is style and approach.
It’s interesting in that the fiction films matured my style a lot,” he adds. “The fiction films influenced Shwabada in that I brought the formalism required into the process. In genre speak, it may be seen as a constructed documentary but, at the end
the day, I don’t see the difference between fiction and factual content — just film. Also, my fiction films have a historical genesis, with some poetic licence. There is a thread that unites all of the work.”
After the Encounters festival, Shwabada will also be screened at the Durban International Film Festival
June. This is fitting, as Xaba was a true son of KwaZulu-Natal. In 2012, Xaba received a Durban/eThekwini Living Legend Award, which recognised his musical contributions. He also received a Mayoral Award
his activism and political contributions, recognising Ndikho Xaba and the Natives’ rendition of Hamba Mkhonto in 1993, days after Chris Hani had been slain.
Shwabada succeeds in starting a conversation on Xaba’s little-known history. The work speaks to the vocabulary of reclamation of African stories as much as it is about love — a part of life in which music has always played an irreplaceable role, especially when intertwined with politics and the myriad complexities in the lives of black people.
will be screened at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Saturday June 4 at 6pm and at The Bioscope in Johannesburg on Sunday June 12 at 3.30pm. Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the director
Kagiso Mnisi is a Jo’burg-based freelance writer and digital content curator