SA film on screen at last, with LA world premiere
● It’s been 18 years in the making and has faced countless setbacks, but tonight South African film Masinga — The Calling has its world premiere at the Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles.
The line-up for the 32nd year of the festival features more than 175 full-length and short films from Africa and its diaspora.
The movie offers a visually dynamic and tense character portrayal of the title character, Masinga — an Africa-born detective living in the UK who returns to his homeland to investigate a Russian child-trafficking operation in Maputo. He is played by Hakeem KaeKazim.
He is then confronted by the demons of his youth: the murder of his brother Ayanda, whose reincarnated spirit guides his investigation.
Director and co-producer Mark Engels said the making of the film had encountered many challenges.
“The first time I wrote the name ‘Masinga’ on a piece of paper was in 2006 and I started that as a series with the character-actor Ernest Ndlovu, who in the feature film was originally supposed to be Masinga. He ended up as Masinga’s father, who dies in the film from old age. So that is how long it’s taken to make this film.”
It was only much later that the filmmakers began the fundraising process.
“The project took five years to germinate and raise funds. We got all the funding together and were able to cover our expenses, but we were unable to shoot as our filming schedule happened when the Covid pandemic began.
“During Covid, every finance contract and funding from government collapsed. And the original contract with the broadcaster expired. So when we came out of Covid we had to start the whole process from scratch,” Engels said.
“There were many trials and tribulations: hectic cyclonic rains in KwaZulu-Natal delaying costly days of shooting, forcing us into a makeshift studio — which was a boatyard to film car chase scenes against green screen backgrounds. This necessitated costly visual effects and computer work, which delayed post-production by months.”
Kae-Kazim said learning Zulu had been the most difficult challenge in preparation for the role.
“It was fantastic but difficult, and I had a diction coach on set to assist,” he said.
“I felt a sort of parallel journey with Masinga in rediscovering his roots and interpreting the nuances of being African. We also filmed underwater in a large swimming pool right next to the ocean, and in one scene I had to rescue somebody from the ocean and nearly drowned.”
Engels added: “Hakeem is a true professional, learning to speak his dialogue in isiZulu and even learning how to swim, as I scripted a baptism scene where he drowns and comes back to life in the Indian Ocean.
“As the day got longer, the tide got higher and higher, but Hakeem, [co-star] Shamilla [Miller] and an underwater cameraman managed to capture the scene at rather high risk.
“Most important has also been the musical composition by Ian Osrin and Andre Abrahamse, which is very emotive and traditionally African, with influences of Arabic drum and bass, a West African guitarist and the incredible Zulu vocalist Khetiwe.
“One of our support actors is a Russian rap singer, Vitality, who lives in Moscow and contributed to the soundtrack with Abdul Khoza — so we have a Zulu/Russian rap song featured in the movie.”
Director Cindy Lee, the daughter of South African casting director Moonyeenn Lee, will also premiere her short film The Last Ranger at the festival tonight and on Tuesday.
The film — which stars South African actors Avumile Qongqo and Liyabona Magazi, and Lesotho-born Makhaola Ndebele — was shot in the Eastern Cape’s Amakhala Game Reserve, close to Grahamstown.
It focuses on the need to conserve the rhinos. It won the category of best narrative short at the Toronto International Women Film Festival; best narrative short and best youth actress at the LA Independent Women Film Awards and also the prestigious green fire award at the American Conservation Film Festival.