A visual and audio feast

Lediga’s clever comedy an endearing tale of friendship and hood living

KAGISO Lediga is a South African stand-up comedian, actor and director.

He has written and directed noteworthy television comedies including the cult classic

Pure Monate Show, Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola,

Bantu Hour Catching Feelings.

the and

He has also played starring roles in the films and

Bunny Chow for President.

Matwetwe

Wonder Boy

His latest creation is film just released nationwide.

From the mind of Lediga comes the story of two young men from Atteridgeville, who go on an a coming-of-age adventure.

is a clever comedy, where drug dealing and the troubles of drug dealers follow our hustling quick thinking duo.

It also happens to be an endearing tale of friendship and the oftenshocking truth of hood living.

Lefa (Sibusiso Khwinana) and Papi (Tebatso Mashishi’s) story is a visual and audio feast with popular music from Black Coffee, Khuli Chana and Dj Mujava to name a few, creating an

Matwetwe,a authentically South African musical landscape.

In the course of a day the two protagonists’ triumphs and troubles are perfectly narrated by three Kasi orators, known to most of us as the drunks who sit on the curbside.

These three are perfectly portrayed by Luzuko Sotshononda, Kefilwe Mello and Bugzito Seagiso.

Another notable mention is that of Pretoria comedian Thapelo “Tips” Seemise who was known as “Shampoo”. He makes a stellar appearance in the film.

We caught up with Lediga to ask him a few questions.

The convention of having drunken orators is a Shakespearean trope. What motivated this choice?

We wanted to not just tell the story of two characters but the story of the place Atteridgeville. Narrators were the best way.

Casting a (very talented) black man with albinism in a lead role is unseen in the South African cinematic landscape. Your film normalises this. How important is it

to you to de-stigmatise this notion?

He was auditioning for the role with everybody else and was chosen because he was the better actor.

Let’s discuss the beauty of Pitori slang. It’s a uniquely South African dialect embraced by many. How did you navigate the authenticity of this portrayal throughout the film?

I was born and raised in Pretoria and all the cast is from Pretoria.

Usually, narratives like this one are set in Soweto. What inspired the choice to set a kasi story in Atteridgeville?

Having grown up in Pretoria, I’ve always wanted to do this kind of story and Atteridgeville relates to me. I imagine stories set in Soweto are told by people with a strong relation to Soweto.

When did you come up with this story, and what does mean to you?

Matwetwe

First year of varsity when I discovered weed for the first time.

An interesting motif (and my only criticism as a feminist), is your portrayal of toxic masculinity. What purpose does this serve in driving the narrative?

It presents what a lot of boys are taught as an idea of being a man. The unrealistic expectations that young men have. The pressure being put on them.

What differentiates from your previous film,

Feelings?

Catching Feelings Matwetwe

Catching

I was more instinctive in its creation.

The film is an audio visual feast. How was it working with the cinematographic team to make the film come to life, and what led to the arrangement of the soundtrack? It was a team I worked with on

and we had a great rapport which lead to the film being instinctive.

That’s it – quite anticlimactically. In closing, there’s a time and a place for despondency, but an interview meant to create extensive publicity for your film ain’t it.