Short film debut takes on powerful story of forgiveness
Accolades for young director Luthuli’s movie
I wanted to explore what situations would force you to forgive a person
After her maiden short movie Heart Attack made it to the top five best performing films at the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), young director Minenhle Luthuli is ready for the bright lights.
Written and directed by Luthuli, Heart Attack premiered in two major African film festivals – DIFF and at the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) – last week.
DIFF started on Thursday and this year it features 24 documentaries, 34 feature films and 56 short films.
ZIFF started on Wednesday and ended on Sunday.
Heart Attack was shot in September and is loaded with powerful stories of forgiveness.
The story is about a Dr Khanyaqhawe Mabuyakhulu, who was born after her mother was raped by her white employer.
The doctor who became an orphan is now an accomplished cardiologist and is challenged when she finds out she has to operate on Bheki, a man that killed her mother.
As the man is rushed to theatre, Mabuyakhulu is taken back to the day she watched him killing her mother.
Speaking to Sowetan yesterday, Luthuli, 26, said when she was writing the film she was toying with the idea of forgiveness in her head.
“When I was creating the script, I was thinking of situations that can force me to forgive a person or face head-on with whoever I had a grudge with.
“I came up with different ideas until I played around with an idea of a doctor who has to save a life of a person who killed his or her mother.
“I wanted to explore the issue of forgiveness and what situations would they force you to forgive a person.”
Luthuli is excited that her first film since she finished school in 2018 has received a great response from the public.
Born in Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal, Luthuli studied film at AFDA School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance in Johannesburg and did her honours at the institution’s Durban branch.
She plans to take the film to the Mozambique Film Festival before heading to other international film festivals.