Inspiring young actors of utmost importance to us Sithebe –
Casting director lauds social media for new talent
Actor and producer Lala Tuku, along with Actor Spaces founder Ayanda Sithebe, are on a quest to unearth fresh new talent and expose them to the industry.
Anchoring on their aim of leaving no storyteller behind, Tuku and Sithebe plan to continue their purpose of being inclusive by uniting emerging filmmakers with established creatives.
They will spearhead this cause through their fifth annual Africa Rising International Film Festival (Ariff) from November 24 to 27.
“Making it in the industry takes a lot of hard work, researching and understanding how the industry works… Of course, there are so many Thuso Mbedus out there in the country waiting to be discovered,” said Sithebe.
“So, inspiring young actors with the vision that they too can be the next big star is of utmost importance to us.”
Despite having a dream to make it big, one of the few deterrents for most actors was gatekeeping which was fairly the norm back in the age-old SA acting industry, a narrative Sithebe believes has slightly shifted due to social media.
“Things are a lot better than when we first started. Before you had to go through several heads to get recognised as an actor or you’d struggle to figure out who the casting director is for a specific production.
“But this time around, it’s easier for the younger generation. As a casting director, I get direct messages from young actors asking for my opinion on their acting videos all thanks to the power of social media.
“It’s also been easier for us as directors. If we are scouting for new and fresh talent, we can simply go to YouTube and watch monologues from various actors and unearth new talent.”
The 34-year-old is not convinced that African directors haven’t tapped into their full potential as storytellers and says this can be seen by the way the international film market has taken over the narration of African stories.
“We see this from movies such as Woman King and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which are African stories but told by a different eye... which isn’t African,” he said.
“We are so blessed with so many stories straight from our backyard that I think as storytellers we have to take it upon ourselves to tell and share them with the world.
“If we do this, we will indeed have a very bright future as African filmmakers.”
Tuku said when she started out, the industry was maledominated and very white compared to how it is now.
“The space in which one could play was in front of the screen and because of the lack of access and information being behind-the-scenes was something one could only dream of,” Tuku said.
She said the tide was swiftly shifting as more female representation was slowly taking up space in productions.
“The industry is all about the experience. If we [as producers] need to call a writer, we can usually contact people from our call list and at times female entrants don’t make the cut because of experience,” she said.
We have to share our stories with the world