Healing via powerful educational films
Young director wins her first international award for short movie, writes
INTERNATIONAL film-makers have set their sights on a young Pietermaritzburg-born director who is making waves with her locally produced short film, Gracie, and eagerly anticipate her future endeavours.
Liana Hassim, 28, received the best short film award from judges at the Delhi International Film Festival last week.
Gracie, a political film produced in Chatsworth in 2016, features local talent, focuses on the lives of eight South Africans and the issues of xenophobia and rape.
This was the first time Hassim was honoured on an international platform, after receiving the local Simon Sabela award three consecutive times since 2015.
Hassim always wanted to sit in the director’s chair, which became evident at age 7. She wrote a comedy script 55 Mango Drive about her uncles and cousins.
After completing a degree in drama at the University of Kwazulu-natal, studying at Afda, the School for the Creative Economy, and abroad, and moving to Durban, much has changed for her, except her love for art.
Hassim is set to focus on telling raw South African stories for the rest of the world to “learn from”, which was a goal she set for herself while she studied in Los Angeles in the US in 2010.
“Educational theatre taught us about the healing power of cinema. It was a whirlwind experience and I thought I had made it in the industry, but my dad passed away while I was in LA and I had to return home, which really opened my eyes to South African struggles.”
Hassim’s next project, a documentary entitled Behind the Monologue, delves into the lives of six black women who sow the seeds of social cohesion.
On being a woman in the industry, Hassim said utmost determination was the key to triumphing in the traditionally male dominated workplace.
“At first, nobody paid attention to my work.
Male counterparts had the confidence to put their work out there, but I had to pull through, and confidently grab the opportunities that came my way,” she said.
“Being a person of Indian origin, our community generally doesn’t see art as a career option and I had to deal with that, too. But if you’re passionate and resilient, as I was, eventually, people start supporting you and see how you can save lives with art as much as doctors can with their medical tools.”