South African female director Phumi Morare’s film Lakutshon’ Ilanga has been shortlisted for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles Awards (BAFTA), under the category of Live Action!
The shortlist for 2021 was selected from 680 film submissions from film schools in 34 countries. Lakutshon’ Ilanga is about a young, black nurse living in 1985 apartheid South Africa who must face her worst fears when she learns that her activist, a younger brother may be in danger when he doesn’t return after school.
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Phumi Morare who is doing her final year at USA’s Chapman University says that Lakutshon’ Ilanga is important to her because it is a story of a black woman’s transcendence under the constraints of oppression.
“It is also a story about unassuming African women who are dismissed as silent or passive but carry the capacity for overcoming unspeakable realities. The film is an homage to my mother as it is inspired by her story; a story that shows the everyday heroism of ordinary African women. It is a tribute to the many black South African mothers who fought against impossible odds and resisted in their own, subtle ways so that we could thrive. The film shares an intimate and feminine lens on South African history,” shares Phumi Morare.
The film features the song Lakutshon’ Ilanga as a tribute to Ms. Makeba and the message of her song and activism.
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“It is my thesis film that I completed during my Master of Fine Arts in Film Production at Chapman University. It was shot on location in Soweto, and one of the locations was Orlando East Communal Hall where Robert Sobukwe held PAC meetings,” says Phumi Morare.
Lakutshon’ Ilanga has also been selected at the Pan African Film Festival (which is the largest black film festival in the US), and Clermont Film Festival.
ABOUT Phumi MORARE:
Phumi is a South African writer/director based in Los Angeles. She is passionate about redeeming the Black and feminine identity through cinema. She enjoys using the female gaze to tell intimate, humanist stories of everyday people.
Phumi’s award-winning short films have played at top international film festivals including the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, Cyprus International Film Festival, and Women of African Descent Film Festival. She received an award for Best Women Short for her project, ‘Home’, from IndieX Film Festival.
Phumi completed her MFA in Film Directing at Dodge College at Chapman University. She freelances as a strategist at Statement Films, a company that incubates African women content creators. Phumi also worked as a junior producer at a boutique film production company in South Africa where a show she co-created was commissioned by the SABC, the national broadcaster.
WATCH LAKUTSHON’ ILANGA TRAILER BELOW:
BAFTA and Global Student Accommodation (GSA) will also award a USD 12,000 commissioning grant to student projects on the topic of wellbeing. Those eligible for the grant include those shortlisted for the GSA BAFTA Student Film Awards, as well as participants of some of BAFTA’s New Talent Initiatives. BAFTA and GSA will host an information session for eligible filmmakers in the upcoming weeks.
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According to a statement released by BAFTA, filmmakers on the shortlist will be invited to a series of online events during the next four weeks, including speed networking events with industry guests from BAFTA’s membership, a panel on the subjects of career development, representation, film festival submissions and film markets. All of the filmmakers on the shortlist are given the opportunity to apply for and join BAFTA’s New Talent programs, which includes year-round access to online events.
MGOSI.co.za