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Little stars of Durban

“I THINK ALMOST everyone in South Africa is affected by HIV/AIDS,” claims director Madoda Ncayiyana.
In fact, the disease is so prevalent in Madoda’s home country that he no longer makes appointments for Saturdays, such is the clockwork regularity with which he attends funerals commemorating friends, peers and members of family.

In fact, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has reached such proportions that funerals are now being shifted to other days of the week, something Madoda insists has never happened before, and there is even talk of burying people upright to ease overcrowding in cemeteries.
Against this backdrop comes Zulu-language film ‘Izulu Lami’ (My Secret Sky), which looks at the countless orphaned and forgotten children in South African society. Directed by Madoda, the 90-minute film was selected for the AsiaAfrica programme at this year’s Dubai International Film Festival.
Madoda initially attempted to tackle the subject with his 2003 short film ‘The Sky In Her Eyes,’ which won an award at Cannes for the Best African Short Film.
‘Izulu Lami’ (My Secret Sky) is centred around 10-year-old Tembi and her eight-year-old brother Kwezi, who lose their mother while she is working on a traditional Zulu mat for a competition. Their aunt comes to look after the orphaned siblings, but instead she sells almost all of their remaining possessions before vanishing out of their lives.

Tembi and Kwezi then head to nearby Durban with their mother’s mat, unaware that the city is actually a five-hour drive away. Once they finally reach Durban, which is awash with orphaned children, the youngsters face a fight to survive in the unforgiving metropolis.

“The HIV/AIDS pandemic is actually inspiring, because you cannot pretend it is something you don’t see,” said Madoda. “You see orphaned children walking around every day, and you notice that the rural areas are saturated with kids, because they go to the city and either get sent back or die.”
Working once more with business partner and scriptwriter Julie Frederickse, the director auditioned more than 3,000 children to find his lead actors.
“I went to normal schools and drama schools, plus I would take a loud-hailer and shout in the townships for kids to come to the auditions,” he said. As part of the audition process, Madoda made sure the children knew what would be expected of them for the role. 
“I made them aware that they would have to repeat the intensity of an emotion 10 times,” he said. “I really thought I was going to lose that authenticity because they were not used to pretending. I also made the children tell their own stories first before I gave them the script. I wanted actors who were gong to act from within.”

Of the seven children with sizeable roles in the film, only two still have both parents in real life, four are from single-parent families and one is an orphan. None had even been to a cinema before they became involved in the project.

‘Izulu Lami’ (My Secret Sky) will be screened today at Cinestar 5, Mall of the Emirates, beginning at 12.15pm. The film has a 15+ rating and tickets are available directly from Cinestar or by visiting www.dubaifilmfest.com.

adam@khaleejtimes.com