The Cape Town honours graduate film, Wamkelekile (Welcome back), has been entered in an international student film competition.
Afda, the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance selected the 24-minute movie to compete in the competition staged by Cilect, the international association of film and television schools.
The film will be up against other student productions from the 128 major film and television schools accredited by Cilect in 53 countries around the world. Elalini, Afda’s 2006 Student Academy Award winner, was placed in the top 10 in that year’s competition.
Wamkelekile deals with a young man coming to terms with his father’s mental illness. When Lukhanyo is forced to go back to his village and collect his father, Simpiwe, memories of his eccentric and difficult childhood return.
The student production crew braved the Western Cape’s wet winter to shoot the film in 10 days. Wamkelekile premiered at Cape Town’s Cavendish Square Cinema Nouveau in November last year and was nominated for best fourth-year film at Afda. Dorotea Vucic won the Afda award for best director.