Local story: Behind the scenes at the shooting of the South African movie Greytown Girl, in which former newscaster Uveka Rangappa (centre) plays her first acting role. Photo: Supplied
The pursuit of telling authentic South African stories continues for streaming platforms. Earlier this month, the 18th annual Safta (South African Film and Television Awards) nominations were announced.
Netflix secured 53 nominations, for shows such as Miseducation, iNumber Number: Jozi Gold and Yoh! Christmas.
At the MIP Africa event in Cape Town, the streaming service offered an exclusive look at its upcoming local productions.
Ben Amadasun, vice president of content for the Middle East and Africa, said: “We are incredibly excited to continue strengthening our relationship with our production partners in South Africa and bringing diverse and authentic local stories by local storytellers to our local and global audiences.”
The new shows include the recently added drama series Blood Legacy, the soon-to-be-released romantic film Happiness Is and festive season film Disaster Holiday, premiering in December.
African streamer Showmax, astoundingly, bagged 118 nominations — the most by far of any streaming service — at this year’s Saftas, which are scheduled to take place next month.
A recent addition to the streamer’s original content is the legal drama series Law, Love & Betrayal (LLB). The 13-episode series follows a tough township lawyer, Gugu Mabaso (Dineo Rasedile), who forces her way into a slick, family-owned firm in Sandton, where she finds that everyone has secrets — just like her.
Due to the popularity of some original series, Showmax and its local production partners have announced second seasons. Those scheduled to be extended include Empreinte Digitale’s Spinners, Tshedza’s Outlaws and The Bomb Shelter’s Shaka Ilembe.
Set in the 1700s, the latter tells the story of the heroic rise of the Zulu king. The premiere set a DStv record of four million views, with the series going on to become the most googled in South Africa last year.
Though less frequently, the big screen also plays its part in telling local stories.
The latest addition is the drama Greytown Girl. Based on real events, the film is a heartfelt, poetic piece about love, parenting and heritage.
It is the tale of Meena’s (Sanam Sitaram) life as an Indian woman living with disabilities.
A suitcase filled with memories transports us to Greytown, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal, in 1960 apartheid South Africa, where Meena shares her story of self-realisation and self-love.
Making her acting debut, news broadcaster Uveka Rangappa plays Devi, Meena’s mother, and Veer, her father, is played by veteran actor and activist Jack Devnarain. Their decision as parents to send Meena to an orphanage provides an emotional conundrum for viewers.
In his socials, Devnarain asks us a pertinent question: “Could you give up your own kids, even if it was for their good, no matter how much you love them?”
Due to questions such as this, Devi battles with regret and shame but shows a deep love for her daughter.
Rangappa left TV news in August 2021 to pursue other work but acting was not part of her plan. It was after some convincing by the film’s producer Rani Sitaram that she accepted the role of the mother.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian, Rangappa tells me that tapping into deep emotions was a bittersweet experience for her as a first-time actor.
“I suppose being a mother already made it a little easier,” she says.
“As a working mother, you’re always filled with guilt and regret — thinking you’re not doing the best job or giving your kids the best.
“Some emotions never go away once you have kids.”
In the scene where Meena is left at the orphanage, Rangappa says she cried for real.
“I thought of something that made me feel sad and, just as they were about to bring ‘fake tears’, the emotion took over and the tears came.”
She praises director Darrell Roodt and Devnarain for their guidance during the shoot.
“Devnarain helped me feel the character by discussing how each of our characters must be feeling and would react in the different situations. I fed off him a lot on set.”
Produced by East Coast Media, Greytown Girl is a remarkable South African story told with utmost grace. Its context is local but the love story through the romance of letter writing has global appeal.
Though centred in the Indian community, the film highlights the intersections between history and other cultures of our country. The kind-hearted Sister Biyela (Linda Sokhulu) at the orphanage, for instance, adds Zulu layers to the film.
Such stories are vital in the effort towards social cohesion and empathy. Rangappa is hopeful that we will see more stories like this make their way onto our screens and into books.
“We know our country’s difficult past — we hear how various races and cultures experienced it — but I think people are tired of seeing it told through ‘struggle stories’, so they don’t have the impact they once had.”
She adds that a simple love story, like Greytown Girl, breathes refreshing life into our country’s history.
“We need to see how all kinds of relationships and friendships suffered or developed through, or despite, that difficult, dark period.
“Those are the stories that bring hope and can be adapted to help us through whatever difficulties we are living with in modern-day South Africa,” she says.
Greytown Girl is showing in cinemas nationwide.