Kasi Untold - Documentary Series
Urban townships are where the majority of South Africa’s youth are living and it is important to refocus our energies to tell stories from and in these spaces.
“Kasi Untold” is a series of four short films from Cape Townships told through a youthful lens, juxtaposing narratives of pain and hope. The films explore the notion of home in contested and conflicted spaces and ask the question "What is home?”.
The series is a Plexus Films project designed to give young aspiring filmmakers an opportunity to capture generational stories and experiences. The project involved workshopping story ideas together with experienced filmmakers and storytellers such as historian Geoff Mamputa, social activist Emile Jansen from Heal the Hood, filmmaker and academic Dylan Valley, and producer Lauren Groenewald. Mentoring and technical support was also provided to the young filmmakers by director of photography Eaton de Jongh and acclaimed editor Tonia Moller.
The Cape Town Museum has partnered with the project to provide a platform to highlight and showcase these "untold stories" as they unfold in four different Cape Town townships - or Kasi.
The project was made possible with the support of The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme.
Kasi Untold: Illusion of Distance
"The Illusion of Distance" delves into the enduring effects of the Apartheid. Boeta Allie, an 80-year-old man classified as coloured by the Apartheid government was separated from his childhood friend Isaac Mbenyane because of his race. The two were inseparable as children while living in District 6, before forced removals scattered communities and families across the Cape Flats. Boeta Allie and Isaac ended up in neighborhoods set aside for so-called coloureds and blacks by the ruling party of the day. Langa and Bonteheuwel are only divided by a highway but because of pass laws and the restriction of movement, the friends did not see each other for more than 70 years. The film follows Boeta Allie's journey as he is accompanied by 'born-free' filmmaker Sapho Wulana to try and find his long-lost friend Isaac.
Kasi Untold: Mandilakhe - Let Me Build
Mandilakhe's story plays out in the highly contested greenbelt of Hout Bay that divides rich and poor. Mandilakhe is a young man from a rural village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. He was raised by his grandmother but when she died he had to move to the overpopulated informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, Cape Town. Throughout the film, we are confronted by the challenges he faces on a daily basis in a society precariously built on unequal playing fields of opportunity. Filmmakers Wonga Lucas and Adriaan Madikisa both from Hout Bay poignantly capture the story of the "last man standing" on this piece of land after all the other makeshift homes that were erected during COVID are demolished.
Kasi Untold: iKHAYA elingelo khaya - A Home Is Not A Home
Ma Dlamini lived in the overpopulated Langa Hostels sharing a room with three different families for more than 30 years. The males-only hostels were originally built for migrant labourers and Ma Dlamini had to hide from the police during the restrictive Apartheid years. With the dawn of democracy, she hoped to finally have her own home and has been on the waiting list for an RDP house for over 20 years. She now lives in a shack close to the hostels with her school going grandchildren. She is a survivor who despite all her challenges continues to fight for a better future for her family. Filmmaker Xolani Tumalni’s mother also lived in a Langa hostel and this film he explores the questions that he has had since a boy.
Kasi Untold: Masiphumelele
Masiphumelele means “We will succeed” in Xhosa. In the early 1980’s a group of 400-500 black people started an informal settlement in the bushes close to where Masiphumelele is today. Today more than 26,000 people live in Masiphumelele. Zintle Magazi is a young woman and activist born and bred in Masiphumelele. Her quest to explore the notion of home and identity within this space resulted in a storytelling project to recapture the beauty of Masi. Through Struggles We Rise is an ode to Masi and brings together young and old voices in an exploration of Masiphumelele’s identity. Director Sipho Gwampi along with Researcher Phinda Kula and Kwanele Eiler joined Zintle in telling this story.
