A newly released local film buoyed by an open approach to filmmaking takes on the complexities faced by the politically astute LGBTI community, writes Kwanele Sosibo.
In the Cape Town-set film While You Weren’t Looking, an ageing gay man goes in a search of one of his former lovers, a former uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) operative who is now a political heavyweight. Meanwhile, his student Asanda, the adopted daughter of a well-to-do interracial lesbian couple, Dez and Terri, falls for Shado, a “tommy boy” from Khayelitsha, as her parents’ relationship falls apart.
Through these three parallel narratives, a compelling composite of contemporary South African LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) culture emerges, buoyed by immersive cinematography and an open approach to filmmaking.
The film, which was scripted, workshopped and shot in 18 months, was funded to the tune of about R8-million by the National Lotteries Commission and the Other Foundation, which funds arts initiatives with a connection to the LBGTI community.
“We were lucky that we got so much money without a script,” says producer Nodi Murphy, also the director of South Africa’s long-running gay and lesbian film festival, Out In Africa. “It was very soft money that we didn’t have to pay back.”
Murphy says many big film festivals have platforms where there are opportunities to look for funding for projects. “They have panels, and they bring in commissioning editors from big studios or independents, and people can pitch their ideas. But I don’t know of another film festival that raised the finance and actually produced a feature film.”
Makgano Mamabolo of Puo Pha Productions, who came in as an associate producer, says the film addressed a pivotal moment in South Africa, so “we couldn’t just tell a singular narrative about one person, because so much needed to be said, considering that this is the festival’s first and only
The film was directed by Catherine Stewart and written by a team that included Matthew Krouse, Amy Jephta and Vanessa Herman. Krouse, who has handled several scriptwriting jobs, most notably the 1987 underground classic Shot Down, which he scripted with Andrew Worsdale, says early script-development workshops were overseen by Burhan Qurbani, the Afghan-German film director behind Shahada, a movie about three Muslim Berliners whose lives intersect as they confront fundamentalism and homosexuality.
Murphy says that, “when push came to shove and we had very little time, it seemed very appropriate to have the life experiences of the writers there”.
Krouse, who later took on the role of senior scriptwriter, emphasises the communal nature of the project. The movie, he says, “emerged from the consciousness of the group setting opposed to a visionary with a plan”.
For full report by Kwanele Sobiso see Mail & Guardian
See While You Weren’t Looking at The Labia
PHOTO: Tina Jaxa, Camilla Waldman and Sandy Schultz in their respective roles as Milly, Terri and Dez.
