Mlungisi Gumede
A young Durban-based filmmaker, Andile Buwa, is set to take the South African film industry by storm with his passion and talent in writing films.
Buwa, 33, is a video technology graduate from the Durban University of Technology. He is busy with the post production of his second film, The Voice, expected to hit the market in February.
Buwa's first film, titled The Puzzle, is presently being screened on the M-Net show, Mzansi Magic, where it received huge acclaim. It is about a garage attendant who falls in love with a rich girl. After they marry he is bewildered by the high life and, before long, he starts cheating.
The Puzzle was filmed in Durban and surrounding areas, including informal settlements.
"I always had a passion for writing films but the interest developed in 2007, after I was part of the production team which put together the short story The Secret, which was screened on SABC1," Buwa said.
He started his filming career as a Durban-based eTV news cameraman, and gained confidence while following news events and newsmakers. This confidence and determination was clearly evident when he shot The Puzzle.
It featured lead actors like Zolisa Xaluva, who stars as Jason on the popular SABC1 soapie Generations, and actress Zikhona Sodlaka, of eTV's Rhythm City.
The Voice features seasoned actors like the Family Bonds duo Nhlanhla Dlamini and Thabo Nguni.
"I always mix experienced actors with fresh talent when I do my films," he said, adding that local movie lovers should brace themselves for more fun stuff in The Voice.
Buwa who is also a founder of the black African cinema regeneration movement, a lobby group which has, among other things, put pressure on the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) to fulfil its mandate of supporting up-and-coming filmmakers.
"The NFVF is a state organ funded by the Department of Art and Culture mandated to support local filmmakers, particularly those who were previously disadvantaged, but the foundation is funding already established filmmakers – a move that is killing the spirit of young creativity," he said.
Buwa said he aims to show his film in the Durban film festival in July, before broadening his horizons to international film festivals, like Cannes in France.
"The challenge for young filmmakers is funding. The organisations that should help us have too much bureaucracy and tend to have favourites.
"That is why the local market is flooded with international productions and films," he said.
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