Friday, September 30, 2011

Press release for Sizwe

TOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gemma Wright
Sel: 072 084 5425
Email: gwright89@gmail.com

FROM THE PEN OF THE WRITER OF ONE OF THE BEST FIRST YEAR FILMS AT CITY VARSITY IN 2010 COMES THE STORY OF SIZWE.

Aiming to grab the attention of the viewers and making them sit up and realise that life is not as rosy as people try to make it look, the writer and director Bongani Yonga captures the essence of his message with flair.
“The whole point is me saying to my people we can solve problems, but not using violence!” Yonga says about the message of the film.
The story is about a young man Sizwe living in the township who got involved with the wrong friends. He and his two friends are responsible for a series of crimes in the townships and this evokes the wrath of the task team in the neighbourhood watch. After the murder and rape of a schoolgirl the watch kills Sizwe’s buddies in mob justice. Sizwe seeks the help of his school teacher who is the only one who really got to know Sizwe and believed that he was not involved in the rape. Together they try to save Sizwe from the angry mob.
Viewers will find that they can sympathise with Sizwe because it was one bad choice of friends that could lead to his death. If you look at the townships you will see kids getting involved in crimes because of friends. The film stands out from the rest because all the events are what the people there deal with every day. Those who are not familiar with the townships and what really happens there will be shocked to see how things are done. It informs the viewers about the true stance of things in the townships, from the writer’s point of view. He comes from the township and uses this film to speak to his people.
A controversial scene that captures the essence of the movie is the one that shows the two boys being set on fire by the mob. This scene shows the brutality of the mob and how far they are willing to go to rid their community of wrongdoers.
Yonga who’s previous film, The Greater Love, was praised and considered one of the three best films of the first year film group of 2010 feels that this film would be even better than that one. He works hard and has a team that is just as motivated as him to bring the message to life on screen.
“This could be any township in South Africa; it shows basic violence in the township” Yonga says
“These are young kids that are terrorising the community so they set them alight.” Amanda Mafanya the producer says.
“We are all only one bad choice away from death or jail.” Yonga says
The film is a work from someone coming out of the township walking away from the troubles and choosing the right path to go. He chose a violence free life and went out to make something better of his life and making films to show the situations he comes from.
Screening date: November 2010
Venue: The labia, Orange Street
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If you like more information please call Kim Meissenheimer at 0825891958 or email Kim at Kim.meissenheimer@gmail.com

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