Mzansi screenplay African American makes waves on international film circuit
Africans moving to America is not a unique phenomenon. In fact, the migration of locals in search of realising their dreams abroad has become more frequent over the years with about 25 000 skilled people leaving South Africa annually.
While these moves may seem glamorous, locally produced film African American seeks to explore the reality of Africans in America in search of a ‘better life'.
The film is the brainchild of sibling duo Phumelele 'Phumi' Mthembu and Muzi Mthembu, with Phumi playing the lead role of Nompumelelo who escapes to New York from Johannesburg, to live her childhood dream of starring on Broadway.
Nompumelelo is quickly confronted with the realisation that glitter isn’t gold and that the American dream that she seeks may not apply to African-Americans or Africans in America.
Speaking to writer and Director Muzi, he said this exploratory film explores nationhood, supported by very personal reasons.
“I, like many other South Africans, and for many years, have been Coca-colonised by American culture. Growing up, I remember icons like Walt Disney, Whitney Houston and many others, and wondered about this nation of seemingly magical people.
"It made me look sideways at South African culture(s), perceiving them as underdeveloped and not yet up to standard. It wasn't until university that I had to interrogate much of my assumptions and look at the beauty and history that my own shores had to offer. African American as a film is my coming to this realisation and sharing it with the world,” he said.
“The film is an exploration of selfishness and ambition. It draws a very complex metaphor between marriage and citizenship, making the point that there is no such thing as a perfect person, relationship and country, but nonetheless understanding that the flaws do not detract from the thing's value. All three of these things require effort, work and empathy in order to mine anything worthwhile from them, and this is the message I want audiences to get from watching the film.”
African American has found itself on a huge international platform with its world festival premiere at the 2021 Pan African Film & Arts Festival that took place on February 28, 2021-March 14, 2021, and will now have its worldwide exclusive streaming premiere on Netflix. The film was shot between two continents which posed a creative challenge for Muzi, he admits, with a high level of meticulous planning and execution needed, with lessons of the business of independent filmmaking that he thought he knew previously.
“The film is a semi-autobiographical work based on my sister's eight months in New York City, and so in the writing of the film. There were a lot of conversations with her about her experience there. I started writing the screenplay in 2017, the year when a new administration was entering the White House: knowing that the film was coming up, I submerged myself in the news coming out of America on an almost 24-hour basis.
"I would reach out to friends via Facebook who lived in America for their insights, as well as physically going to the United States to observe how Americans were handling the new political dispensation. The research continued even as I was shooting the film, continually asking questions to strangers about sensitive topics related to American society. It was a completely immersive experience.
The film’s takeaway, according to Muzi, is that the grass is greener where one waters it.
“As South Africans, we often lament our circumstances, and it is easy to feel jaded by them. But my protagonist finds that this very melancholy isn't unique to SA, and is something that can haunt one no matter where they live. You always take yourself with you, and the pursuit of realising one's dream should never eclipse one's realisation of one's own nature and perspective.
amanda.maliba@inl.co.za
Sunday Independent