BEHIND THE CAMERA: Omotoso reflects on funding, healing, xenophobia

26 August 2011 - 02:24 By Chivimbiso Gava
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SHOWCASE: Akin Omotoso takes his new film to Toronto Picture: DANIEL BORN
SHOWCASE: Akin Omotoso takes his new film to Toronto Picture: DANIEL BORN

Director Akin Omotoso's new feature film, Man on Ground, will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month. He tells us more:

What is the film about?

It's about one man's journey to reconcile with his estranged brother. A Nigerian man living in Johannesburg disappears during xenophobic attacks. His brother, on a short visit from London, tries to find him. It's a film about humanity divided and a desire for healing.

What inspired the film?

The film was inspired by the picture of Ernesto Nhamuavhe. [Nhamuavhe, a 35-year-old Mozambican, was burned alive during the xenophobic violence in South Africa in May 2008.]

What did you discover in your research?

Hakeem Kae-Kazim and Fabian Adeoye Lojede, who star in and are co-producers of the film, really enjoyed the research process, which took three years. Together we discovered a lot, but the most important thing was what the community of Setjwetla [an informal settlement near Alex] did to stop the mobs from harming "foreigners".

Any highlights during filming?

We were truly blessed on this film. From the crowd funders who gave us money to those who supported us, from the cast and crew, someone was watching over us because we could have fallen many times, but we never did.

What do you make of the xenophobic attacks?

I think we are living in a world that has become problematic, from Europe talking about how "multi-culturalism" has failed to the persecution of people of other races, religious backgrounds, sexual orientation or whatever "other" there is. My hope is that people realise the difference between us and them is one and the same.

Are you excited about being featured at the Toronto International Film Festival?

We are very excited about this, considering how far we have come. Toronto is one of the top five film festivals in the world and it is an honour to be on the roll call. Toronto is a good place to showcase films because their audience so, in terms of the films from Africa, it's great to have the stories travel.

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