South Africa's women movie producers continue to shatter the glass ceiling - upcoming film Mrs Right Guy was written and produced by a predominantly female team.
Save for male producer Dumi Gumbi and script contributor Pusetso Thibedi, the romantic comedy's production was spear-headed by Mokopi Shale, Cati Weinek and Khetiwe Ngcobo.
The three women are the beneficiaries of a National Film and Video Foundation contract that gives them operating capital over a period of three years for a number of films.
Directed by Nigerian-born filmmaker Adze Ugah, Mrs Right Guy tells of the challenges faced by so-called millennials on their quest for true love.
"The storyline about the challenges facing a strong single woman in her search for a mate is highly topical," said Ugah.
Initially titled The Golden Highway, the film is set in Johannesburg and takes place between Soweto and the northern suburbs, which are connected by the busy highway.
Gugu Hlatshwayo, played by Dineo Moeketsi, bumps into one of her potential love interests on the highway and so the story of finding the right guy begins.
Shale said the film tries to highlight the effects of heartbreak on women and the way in which that tends to guide some of the decisions made about men and relationships.
"We underestimate the impact of heartbreak on women. You find a lot of women opting to focus on their career as a result and thinking that men are rubbish," said Shale.
"Another thing is that women find good guys boring and choose the bad boy and that leads to heartbreak. and the film looks at that."
She said Mrs Right Guy wants to change the mindsets of women when it comes to relationships and make them realise that a change in perspective might be all that is needed to find the perfect mate.
"There's all these patriarchal notions about how long it should take you to find 'the one' but the idea is to help people change their perceptions on relationships."
The film is expected to be released at the end of next month.
