A Bloekombos man has made a movie that he hopes will inspire young people to never give up, no matter the odds.
About 100 people attended the launch of Intando Yomzali, at the Bloekombos High School hall on Saturday June 1.
The movie by Siphiwo “Israel” Ngqawuza is available on YouTube. It features the talents of young actors from Bloekombos, Wallacedene, Mitchell’s Plain and Franschhoek.
Intando Yomzali, which means “A parent’s love”, is about a young woman, Babalwa, played by Ndile Nghalwe, who grew up in the Eastern Cape before moving to Franschhoek to pursue studies in the medical field.
After being accepted to university, she meets a rich, married man and falls for his charming ways. None the wiser that he has his own family back home in the Eastern Cape, Babalwa falls pregnant and is left to fend for herself and support her baby.
But, after giving birth, she returns to university, graduates with a medical and health science qualification and decides to create a better life for her and the child.
According to Mr Ngqawuza, the issues Babalwa faces are real everyday ones.
“Our youth fall prey to the ills in our communities, including becoming mothers and fathers at an early age or being brought up in drugs and violence, but it is not the end of their lives, it is only the beginning.
“There is time to change for the good – just like Babalwa in the movie,” he said.
Working with young people and producing had always been passions of his, so he had decided to join the two, he said.
The idea to make the movie had come to him in a dream 10 years ago, he said.
He built a recording studio in a shack in his backyard and introduced inexperienced actors to the production world.
“I knew I had to take our young kids off the streets and show them that there is light at the end of the tunnel. This might not be a career for all of them to pursue, but at least they have a hobby.”
He said he wanted to make another movie with young people once he had raised the money to do so.