Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with Madoda Ncayiyana, the director and co-writer of Izulu Lami/ My Secret Sky.

How did you get involved with Izulu Lami/ My Secret Sky?
In 2002 I directed a short film The Sky In Her Eyes which I wrote with Julie Frederikse. It won Cannes Award called Dribil Diop Mambety Best Short Film

Why this title Izulu Lami?
We all have our own sky. This film invites the viewer to get into the little heroine's own sky - her own private world. That's why it's called Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky. Zulu is another word for heaven in the Zulu language, and the Zulu people are known as "the people of heaven", so that is why it's called Izulu Lami in Zulu and My Secret Sky in English.

You are making you debut as director of a feature film. This must be an important film in your career?
There is nothing more creative for me than directing a feature film, and to direct a Zulu language film was even more important. The entire film was shot in my own township area of KwaMashu, Inanda and Ntuzuma, as well as in the city of Durban. This is not to say that I can't direct anywhere else in the world in future, but that I hope this has contributed to the film's authenticity. The outstanding recognition the film received internationally will always encourage and remind me as a director that we can tell our stories in our own way, our own language and yet appeal to people including those who live beyond the sea, away from our cultures .

You co-wrote the screenplay with Julie Frederikse. Do you enjoy working as a team?
Co-writing gives diverse angles and opinions, in terms of gender, culture and authenticity. It strengthens screenplay creation.

Was it difficult to write the screenplay and film to make?
The challenges were that the film starred child actors who I discovered, who had never acted before. Also it is set in part in the rural areas but also in the busy streets of the Durban city center. Since it is a low-budget film it meant I had to work hard with the available means, without losing the film's central excitement.

The violence and abuse in the film are quite subdued?
I believe that you don't have to be on-the-nose but rather the strength of the actors' portrayal of their characters gives more power, in terms of strong emotions involving violence.

In your notes you mention: The key theme of spirituality in Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) is the faith that helps these orphans keep their connection with their past and see their future in a positive way. Can you elaborate?
Without a mother or father a child's life can be empty, which can lead them to destructive behaviour, but these children's belief that their mother is watching them gives them a sense of security, encouraging them to move on in life with confidence. This gives them strength to conquer challenges and above all, it gives them hope, because they feel they can achieve anything with their mother around - which she still is, in their imagination. For me, in the subtext of the film, the little girl, Thembi, learns that even if you have faith, you still have to do things for yourself.

Also in your notes: I have personal experience of how African people find the strength to grapple with challenging situations through their communication with their relatives who have died. How important was this in making the film?
Having grown up in both the rural areas and the township, and still living in KwaMashu township, I see how many sacrifices to the ancestors continue to take place. I wanted to show the reality of the people through  Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky so in order to make an authentic African film. I needed to show that the majority of African people trust traditional healers and speak to their ancestors. So the film opens with a woman burning "mphepho", the traditional African incense.

Your film highlight on two important issues of urbanisation and HIV/Aids. Was it exactly what you wanted to show your audience?
The story of the film does link into HIV/AIDS because this is a story of our times and the audience will see that the little girl's mother died, and that it seems that it was due to HIV/AIDS. As a director, I did not want to make this a key theme of the film, but this issue is more in the film's subtext, which can be seen through the film's colours, e.g. in the red of the girl's dress, like the red of the AIDS ribbon. The effects of HIV/AIDS can be seen by the numbers of children in the film who have no parents.

Your characters are mostly kids. How challenging was it in getting them to follow your script?
I enjoyed working with the child actors. To get the children to understand the film, I started by getting them to read and understand the script, even using a traditional African storytelling approach, so by the time we read lines in rehearsals they are already inspired by the story. I don't just give child actors their lines, but once they know the story they can use their imagination in their acting, just like professional adult actors.

Take me through the auditions (Where and when were they held?). Particularly, I would like you to mention what attracted you on the young inexperience Sobahle.
I conducted extensive auditions over a period of 18 months. I used such a range of methods to recruit children, from townships, informal settlements and rural areas, including everything from using a loudhailer in the streets to putting out the word through local schools. I saw more than 3,000 children. I was searching for two children to play the two main characters who needed to be able to show their transformation from deep rural to getting to know the city. This was difficult because you mainly find either urban or rural children, so I had to find children I could train in acting so that they could show this transformation on screen - and I found Sobahle Mkhabase (who plays Thembi) and Sibonelo Malinga (who plays Khwezi). When I saw Sobahle at her school I saw that she had such a striking face, the ability to project and great presence - all in one very small little girl. Then I had to discover whether there was acting potential hidden there, and I was able to develop her talent through the extensive acting workshops. I am glad that her talent has been recognised through the Best Actress Award she won at the Spanish film festival, against adult actors.

How long did it get you convinced about the characters?
My intention with the workshops was not just to get children who would play my characters only, but to arm these children so that they can, like any professional actors, do various kinds of roles. So the characters emerged through the workshops, and the children took on their different roles according to their abilities and the way I trained them. Because, remember, none of these children had ever acted before I discovered them in the auditions.

Was this always your aim to focus on raw talent?
I love discovering new talent, it's very rewarding, and I think it builds the South African film industry. The Best Actress Award won in Spain by first time actress Sobahle, who was only 10 years old when she acted in Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky, seems to be vindication that I was on the right track in seeking out new talent, however raw, because I was confident that I could train these children to perform well for the camera.

What inspired you to use children for your film?
Children are the most vulnerable of people, but this film shows how using their inner strengths from out the best in them. And children can tell us the story about themselves in their own way and in their own language.

How did you choose the location to shoot the film?
I chose the locations in part because we needed to be as close as possible to Durban, and there are beautiful rural areas very close to Durban which look very rural. One of my favourite locations is the place where the children are sitting under a lone single tree that somehow managed to survive where no other trees could, in the middle of a beautiful rural field. That tree, for me, symbolizes the resilience of these orphaned children to survive in challenging circumstances.

Tell me about your background in theatre, as a director, actor, writer and being a co-founder of Theatre for Africa?
I co-founded Theatre for Africa with Nicholas Ellenbogen and Ellis Pearson and won awards for my writing, directing and acting, including the Scotsman Award at the Edinburgh Festival and awards at the Grahamstown Festival. I founded my own theatre company, Maningi Theatre, in Durban. Then I moved into writing and directing radio drama when I co-founded Vuleka Productions with Julie Frederikse. We moved into television ten years ago when we won a tender to produce the first South African Takalani Sesame series, and went to New York to train with Sesame Workshop, with eight Vuleka staff members. I have continued to work as a director, moving into TV with various documentaries and children's series Vuleka has produced for SABC. Vuleka's short film, The Sky in Her Eyes, won the Djibril Diop Mambety Award for Best African Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003, which inspired us to develop Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky. Now I am excited to have directed my first feature film, and especially proud of the performances of the young actors in Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky.

Izulu Lami scooped two awards in Spain and another one at Cannes. How was the reaction of the people in Spain regarding this film?
I am so pleased that the film has done well outside South Africa, e.g. at the Tarifa film festival. There was such a vibe of excitement around Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky that I wasn't surprised that it won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. And little Sobahle was such a hit that I wasn't surprised that she won the Best Actress Award, even though she was competing against adults.

Did you expect the film to do so well outside the country?
I always new that by prioritizing authenticity in filming Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky it  would be very appealing attractive to those who see themselves and their lives in the film, as South Africans, but also those international audiences who are curious about us and our life in Africa. I was also confident that the heart and the emotion of the film has a universal appeal but I did not make the film with the aim of awards in mind, I just did it with a passion and the actors passionately engaged in it, so it was gratifying to earn the awards from audiences and various juries internationally.

This film has made a huge impact outside the country before the local people sees it. Are you expecting the same reaction from the locals?
I really feel that South Africans are going to bond with this film - it's so familiar, yet the child actors bring great new energy.

What do you hope South Africans will get from watching IZulu Lami?
It gives hope and shows the resilience of young children, even those without parents. The film is a mirror for ourselves as adults, to see how often we do not stop to notice the reality of children. We don't get down to their level often enough, to understand their experiences. I also hope that audiences will see the performances of the young children in the film, and understand why for example Sobahle Mkhabase won the Best Actress Award in Spain, against adult professional actors.

The local industry seems to be blossoming. You views on the state of the South African film industry?
We are excited about the building of capacity of the Durban and KwaZulu-Natal film industry, which Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky showcases. Up until now most focus has been on Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Why do you think South Africans are so slack at watching their own films and how can we improve this?
I think we are still in the process of building new audiences, through authentic film work, emerging from the Hollywood approach which is not really who we are and often leaves local audiences behind. The more we do films where South Africans see themselves on the screen, the more we'll grow audiences for South African films. Of course this will require continued effort, also through new ways of marketing our films.

Have you always wanted to be a filmmaker?  Where did it all start for you?
I have always wanted to be a director - and I have been, in theatre, radio, TV and film.

Your future plans?
My next feature film, also starring some of these young children who I discovered in my extensive casting (auditioning more than 3,000 chidlren!) and who have proved their talents in Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky.

Any comments you would like to share?   
These children actors who come from township and informal settlements in KZN had not been to the cinema or acted before but  have worked hard through acting workshops I had with them in preparation for the movie, they have achieved and changed their lives and this fulfills me as an African director.  

READ MORE ABOUT IZULU LAMI/ MY SECRET SKY

READ INTERVIEW WITH JULIE FREDERIKSE

Copyright © 2009 Daniel Dercksen/ The Writing Studio

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