Home

Mahikeng film director defies the odds and creates award-winning film

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard on the creative industry. However, while creatives bore the brunt of the national lockdown, Tebogo Chologi from Mahikeng, in the North West, worked with what he had to create a film called The Shack.

The film has now won the best art film award from the Kismet Film Festival in the United States as well as other awards and film selections in the country.

Chogoli says he has directed more than four films.

“I was born and raised in Magogoe Tlhabologo and I have been in the film industry for more than 10 years now. To date, I have directed more than four films now independently with other companies,” he explains.

The announcement of the national lockdown halted many sectors, including the film industry.

COVID-19 has a devastating effect on the creative industry:

The North West Province has had an inactive creative sector for quite some time, but these deterring factors did not stop Chologi.

“It was the beginning of lockdown, we were told that there’s something called COVID-19 coming and that was a shock to everyone in the industry. The worst part was that were told that we were not supposed to gather. While I was just going under this lockdown from March till May, I just came with an idea that I’m not going to sit and do nothing. I do have a shack in my backyard so I just picked up the camera and started working.”

Ministerial Advisory Team to deal with the plight of creatives during COVID-19:

Film inspiration

Chologi says he got his inspiration for The Shack from the challenges faced by ordinary South African during the pandemic.

The Shack is based on a shack telling us the story about a person who’s staying in that shack. The idea came when we were told to wash our hands three times a day, wear a mask and I was like okay, what if there’s this guy who’s volunteering as a security at a nearby school. He does not have a TV or radio. Where is he going to get the information? Where is he going to get money to buy soaps, masks and sanitisers? Does he even know what a sanitiser is? So The Shack is more of telling the story of the person who cannot tell his own story.”

The film has already won an international film award:

Chologi says he took a gamble entering for the awards.

“The time the film got its first award from the United States of America, from the Kismet Film Festival, it was like I was just throwing a dice because I did not have the entry fee for the festival. Then I wrote an email to them to say that ‘I am from Mahikeng, South Africa. I would like to be part of the film festival’ and they gave me a free entry.

Lucky enough, I got an award for best art film. I got my second award from Umgungundlovu Film Festival in KZN. At the moment, The Shack has got its other selection from a Ripid Lion Film Festival that will take place at the Market Theatre in April and another selection from New Jersey, America and the festival is on the 27th of this month (March).”

The film was released on digital platforms only and Chologi believes this is the way to the future.

“I am taking advantage of social media and that’s the thing we cannot ignore now because everything is online. The COVID-19 situation showed that the world is going digital. It’s adding to the evolution or a different way of doing things.

The world is going online. Now we do auditions online so even myself I thought of doing it the unconventional way,” he concludes. – Report by Tebogo Phakedi

Author

MOST READ