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UMTHWA NOMTHWAKAZI

NATIONAL FILM & VIDEO FOUNDATION OF SOUTH AFRICA (NFVF) - as PROMO

Documentary - Completed 2015

“A future remembered: Songs of a Calabash

- Year of production
- 2015
- Genres
- Documentary
- Countries
- SOUTH AFRICA
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Duration
- 90 mn
- Synopsis
- uMthwa noMthwakwazi is a rare and enchanting feature documentary that truly tells an African story of love. The documentary is about a journey of a young South African couple as life and musical partners who come together to resurrect a genre of music, unique to African culture, on the brink of extinction.
  The documentary tells the tale of two artists finding each other, trying to keep each other and their commitment to the art that reassures their love. The documentary focus on two characters, Mthwakazi (a vocally gifted and dynamic African woman in her late twenties) and Mthwa (a charismatic instrumentalist in his early thirties). The two characters are equally and uniquely talented and are well known upcoming artist in South Africa who have shared a stage with international performers including the likes of world-renowned Simphiwe Dana. Where most are keen to commercialize their talent in order to reap faster returns, Mthwa and Mthwakazi decide to immerse themselves in an uncommercial and rare genre of music; as they live out their married life in the rural hinterlands of the South Africa but their immense talent soon finds its way to the city.
  This screenplay will capture the process and journey of Mthwa and Mthwakazi as they create and record their latest album and the challenges they face as a young married couple. The album, much like the narrative of this documentary, is a metaphor of their lives and love. In between each song recording and performance we will take time to understand the history and reality of these two talented individuals, their musical union and how their cultural evolution lead to a spiritual understanding.