CROWDS in Tsholotsho last Friday flocked to see the much-anticipated Imfihlo Yomndeni film series by Pascar Ncube following the recent release of the book version.
Assembled at one of Tsholotsho business centres’ most popular chill spots, amaZhwane, the people of Tsholotsho came in their numbers.
The launch, held by Ingwalo Ezingazose Zabuna Publishers ran under the theme, Reviving the culture of reading Ndebele novels through visual arts and was organised by Siduduzile Mhlanga and Lerrian Moyo.
The main aim was to maintain the spirit of ubuntu through Ndebele novels and making sure that Ndebele culture is not lost, but preserved through literature.
The series was filmed at the nearby Dombo village.
Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style, the author of the novel and executive producer of the film series, Pascar Ncube, said the themes that prevailed in the novel were those of culture and gender-based violence.
"I was trying to look at the old way of life and how family matters were solved in terms of culture. For example if my brother passed away, I would be able to take my brother's wife. Now I can't with the advent of Aids and the proliferation of Western values," he said.
"The film itself is about a man who is infertile and is deceived into thinking that he has children and when he finds out that they are not his, he starts to abuse his family.”
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In a separate interview, Melphine Ndlovu from eZinangeni, koDlamini in Tsholotsho, who played the role of Secret in the series said the filming process was not easy, but she managed to work through it as she saw herself as famous actress in the future.
"My character and that of Secret are actually quite similar so playing her role was not that difficult. When coming to filming it was very tiresome as some scenes would be shot once successfully but others would require many retakes," she said.
In the post-production stage of the film, Devante Mabhena, who was responsible for the editing and addition of subtitles, said that the series was executed with very little resources, adding that everyone pulled in the same direction and played their part in coming up with the final product.
"After episode six of the series was shot, that is when I came in for the final editing, the film lacked some equipment such as a boom mic but we worked with what we had since the film was on a low budget,"
The audience was blessed by performances by Amaginyambila, Cubickky and the maskandi artist dubbed ‘Khuzani of Tsholotsho’ known by his stage name, Menzomuhle with DJ Smalls from Skyez Metro FM mesmerising them.
Ncube is set to have another launch on November 5 at the Zoo Lake venue in Johannesburg, South Africa.
