Another moment for South Africa in the cultural spotlight, this time thanks to ‘The Keeper of the Heart’ (Umgcini Wentliziyo) docu-fiction which recently won gold at an international festival!
Eastern Cape, South Africa (01 July 2024) — South Africa has been enjoying a series of moments in the cultural spotlight recently, with numerous talented locals earning international accolades for their work behind the scenes of films and productions as well as for directing and creating them. Our stories, passions and gifts are finding their feet on the global stage from KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape, with the latter having earned gold for its ‘The Keeper of the Heart’ docu-fiction!
At the International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2024 (ITFFA), ‘The Keeper of the Heart’ (Umgcini Wentliziyo) spoke to a big part of Xhosa culture expressed through arts and crafts.
The three-year-long project collapses into a heartwarming short story that reunites an academic granddaughter with her artistic grandmother. It’s a tale that encompasses beadwork, community, heritage, and one’s roots, laying the path for the future.
Here, we visit rural parts of the Eastern Cape, where many of the women who make beads, crafts, and history work to put food on the table and keep their culture alive and strong.
We see their plight after the pandemic impacted their livelihood, the preciousness of their crafts and the power the young generation has to guide their elders in navigating a new world where possibilities to share their culture exist in great force—when you’ve got the right technological compass.
Directed by Hloniphizwo Coleman, produced by Seton Bailey and further brought to life by the SA FILM Academy’s alumni, mentors and trainees as well as the Eastern Cape Provincial Arts & Culture Council (ECPACC), ‘The Keeper of the Heart’ is a fantastic rendition of the hero’s journey where cultural conservation is king.
Its golden win by way of the ITFFA for the Doc, TV & Web category under Travel and Tourism speaks to a slice of South African heritage that has made the whole country proud and reminds us that South Africa, like beadwork, is nothing if not a culmination of each and every unique part that makes the whole.
Watch: ‘The Keeper of the Heart’
Sources: Supplied
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