Is This About Filmmaking?

For this month, we take a look at Sabbatical, a film that is written and directed by Karabo Lediga. It follows a banker who returns unannounced to her childhood home and her overbearing mother, whom she hardly visits. Unbeknownst to her mother, a life-changing secret brought her back, threatening to upend their relationship forever (Diprente, 2025). In the first episode, we consider the mother-dau...

On our last episode, we discuss the responsibility passed down from the older generation to the youth through a case study of Blackbeard ‘s character archetype derived from the Virgin’s Promise. Listener discretion advised.

On the penultimate episode on Night of the Kings, we continue quite an emotional journey going through this film that fell into our hands. We step inside La Maca, Côte d'Ivoire's largest prison and the setting of the film. More than a prison, La Maca functions as its own society, with its own rituals, hierarchies, and rules. Join us as we break down the film's opening scene and explore...

This week, we explore language, translation, and storytelling through Night of the Kings. From the role of the djeli and African oral traditions to adaptation, cultural nuance, and storytelling as survival. We examine how stories travel across cultures, what gets lost in translation, and why specificity often makes stories more universal rather than less. Listener discretion is advised.

Night of the King s (2021) follows a young man who is thrust into the responsibility of being a storyteller on his first night in prison. Should he fail to fulfil this duty, his life will be in danger. On today’s episode, we unpack the dichotomy between the young and the old generation through the characters Roman and Barbe Noire. This episode is brought to you by Eyethu Heritage Hall who are resp...

In our last episode, we continue to talk about the opening sequence, which introduces Johan Niemand and who he is in his imaginary world, which would eventually influence his trajectory in his journey with the Kanaries. We speak about Boy George, music in the film and the overall impression this film made and what it means to us as individuals. Listener discretion is advised.

On this week’s instalment of Christiaan Olwagen’s Kanarie, we focus on the first ten minutes. We analyse the opening sequence: the wedding dress, the flawed Boy George makeup, and the sudden shift into a new-wave musical fantasy. How does this intro act as a microcosm for the entire film's exploration of queer identity and compulsory compliance. Listener discretion is advised.

We identify the social institutions shaping Johan’s journey, including the military, masculinity, nationalism, and examine how they enforce conformity while suppressing identity and desire. Listener discretion is advised.

Today we discuss the “Virgin’s Promise” story structure in Kanarie, focusing on Johan Niemand as the “virgin” figure. What is it like to be a young man trapped between duty, identity, and self-expression in apartheid-era South Africa? Listener discretion is advised.

Kanarie (2018) is a coming of-age film that follows a young man trying to navigate his identity and place in the world. In this episode, we discussed our initial thoughts on the film and give a brief character analysis, with focus on characters that speak to the film’s throughline. Listener discretion is advised.

In the final episode on  Black Girl , we unpack one of the film’s most powerful scenes, still exploring themes of identity, colonialism, and isolation. We reflect on how Diouana’s story reveals the emotional toll of displacement and the lasting impact of power and race dynamics. Listener discretion is advised.

A discussion on respectability politics as a regulating force, examining how it informs identity, social mobility, and belonging. We explore how characters navigate these expectations, and how compliance and resistance coexist. Listener discretion is advised.

We get into epistemic violence vs epistemic disobedience. We discuss who gets to define truth, whose voices are erased, and what it means to push back. Listener discretion is advised.

To journey to something better means to encounter the unknown and sometimes a change in place doesn't mean a change in freedom. This month, we focus on Ousmane Sembène's 1966 film, Black Girl . A young Seneglase girl gets employed as a nanny for a French couple. She excitedly relocates for greener pastures, but finds her life shrinking. Listener discretion is advised.

Examining the film through its locations, colour palette, and key scenes, and how these elements symbolise power, silence, and the tension of this difficult case and the people involved. Listener discretion is advised.

We explore the star witness in Citation and why this character is crucial to the story; holding the power to speak truth, challenge authority, and expose institutional failures, while showing the personal cost of stepping forward. But we also explore the connection between Moremi and the witness. Does this work?

A character-focused discussion examining how key figures are written in relation to power, silence, and accountability. The analysis looks at motivation, agency, and credibility, and how character construction reflects the institutional dynamics at the centre of the story. Listener discredition is advised.

In this episode, we discuss how Citation (2020) constructs power within its academic setting. We examine how the university functions not just as a backdrop, but as an active system that reinforces hierarchy, authority, and silence. Listener discretion is advised.

What are the chances of a student being believed and finding justice in a system that is designed to protect the powerful over the vulnerable? This question encapsulates the film we are discussing in today's episode. Citation (2020) is a social drama that follows a postgraduate student who accuses a respected university professor of sexual harassment and assault. Listener discretion is advised.

Saying goodbye to Queenstown Kings, Loyiso and Reineth touch on the representation of women in the film.

On the penultimate episode about Queentown Kings, Loyiso and Reineth take a moment to consider discipline and selflessness and the differences between traditions and modernity.

Continuing with the conversation, we go into a deeper dive with the film, Queenstown Kings.

In this episode, Loyiso and Reineth examine themes of forgiveness, community, and redemption through  Queenstown Kings , considering how the beautiful game of soccer becomes a shared language in Komani, Eastern Cape.