The 48-minute documentary "Bongani Umama”, to be broadcast on SABC2 at 21h00 on 22 February, features the personal narratives of two women building and repairing the nation’s roads.
Directed by Liza Aziz and produced by Aziz and Piwe Mkhize, the documentary shows how Doris Zethu Sikhakhane single-handedly supports five children after the death of her husband. This she does by maintaining a length of road close to her homestead: digging, cleaning, and picking up stones on the long stretch of road in Denny Dalton, a rural village in northern KwaZulu Natal. She is one of 39 000 women currently contracted by The Department of Transport (KZN)’s Zibambele Programme. Her life is one of survival and courage against the most trying odds.
Thatheni Dulcie Zondi is slowly building her own empire. She has been contracted by the Department of Transport KZN’s Vukuzakhe Programme to build a bridge in Newcastle. The documentary follows this 50-year old traditional woman’s
trials and tribulations on site in Newcastle at the Mbabane Bridge.
The film traverses between the lives of these two women and the problems they encounter in their day to day lives. It is a story about real women, unsung heroes – a unique and reverent look into one of the most marginalized groups of people in South Africa. Music was composed by Sazi Dlamini.
Aziz' credits include the nationally acclaimed documentary “Women on the Beat”, an expose on women in the South African Police Service (e.tv). She has also produced a documentary for SABC1 for their “10 Years of Freedom” project. This documentary, “Ikhaya” (“Home”) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2004 and was subsequently chosen for eight other film festivals including the Berlinale Film Festival 2004. Aziz was also associate producer for the documentary “Trancing in Dreamtime” (SABC 1).
