Local Zulu-language feature film Gog’ Helen premiered at the Durban International Film Festival in July. The dark comedy is set in a Gauteng township.
Adze Ugah, director of local feature film Gog’ Helen, explains that the inspiration for the story came from his frustration at always being the “little guy’.
“You always wish you had more money, power and influence to just snap your fingers and have things happen, but it doesn’t work like that. In reality you have to deal with bullies whether you’re at school, at work, or even on the road.
“Sadly, in South Africa women are often exploited and at the receiving end of a lot of bullying. This film is my answer to that, but not as a spotlight on how women go through hell, rather as a fun story where the women who go through hell, fight back and defeat the giants,’ explains Ugah.
Originally from Nigeria, Ugah has worked in South Africa since he came to Johannesburg to do his honours degree at AFDA in 2003. He has directed the TV dramas Jacob’s Cross, Society and Zone 14.
Quirky film
“Gog’ Helen is a quirky film, it’s eccentric but it’s rooted in a social reality that South Africans and anyone else in the world can identify with,’ says Ugah.
“It’s about a woman who decides to buy her grandmother a new mattress without knowing that her life savings were hidden in the old mattress. This initiates a series of events that ultimately test her and her grandmother’s resolve to stay together as a family.’
The script was originally turned down by local content pay-TV channel Mzansi Magic. “Then producer Cati Weinek, who I worked with on Zone14, called and asked if I had a script for a film. Surprisingly, she and her business partner both liked it. They had private investors lined up who wanted to get involved in media and funded the film. The funders formed an entity called Goliath Productions to get the film made,’ explains Ugah.
Because they were on a shoestring budget, they followed what Ugah calls “a poor man’s process’. This meant that, among other things, they couldn’t afford stuntmen. “It’s a very energetic story in the sense that it required things from actors like falling down and being shot. Some of our cast members were almost 70 but had to do their own stunts. That freaked me out because there was always the concern that they’d get hurt, but they did it anyway.’
The film was shot in 10 days between 14 and 24 December 2011. “The short production time was a nightmare, because one day of rain or bad weather would have ruined it. Luckily, the rain kept away until the moment the AD said, “It’s a wrap’.’
According to Ugah the location was a Gauteng squatter camp called Thabo Mbeki village. “It’s a very small squatter camp and it’s really miserable and poor with no water or electricity – the people there struggle and have very few uplifting things in their lives. So when we came to shoot with a small crew of less than 20 and a few cast members who are soapie stars, for them it was a huge event.’
He notes that the making of the film was a big learning curve. “We made some risky choices in terms of the storyline, the cast – who had no feature film experience, the location and the language, even the music. There’s nothing conventional about this film. Either way we’ll learn from it – to do it better, or not to do it at all,’ jokes Ugah.
Gog’ Helen stars Lillian Dube and Kagiso Rakosa as the grandmother and granddaughter duo, as well as Jet Novuka, Andile Mxakaza, Bongani Maseko and Bubu Mazibuko.
“The big thing our film has going for it, is the cast – they really blew me away. It’s a very demanding story, but they all came to the party. Most of them are soapie actors and they proved that they can rise to the occasion when demanded,’ says Ugah.
Chaotic and organic
Director of photography Jonathan De La Querra shot the film on a Sony F3 with prime lenses. Ugah elaborates: “The nature of a squatter camp is quite chaotic and organic. We wanted a style that spoke to that – we didn’t want to make it elegant and romanticise poverty.’
Their solution was a handheld, spontaneous and almost documentary-style. “There wasn’t even one tripod shot. We wanted to convey a sense of urgency, because the story itself has a sense of a ticking clock. Every frame has to serve the narrative.
“The F3 is a fantastic camera in low light. Most of the story happens in exterior day, so Jonathan made the choice not to use a lot of lights. The audio was done by Joel Kapend.’
Camera and lighting equipment came from Media Film Service and post-production was done at Refinery.
Unconventional distribution
According to Ugah they made the film in township Zulu, and it is textured towards a black South African audience. Therefore they have decided to bypass traditional distribution methods and have teamed up with Thapelo Mokoena’s Kasi Movie Nights to exhibit the film in townships in and around Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in December.
Gugu Zuma, head of Marketing for Gog’ Helen, explains that the distribution strategy is motivated by getting the film to the audiences for which it was made.
“Our most established distribution channels in South Africa are not able to do this successfully and so we have decided to complement what they do with our own strategy. We will be hosting screenings in townships and other high density or transit areas and ensuring our DVDs are available in those areas at reasonable prices.
“In addition, we have invested a lot into getting media partners that will support our marketing strategy, and we are doing all we can and more to make sure that as many people in our target audience as possible know about our film and then are sufficiently convinced to watch it for its quality, actors and story line,’ concludes Zuma.
