Growing up in the affluent suburb of Sandton in Johannesburg, as part of the first
generation of “born-frees’, Sibs Shongwe-La Mer was constantly in observation of
the cultural confusion synonymous with the youth of his day. “A youth raised on
American television heroes, Disney and designer labels, in a land of Zulu mystics,
racial/tribal tensions, mass poverty, rugby and biltong.’
Born Frees
Shongwe-La Mer is the writer, director and editor of the film Necktie Youth, a
narrative he first wrote at the age of 15 – one which, he explains, he didn’t choose,
but rather chose him: “When I was 15, my then girlfriend committed suicide, I
wanted to analyse the situation and understand it and I suppose that got me
thinking about where we were as a generation in Africa.’
In 2013, nearly eight years later, Shongwe-La Mer revisited his lost narrative,
deciding that it was a story that needed to be heard. “I was compelled by introspect
to conduct an examination into what it means to be a black South African youth
now,’ he comments.
“What is this generation’s identity and place in a cosmopolitan world? As a member
of the first free generation of youths as well as a son born to a family that places
itself among the first of the Western educated and globalised, middle-class black
South Africans, I found myself positioned in a space not often synonymous with
Africans.’
“More and more the photograph of a promising generation of globalised, educated
and integrated youths slipped into a snap shot of drug abuse, alcohol dependency
and suicides,’ he explains.
Independent Filmmaking
Compelled by an urgent need to have this story heard, Shongwe-La Mer set out to
make a short film – Territorial Pissings. With only a treatment in place, which he
admits was “really more of a visual statement,’ the film was shot in just four weeks
and cost “about R10 000 to make.’
A set of short vignettes shot in black and white, exploring conversations among
youth in suburban Johannesburg on 16 June 2013, the film is a tribute to what it
was like growing up for Shongwe-La Mer and his peers. “The popular thought is that
suburbia is this strange kind of heaven on earth and kids don’t get fucked up there –
especially as it relates to post-apartheid South Africa,’ he says.
“So I shot short truths. The kids with the drugs, the kid trying to have sex with
some girl in the skate park, the two lovers who take life and their own problems
too seriously.’
Black and White
Territorial Pissings was first selected for Final Cut in Venice, where it gained much
recognition, prompting Shongwe-La Mer and his team to shoot a feature film
version (Necktie Youth) in 2014. Production company Urucu Media, producer Elias
Ribeiro and cinematographer Chuanne Blofield had full faith in Shongwe-La Mer’s
vision, allowing him to tell the story the way he wanted to – including shooting the
film in black and white. “I shot in black and white because it made a lot of sense for
me, firstly because I wanted to shoot a film the way I like watching films – I enjoy
classic cinema,’ explains Shongwe-La Mer. “And secondly we were shooting a youth
culture film about a space that’s totally undefined, so I thought why not make it
mystical and undefined.’
Film Festivals and Financing
Financed by a combination of soft grants from the Gauteng Film Commission, tax
incentive from DTI and private equity, the feature film Necktie Youth has been
making waves internationally, with Shongwe-La Mer being named one of the top 25
emerging filmmakers of the world at the Locarno Film Festival Academy in
Switzerland where a first assembly of the film screened to mentors and was
awarded a special mention by the jury of the Locarno Open Doors, a co-production
market.
Producer Elias Ribeiro says that the film will be submitted for its world premiere at
Tribeca (NYC) and Berlinale film festivals with plans for the South African premiere
to take place at DIFF 2015. “It has been a true challenge to finance a black and
white film that contemplates suicide, with a 23-year-old director. But the work has
so much integrity and Sibs’ unique voice and point of view has been recognised time
after time now that we have the film in the can,’ says Ribeiro. “We also applied for
funding from Hubert Bals, World Cinema Fund and Doha – all these institutions
grant post-production support, but unfortunately we did not get one positive answer.
That does not reflect on the quality of the work as we have already received
invitations for official competition on two of the top 10 International Film Festivals
in the world. Our last bit of hope is the NFVF, who delayed announcement of grants
for the last cycle of 2014.’ Ribeiro explains.
“We are still on the run for funding from Hubert Bals in the Netherlands, World
Cinema Fund, Doha and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) – all these
institutions grant post-production support,’ Ribeiro explains.
Proposing a Reality
Shongwe-La Mer hopes that Necktie Youth will stimulate conversation among
audiences as it is a true depiction of reality. “I wrote the film from situations that I
was familiar with, for people that I knew who I cast as themselves,’ he explains.
“It’s not an easy film to deal with…I hope to propose a reality and let cinema be
what I really think it should be – a conversation.’
