A truly South African story of deep and lasting friendship – that cuts across time, space and difference – has been watched by over half a million South Africans since its release this month, and has inspired an outpouring of hope-filled comments.
The video, released by NPO Mohair South Africa and titled Weaving stories for a lifetime, tells the story of two small boys who grow up together on a Karoo farm in the 1980s. They go their separate ways – one taking over his father’s farm and the other blazing a trail in a completely different direction – but ultimately find one another again.
Released on Mohair SA’s Facebook page on 8 September 2017, the video has already notched up 504 000 views, 4 400 likes, 3 400 shares and more than 400 comments.
The comments themselves cut across time, space and difference – coming from people from all walks of life, and from all over the country and abroad.
“Absolutely beautiful. Dis waaroor die lewe gaan (this is what life’s about),’ wrote Neil Nel.
“I am 83 years old and even today I long to see my childhood friend … I last saw him when were 10 years old. I always wonder what happened to him. He was my everything. I would love to see Petros again,’ wrote Johann Michiel Briel.
“Having that love for each other and working together will bring South Africa forward,’ wrote Thandokazi Mrwebi.
“This brought tears of hope and joy to my eyes,’ wrote Margaret du Plessis.
“Mohair SA’s video captures something beautiful – and proves that good news stories do work. They make an impact and people respond,’ said Richard Ahlfeldt, managing director of Rooftop, the Port Elizabeth-based company that directed and produced the video. “A four-minute long video is unusual for a brand video – companies usually go for the hard sell – but Mohair SA was willing to do something different and it has led to something unique and powerful, and shown that there is a great demand for this type of story-telling. For us at Rooftop, this particular video was personal too. We strive to tell stories that
matter, stories that reach people and make a difference. Bringing these stories to
life is why we exist.”
Lindsay Humphreys and Anle Marais, Mohair SA’s marketing team, said they wanted the brand film “to be authentic’ so based it on “a collection of life stories collected over time.”
“It shows the power of universal appeal, themes of friendship, nostalgia and success. Our hope was that this brand film would both educate and inspire, with the story of mohair being told from the farm to the fashion ramps of the world,’ said Humphreys.
The soundtrack to the video, called Growing up, was written and recorded for Mohair SA by Charlie Finch. It was released in South Africa on 15 September 2017.
Watch the video below:
<br>
