Producers Forum: Milisuthando Bongela-Davis

Scribe Video Center will be screening Milisuthando (South Africa, 2023, 128 minutes).

Born in Transkei, formerly an “independent” Black republic in South Africa, filmmaker Milisuthando Bongela weaves a poetic debut feature film about her upbringing within the confined territory and the constructed sense of freedom during apartheid. In this personal documentary, Bongela explores the different worlds she grew up in: her childhood in the former Transkei, the small coastal city of East London in the 1990s, and post-apartheid Johannesburg. Deeply memory-driven, the film uses archival material and centers the voice of Bongela as she reflects on the aftermath of the continuing impact of apartheid.

Director Milisuthando Bongela is expected to attend

Milisuthando Bongela-Davis (b.1985, South Africa) is an award-winning writer, editor, cultural worker, and artist. Over the last 16 years, she has traversed the worlds of music, art, media, and film – focusing on indigenous knowledge systems. Beginning her career in fashion, she became the Arts Editor for Mail & Guardian's Friday section and was the host and co-producer of the podcast Umoya: On African Spirituality with Dr. Athambile Masola.

Her debut feature film, a personal essay documentary titled Milisuthando, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, opened the Encounters International Film Festival in South Africa, and was featured in MoMA’s New Directors / New Films program. An inaugural fellow of the 2020 Adobe Women at Sundance Fellowship, she is working on a short fiction film directed by long-term collaborator Hankyeol Lee.

Host or Publisher Scribe Video Center