finally there’s a kwaito documentary series - six years after the groundbreaking “sharp sharp!”
The brainchild of award-winning South African filmmakers Vincent Moloi and Norman Maake, Vuma - A Music Revolution, is a six-part documentary series that captures the essence of the local dance music genre, Kwaito. It will be broadcast on SABC1 during the festive season, from 1 December until mid January 2010.
Creating an in-depth understanding of Kwaito’s beginning and influence in the early 1990s, the series tells the untold story of South African youth with all its sophisticated dynamics, through music. It profiles Kwaito legends Oskido, Mandla Spikiri, Thebe, Bruce “Dope” Sebitlo, Mjokes and numerous other groups like Trompies, Boom Shaka, Alaska, Chakaroski, Mafikizolo, Bongo Maffin and many other dancers, producers and club DJs that were at the centre of Kwaito. This formerly underground culture has now become mainstream.
The individual experiences of owners of the successful, black-owned production company, Kalawa Jazmee, form part of this collage of stories. These are individuals who were at the forefront of pioneering this lucrative, independent music industry, which has grown into an avenue for self-expression for many young people.
Moloi and Maake have joined forces to form Glowstars, a production company that focuses on telling the stories of urban youth culture. Both of these filmmakers have worked as directors across genres in the local and international film industry. This is their first film project as co-directors.
“Norman and I are both avid lovers of film and Kwaito, and after years of talking about a project we could do together, Kwaito was a natural choice. We know that iKasi will love this series and we hope the general South African audience will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. This has been a two-years labour of love.” says Moloi.
“Kwaito is an important part of us as young South Africans and as film practitioners it is our patriotic duty to capture such history the best way we know how,” adds Maake.
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