Talking to... Zamo Mkhwanazi

How did you come up with the idea for «LAUNDRY»?

This story is loosely based on events that happened to my mother's family. The characters are combinations of people from both my parents' families.

There is a rhythm in the movie, a dialog between sound and silence. How would you describe this releationship?

Music is central to the story. So we want to give the opportunity to bathe in sound and revel in the audible side of the film and acclimatise themselves to deep listening, so that in the absence of music and dialogue, the audience hears more inside the silence.

Which is your favourite scene?

I enjoy the scene where the main character first plays with the band. It has an authenticity to it because the scene is with non-actors, real musicians, speaking with the cadence and sitting with the posture of ordinary musicians. When you work with untrained talent, you surrender a lot of control as a director and it's kind of fun to see where the moment takes you and adapt to that.

Tell us more about your remarkable main character.

Ntobeko Sishi who plays the son of the family is a very popular influencer and TV personality in South Africa – which I was not aware of. I gave him a lift one day after the shooting. People on the street recognized him through the car window and totally freaked out! Ntobeko looks like a young teenager but once the cameras are on, his star qualities come to life.

Does the film have a secret message for the audience?

For me the most important truth beneath the story is that most resistance does not look heroic, in fact it is almost banal. The choice to follow a dream from the most ordinary (a laundry) to one of the hardest to fulfill (music) is to navigate the minefield of fascism to affirm one's freedom to choose and live.