Producer and Editor: John-Otto Phike, Writer: Nadine Ndlovu, Creative Director: Thembi Zikalala, Photographer: Xolani Mkhabela, Wardrobe Stylist: Bafana Erika Khumalo, Make-Up Artist: Neo Papane, Production: Siyanda Buthelezi
The best way to describe the cast of Surviving Gaza is “a balloon of energy.” In celebration of young leading actors, Actor Spaces got together with the cast of Surviving Gaza to talk about all things Surviving Gaza and this is what the cast had to say to our Content Producer…
John-Otto: Congratulations on Surviving Gaza. What was your initial reaction when you got the call that you had been cast for Surviving Gaza?
Samke: I got the brief and I was asked to audition. I looked at it and the height was very specific. It was between 1.5 and 1.6 and that was my height, complexion – got that, language – got that. I did the audition and there were extra requirements. I had to sing and I wondered how it’s going to work because I can’t sing but I gave it my all. Law and behold, I got the role the next day. I heard that they were looking for Thandeka for a very long time and I just happened to be her.
Botlhale: When Mr. Africa sent me a message saying there’s a character he would like me to play, I was very excited because it was around the time I used to see his name a lot on social media. He asked me to do a self tape. Funny story, he asked me if I could rap and l said yes, then he asked me to send him a song. I woke up the next morning at around 5am and went to a friend’s studio to record a song so I could send it to him. The worst song I’ve ever recorded in my life. It was amazing. As a young actor from theater, we often find ourselves getting desperate to get into the industry and when I heard I was going to play the lead, it was a sign.
John-Otto: How would you describe this film in one word?
Aphiwe: Epic
Mond: Resilient.
Indalo: Dangerous
Samke: Riveting.
Botlhale: Personal.
John-Otto: This is not Gaza 2022, this is Gaza 1994. In period dramas there is a lot of backtracking that needs to happen for actors. With 1994-Kwaito being such a big part of the story, did any of you do an intensive research going into it?
Aphiwe: We had to go into intensive research because back then they had their own style, their own lingo and their own dance moves. The evolution from then to now has been crazy. We had to backtrack and look at who was hot at the time, who the characters we played would look up to, what kids were doing, the style and dance moves, it was quite a nostalgic experience just going back to the good old days of Kwaito music. It was a challenge though because we had to record a song and I am no rapper or anything. We were listening to a whole bunch of Kwaito, I’ve never listened to so much Kwaito, prepping for this film. I was watching documentaries about back in the day seeing how they speak and all sorts of things. We did quite a lot of research.
Mond: I agree, what stood out for me was the fashion sense of that era. The clothes were something that was important for me and were intrical in this movie. We really did have to do a lot of research for this movie, like watching a lot of documentaries that we didn’t even know existed. A lot of the time, a lot of our history gets hidden and it’s not taught in schools or put on any particular platform where you can access it. It’s kind of great to know that we have those things in our history. It was a lot of work but it was such a collaborative thing because we would all come up with different things and we all combined in that ideology. We made something really great because in the end, we are playing something, we’re like in a band, as a trio and we had to have that bond and bringing in that context together created that bond for us.
John-Otto: What is one thing that you learnt from being in a period drama, from an actors perspective?
Aphiwe: All the research we did stuck because we have all this knowledge about Kwaito stars back then, the accolades and everything they did and how big the genre was, how popular it was before social media. I am now a big fan of Kwaito because of the film. I think it’s something that’s always going to stick with me and it’s such a great ode to the genre, to the time, to the legends and everything.
John-Otto: The film has themes of crime and violence, what do you think those themes of violence contributed to your characters and how it impacted them achieving their goals?
Aphiwe: For my character, he doesn’t want to be in that life, he never wanted to be a criminal. His brother is a very notorious gangster in the town of Gaza and he is the total opposite. He hates that, it’s just a circumstance and influence of his friends that drives him to that point. So I think for him, it wasn’t a choice, he really wanted to go to school so he really needed the money.
Mond: I looked forward to playing my character because I wanted to break boundaries as a queer person. I felt like I wanted to be able to apply myself within the character that wasn’t necessarily me. For the longest time, we’ve been trying to break through those times where actors need to be straight in order for them to be able to play these characters and that’s one thing I kind of went into this role with. I wanted to put myself to the test and understand where he was coming from so I drew parallels from my own private life, understanding that he came from a impoverished background which kind of influenced how he reacts to certain situations and how he interacts with other people. Understanding the depth and the weight of the story is something that I think made him so merciless. I found him as someone who is beyond his circumstance, his merciless, he feels like he’s been through it all, and he has nothing to lose and for him it’s to become this notorious gangster just like the people that he looks up to in the story. When he thinks about Mdu, for him, he’s a hero that he hopes to be one day. I love the fact that he is this merciless character that says regardless of my circumstance and everything I’ve been through I’m going to go after everything I want.
Samke: My character knows who she is and she knows what she wants and she knows what to do in order to get what she wants. She knows what to do to get herself out of environments that she shouldn’t be getting herself in and Gaza is just not it. There’s that saying that says, “You can take the girl out of the ghetto but you can’t take the ghetto out of the girl” So this thing has always brought her back and that’s just the whole basis of the story. She knows this, she knows her environment plays a huge role in her plans and these huge decisions.
John-Otto: What is one thing that made you feel connected to your character and actually get into character?
Mond: I would say it was the chain and the earring. The earring was not a planned thing, the director liked the earring and told me it was good work so we went with it. The earring was also different from my personal earring that I wear so I knew that the moment when I put on the earring and the chain I was in a different world and a different drum because now I’m that guy and I have to tap into him and transform to that. It made it easy for me and it’s quite memorable. There’s also a distinction between myself and the chain, and my father had a chain like that, so I was trying to emulate him in a sense, it came with a deep connection between my father and myself so it just added to the story.
Indalo: It was the make up, I felt like I was divorcing myself from the character because of the makeup on my face. It feels different. It also helped that Vusi knew the real characters. Throughout the day he would joke about what the real person would do so that helped
Samke: It was two things. The one thing is when I had gel in my hair, guys I don’t put gel in my hair, it feels weird having gel in my hair but I guess it was a thing back in the days and that’s when I realized that this is real. The second was just a location itself. Vusi and Naledi have this thing with locations and it’s a gorgeous location, as soon as you enter onto set, you instantly feel Gaza and with the other characters, we become a Gazini. It also helps when everyone calls you by your character name while on set.
Botlhale: I think it’s two things as well, the environment actually played a big role in helping the character come to life and secondly was the set of my studio. My studio where I recorded my music, I think that’s one thing that said to me, this is your character and how he lives.
Aphiwe: It was Jan’s glasses and as soon as l put them on, l felt the characters presence but also his brother is Muslim and he also goes into the religion but very differently to his brother, his brother is an extremist and he’s trying to be very pure. He’s got these high ethical beliefs and he’s driven by that.
John-Otto: Botlhale, this is an interesting role for you, it being your first lead on screen. As a lead, what have you learnt about yourself as an actor coming from theater? What boundaries do you feel like you crossed in this role?
Botlhale: I’m really grateful that I’m an actor coming from theater. What I’ve learned about myself as an actor is going the extra mile. If a director requests something on the spot, I wouldn’t mind going for it regardless of whether I’ve prepared for it or not, you need to be there and present at the moment.
John-Otto: Mond and Indalo, what textures and experiences did you bring into these characters, what inspiration from life did you bring into these characters?
Mond: I believe in the art of method acting even though it’s so risky but I trust it a lot so I draw a lot from my own parallels and I’ve mentioned that in my family I’ve had cousins who have gone to jail and who did whatever and I’ve interacted with them. It was easy for me to reference that because I’ve been in that situation where l have seen my cousins have to interact in a criminal setting where they had to possibly fend for their lives because they wanted to escape the hood and when I would go and visit, that’s the kind of environment that I would be exposed to. I drew a lot from that and from having to deal with quite a lot and I think at the time when the character found me, I had just come from a mental health episode so I just felt like I needed something to purge myself. The character became that for me, everything that I felt, all the anger and the bullying, the taunting, I kind of put all of that into the character and I hope that you’ll be able to translate it when you watch the film.
Indalo: It’s a weaving of everything, things we’ve heard, things we’ve seen, things we’ve seen from TV. When we grow those experiences, it’s like energy because once you know an impulse you can stick to it and you can grow it. I struggled with not looking at Marcia as a victim. So yes it’s the weaving of everything honestly.
John-Otto: This can be seen as quite a heavy story. What processes did you use to debrief?
Aphiwe: On a hectic day when we go through a lot of emotions whn only shooting emotional scenes, those are extremely exhausting, even if it was only two scenes for the day, it’s extremely exhausting but I find it very crucial for myself personally to just have a routine at the end of the day just to debrief and go back to self. It’s different for many people, for me it’s a little meditation, a little time to myself just to literally relax and unwind and understand these feelings and these emotions inside, the rumbling, that was just the work of the day, Aphiwe is fine.
Mond: I really try as much as I can, I’m a peoples person, I love being around people a lot because I work a lot with energies and I think that’s a space that l often want to put myself in especially when I want to debrief because often with actors, it’s a very mental thing, it requires a lot of your brain cells and everything in sometimes when we try to do with a lot of that, it becomes just that. So I know that if I sit in it it’s just not going to be great so I have to engage with people and tap out and remember that now I’m engaging with people and I think people are a reminder to be in touch with reality because if you leave set and just go to be in your own space, You’re now just living in it. I try to surround myself with people that I love, that I know nurture me. If I have a lover that would be great. Just surround yourself with people that are loving and supportive.
John-Otto: What do you hope this film does for you, for people who have dreams, what do you want this to say to them?
Samke: The title is Surviving Gaza so trust that all the characters in the story have dreams, they have goals and will do anything to get there but the moral of the story is that for every action there’s a reaction and you reap what you sow so it’s always good to do things the right way. One way or another you will get out.
Botlhale: I relate so much to the story and I relate so much to Phuzi. I was fortunate enough that him and I had a line of relatability. We do not need to always distance the actor and the character. He is young and he comes from a township and he wants to make it in music so it’s the story. I hope somebody out there takes away that connection.
Indalo: I liked everything about the movie. From the boys making the music and even Marcia, I feel like people get that. We’re really pushing. When I look at youth today I feel like they are doing that and it’s not going to happen but these boys, when they shift people, they’re doing this together and there’s unity and people actually doing things, I liked it for that.
Mond: I’m doing a project here in Braamfontein and I was seeing these young kids caught up in this clique culture where they’re moving together but no direction. Some of you are like sleeping Giants that you are caught up into but you’re not really realizing that you are brilliant and you need to revive outside of that environment. It’s important for people to notify and not be caught up in the trap that it’s OK to follow your dreams and to allow it into your own direction, I think that’s an important thing because I think people think we all have to pop up at the same time and that’s not true, we all have different times and trust your journey, you’ll get there.
Aphiwe: In that same breath I hope this film ignites the sense of patriotism in South Africa. Let’s tell our stories from back in the day as well, there’s completely nothing wrong with that. Also what it does for us is it presents our culture, there’s so many people from back then that I feel we don’t pay much tribute to and if we could tell our story that would be absolutely amazing so I hope this will ignite writers to start looking back and preserving our history and our stories.
Samke: I think we deserve this. I think Kwaito artists from back in the day deserve this recognition. We wouldn’t have a lot of things if it wasn’t for these artists.
The cast were a delight to shoot and chat to. Catch Surviving Gaza on Evod, streaming from 24 February 2022.
