ARTICLE BY: MBALI HLATSHWAYO
The Whale Caller is Zoleka Maseko’s film adaptation of Zakes Mda’s critically acclaimed novel of the same title. The film is centered around the beautiful town of Hermanus; on the west coast of South Africa, where the whale caller (Sello Maake Ka-Ncube) stands on the shoreline calling out to a whale he has named Sharisha. When Sharisha doesn’t appear for weeks on end, the whale caller lingers, troubled and taunted like a jealous lover. Completely alienated from his society, the whale caller longs for Sharisha’s return, oblivious that Saluni, the town drunk is infatuated with him. The two, eventually fall in love, though their inability to comprehend the complexities of romance, exposes the deeper issue that lies not in the fragility of love but of life, when one gives in to their foolish heart.
The film was screened at the 2016 Jo’burg Film Festival and won the Best African Film award. The film also got a standing ovation at the Durban Film Festival and has been described as an enchanting, cinematic beauty. Audiences can now capture the film in its splendor at Ster-Kinekor cinemas from the 13th of October. Prepare to get blown away by the award winning actor Sello Maake Ka-Ncube and Amrain Ismail-Essop.
