Gqeberha creatives keeping Xhosa culture alive through film

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In a celebration of age-old isiXhosa traditions, two Gqeberha filmmakers have created a new short film to engage and educate the youth about the culture and its rich history.

BhayiPolar Visions co-owners, Aphiwe Skosana and Tshifhiwa Maingo, recently collaborated with Ikho Film and Cinematic Tribes for the production of iiNtonga (a stick).

The short film is the second of a six-part series that honours isiXhosa culture as well as the province’s heritage sites, through the art of storytelling.

Skosana and Maingo said the fictional story was inspired by traditional stick fighting — an indigenous skill that has been passed down among Xhosa people for generations.

They said stick fighting was more than a physical contest; it also taught young men values such as courage, discipline, respect and responsibility.

Maingo said while the film was about stick fighting, it also looked to convey the beauty of the isiXhosa culture and preserve its heritage in the modern era.

“The film looks at a grandfather who is telling his grandchildren that he used to be a stick-fighter and how he was a renowned at beating people.

“We looked to focus on how culture remained intact through social interaction, but making content or films like this also made people look deeper into cultural practices and learning what happened during stick-fighting.

“We left the grandfather as an everyday Kwazakhele grandfather. He’s wearing modern clothes from this era. We kept the modern language.

“He gets to tell his grandchildren about the days of his youth.

“He creates this world that should not exist.”

Skosana said in 2023 they had come up with the idea to shoot six short fictional films centred around traditional customs, with their first film the 2024 international award-winning iLobola (The Dowry).

“We learnt the importance of having money as well as collaboration — our entire crew had 54 members including the cast.

“The first movie had 15 people max.

“We won an award for the first movie in Ghana.”

Maingo said while shooting a scene at the Fort Frederick memorial in Central, they received safety support from City Wide Security, police and the Central SRA.

Fort Frederick was built by British soldiers in 1799 to protect Algoa Bay from attack, and remains one of Gqeberha’s important heritage sites.

“The fact that we were shooting an epic battle in a place for an epic battle . . .

“This came after the Mandela Bay Development Agency made a call where they wanted spaces in Nelson Mandela Bay to be used in making something we could all be proud of,” Skosana said.

He said they completed their final day of shooting on June 22 and were now busy with the post-production phase.

A release date for the film would be announced soon.