‘A’Felende’ is headlined by a dynamic cast of four women: Chazz Mubita as Dura, Otja Kooper as Kandi, Mucky Hashona as Ndaps, and Chene Philander as Vee. It was produced by media personality Sally Jason and written by Leratho Kanime. The two of them served as dual directors for the show that premiered on 21 August.
The episodes are short, averaging ten minutes, but they did manage to be intriguing enough for me to want to see it through to the end. In an industry like ours, filmmakers must be innovative and ready to produce independent content if they are to tell their stories. In recent years, we have seen an increase in web-specific movies and series, which is a positive.
Jason tells us a web series allow creatives to bypass traditional gatekeepers and connect directly with audiences. ‘A’felende’, she adds, was inspired by real life experiences. “We wanted to capture the everyday struggles, highs and lows, and the unique culture and humour of our people in a way that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking,” she explains.
The cinematography, handled by AT Digital, is done really well, though I was surprised to see how many of the scenes took place in one location with one camera position. It almost had the essence of a theatre performance with how the characters were placed in relation to the viewer, how they projected their voices and the way in which the conversations flowed. This technique is called a ‘bottle episode’ and can often create or eleva.