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No-one expects Rozanne McKenzie to speak Afrikaans as well as she does and so they are startled to learn it is her mother tongue.
For the dynamic television presenter and actor, this reaction is a familiar response, but one she now takes in her stride.
“When I started at KykNET 16 years ago someone said ‘waar het jy geleer so mooi Afrikaans te spreek?’ (where did you learn to speak such fluent Afrikaans?), but I’m originally from the Cape Flats and my mom and gran are 100 percent Afrikaans speaking!”
After studying drama at UCT and a stint as a pink lady in the musical Grease with the Barnyard Theatre, McKenzie, 41, found herself out of work and leaning on her mother for support and so, like many performers, she headed to Johannesburg to seek her fortune.
“Because of my darkly coloured skin I didn’t want to always explain that I am coloured, but as I got older I became more confident with my coloured identity and so when people ask me how come I speak such good Afrikaans, I tell them I learnt it from my mother and granny so that it is not awkward for them.”
In fact, so proud is she of her identity that, through her production company, McKenzie has optioned the screen rights of Mia Arderne’s South African novel Mermaid Fillet.
“It is a crime caper set in the northern suburbs of Cape Town,” she said. “It will be written in Kaaps [Afrikaaps] which is our Afrikaans that we speak.
“This is my childhood; it represents the people I know. I’m obsessed with getting [this project] done and will keep trying for funding. If I do nothing else but get this film made, I will die happy.”
McKenzie, who lives in Johannesburg with husband Chris Bishop, a French horn player with the Johannesburg Philharmonic, and their children, James, 10, and Fallon, six, co-presents the Jacaranda Drive Show on Jacaranda FM with Rob Forbes and is also a sought-after MC and voice-over artist.
She recently dusted off her acting skills and will be appearing in the comedy Marie se Laaste Dag, a movie set just after the first democratic election in 1994 in which Marie (Mandri Sunderland), the long-time secretary of the minister of mineral resources and who is keen to embrace the new South Africa, must arrange a meeting with the new defence minister, played by Eastern Cape-born actor Dumisane Mbebe.
Her connection to the Silwerskerm Festival goes deeper than appearing in one of the movies that will premiere at the festival, which celebrates home-grown film and will be taking place for the 12th time at the end of next month.
McKenzie also MC-ed a media information session about the annual festival atop a Cape Town skyscraper earlier this month.
"This is my childhood; it represents the people I know. I’m obsessed with getting [this project] done and will keep trying for funding. If I do nothing else but get this film made, I will die happy.”
She will be judging one of the categories when the respected festival takes place at the Bay Hotel and Theatre on the Bay in Camps Bay from August 28-31.
“I think Silwerskerm is fantastic because it continues to change and grow, and show so many different perspectives. Where else can you see so many South African films in less than a week?”
Addressing the media, M-Net premium channels director Waldimar Pelser said good films made one look differently at the world. He said that though themes were often similar, there was an evolution in who is making film.
“The kykNET Silwerskerm Festival aims to do everything possible to discover new storytellers, put talent in the spotlight, and to provide the industry with a space where people can talk, show and come together, with Afrikaans as the glue that binds us.”
Mentorship is an important developmental element in filmmaking and Pelser said the festival’s short film mentorship project was a springboard for a new generation of filmmakers’ careers.
“The film industry changes constantly and it certainly faces many economic challenges.
“Therefore, it is important for kykNET to produce and help produce films and TV that are commercially amenable, and that will reach the biggest possible audiences to keep the industry sustainable.
“We will also continue, even if on a smaller scale, to invest in niche projects that are less commercial but valuable in the context of our culture and our country.”
This year the festival will debut six feature films, eight short films by emerging filmmakers, five short documentaries and six ‘shotgun’ short films, a new initiative in which established filmmakers were invited to submit proposals for professional short films.
A sneak preview showcased a delightful and thought-provoking line-up of comedy, drama, heartfelt true stories and even animation set in locations ranging from the Karoo to the Waterfront to ordinary living rooms.
Last year saw the inclusion of pilot episodes of new television series and streaming services, and this year will once again feature exclusive previews.
The festival is also a think-tank and between movie sessions it offers lively workshops, panel discussions and masterclasses held by experts in the field.
This year topics will include how intimacy is managed on film sets, the process of adapting books for the screen and the ins and outs of co-productions.
What would a film festival be without glamorous celebrities in glad rags posing on the blue carpet and shimmying around the seaside hotel’s pools and bars?
It is worth missing a film or two just to soak up the glitz and observe actors, directors and the who’s who of South African filmmaking networking after their films premiere.
The culmination of the festival is the glittering awards ceremony for film and television to honour the best of the fest which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on August 31.
South Africa’s stars will grace the blue carpet and top musicians will take to the stage.
The prestigious event will be broadcast on KykNET (DStv channel 144) the following night.
This year film buffs who are in Cape Town at the time can also attend the festival. Members of the public can book their tickets at Quicket.
Once they have made their debuts at the festival, films will hit the small screens.
“The films premiere at Silwerskerm,” Pelser said. “Then they go to KykNET and then to Showmax. So between linear television and streaming on Showmax they have a long life.”
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