Xolisa Mpafa is a film and television productions graduate that believes in sharing my knowledge with youth from my hood. With 12 years in the industry and 5 years of formal training, Xolisa has been able to make his mark in the industry. As a result, he registered an NPO with the aim to share our skills, providing SKILLS 101 in film-making. When it comes to writing I never received any formal training instead it was just workshops and mentorship.
Tell us about your experience at the Hip Hop Film Festival?
I had a lot of fun at the festival and it was an interesting experience from missing our first interview due to blackout. It hit us again on the second interview making us drive to different locations for better connectivity. It was a joyful experience from the selection part to the award-winning.
Why are stories from the culture important?
Stories from our culture are important because they remind us about our challenges faced in day to day life. One way around we have similarities as black communities. They are very important because they make us learn our history, and how other people face they struggles.
What projects are you working on now?
This is the current film I will be shooting in the next coming week.
A man lost his wife and lives with his adopted child, accidentally he meets and falls in love with the biological mother of the child who ill-treats the child without knowing it is her biological child after the man dies.
Other than that we are looking for investors for TV series it is a Zulu traditional dance series. Then a co-production feature that we would like to co-produce with you.
Why do you think the Harlem film house and Hip Hop Film Festival is important?
It is important because of the platform that is given to filmmakers. From the networking side to the distribution, it is very important for every filmmaker to know who will distribute your film and that makes things easier for film funders in SA.