To mark women’s month, we take a look at the resilient women of South Africa who are making big moves.
One such person is Weaam Williams, a Cape Town based writer and director, who has carved her name in the industry with her in-depth focus on Cape Malay culture and heritage in her award-winning, “District Six Rising from the Dust”, doccie.
Williams is back with her latest contribution, a film called, “The Rise”, which she will showcase to a local audience in Cape Town before she takes it to screen in the US.
The award-winning filmmaker and her cinematographer husband, Nafia Kocks, teamed up to create her latest feature documentary, which took five years to make.
Williams’, maternal family hails from District Six, and her paternal family from the Bo-Kaap and this gave her the insight she needed, to naturally be able to tell her story and unearth the hidden gems found within these close-knit communities
Williams said: “While it became clear to me growing up, that my mother’s family had lost their sense of place in District Six, Bo-Kaap for me is a place of childhood magic and wonder.
“Upper Pepper Street is where I spent most weekends and school holidays, and of-course NYE family braai, then walking down to Wale Street with my cousins to watch the coon carnival.”
For Williams, her childhood and traditions played a large part in executing a perfectly balanced storyline, giving first hand detail on the experience of growing up in a Cape Malay community.
She added: “I clearly remember dressing up in a flower girl dress every year to cut ‘rampies’ (orange leaves) at the mosque with my aunts and cousins on Moulood Al Nabi ( the Prophet Muhammad SAW birthday).
“I want the Bo-Kaap of my childhood to stay for generations to come.”
She tells Independent Media Lifestyle: “I am also feeling quite emotional knowing the journey that I have been through as a filmmaker with the community, understanding their complexities, conflicts and also immense sense of love.
“I am particularly emotional to have arrived at finishing the film. ”It was not an easy task undertaking principle photography during Covid and trying to fund raise for a project during a period when there was very little funding available for films.
“As with many of my projects, there have been several re-cuts, revisits and new insights into editing over a long period of time. However, I eventually needed to have closure on this film.
“There were times when I believed it to be complete, and then changed my mind and revisited the material. In essence I am sharing the film publicly for the first time, before participating in film festivals etc.
“This film was made possible with the support of a great team of people and without them, ‘The Rise’, in its current form would not exist with sound design by Ebrahim Mallum, music donated by DJ Azul and Youngsta CPT, as well as the Cape Town 7 Steps Cultural Group, archive from Mikael Motal and Ebrahim Billy Christian and drone footage by Peter Harper.
“I am also immensely grateful to the people who allowed me into their lives at great risk, when we as a species were at our most vulnerable Nadia Majal Isaacs, Seeham Samaai, Shafwaan Laubscher and Hadji Abdia Da Costa.
“Making a film is not just about having an idea, or raising funds, but also about onboarding a team, and protagonists to believe in your story. I hope the community appreciates the work.”
“The Rise” tells the story of Bo-Kaap via the intersecting journeys of four individuals who are activists in their own ways and share their story of community, identity, and access to land pre, during and post the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the Bo-Kaap getting minimal recognition for its diverse inhabitants, its also evident that its a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood.
Williams says: “When I travel to other parts of the country, people are unclear of what I am, some people ask are you Indian? I find that very often I have to explain my cultural identity.
“The erasure of who I am and my cultural identity is in the interest of so many people, and some even say that Cape Malay is a fake construct, however, it is my culture.
“My people speak Afrikaaps, which was first documented in Arabic script.
“My ancestors were the cooks and craftsman for the Dutch, the physicality of our existence is all over the Cape, yet when myself or my children have to tick an identity box; there is nothing which says Cape Malay.”
Williams emphasised that “The Rise” is not a historical documentary.
“The film captures Bo-Kaap in it’s celebratory mode, and at its lowest moments during the pandemic. The key protagonists in the film add further insights into the gender challenges faced by women, and the class struggle within the community.”
Williams will showcase her film “The Rise” to a local audience in Cape Town at Robben Island Museum, V&A Waterfront at 4pm on August 12.
Tickets to the event cost R100 and is available to purchase on : https://tribalalchemy.carrd.co/#work