The legacy of internationally acclaimed playwright, singer and composer, Dr Mbongeni Ngema, is set to be honoured in a new documentary, This is My Story produced by former SABC presenter, Lindani Mbense.
On Thursday, Mbense hosted an intimate screening of the documentary at an event held at Egrek Cinema in Parkhurst, where guests caught a glimpse into the life of one of the country’s top stage and big screen talent whose greatness is celebrated the world over.
The Sarafina! and Woza Albert creator, died in a car crash in the Eastern Cape in January, will sadly not see the film set to be formally launched sometime in November.
However, to his credit, the documentary shows off Ngema also known as Madlokovu in his vintage story-telling self, which makes his story flow such like he did when he composed his music and iconic stage productions.
The film traces the music legend’s early days growing up in Verulam, his early music roots and his journey to finding his idol and mentor, Gibson Kente, in Soweto all the way to his theatrical success in the US and other parts of the world, where Sarafina! and other productions were received with awe.
Mbense, who began shooting the documentary in 2019, revealed that he had to teach himself how to use a camera while filming parts of the documentary, adding that his decision to take on the project was to create a feel-good story about one of the country’s leading music and stage talent in spite of the negativity that lingered over his legacy.
‘’The inspiration behind this documentary was to tell a feel-good story. It was to get to a point where South Africans tell a few good stories about South Africa, about our arts, about our legends. This could be an artist, a politician or an athlete, but overall, there is a feel-good story and when you look at big film countries such as the US, they always have a beautiful story to tell about their country and their people,“ he said.
Remembering her mentor, ‘Sarafina!’ star Khanyo Maphumulo, who spent half of her life under the care of the award-winning producer and composer, looked back fondly her last moments with Ngema at the funeral of one of their colleagues whose funeral resulted in the tragic event of Ngema’s passing.
“It does not sit well with me that we as a country have lost brother Mbongeni Ngema, who meant so much to some of us who grew up under him and became stars and celebrities through his contribution. But I am glad that Lindani Mbense has decided to honour him through this documentary film.
“Some of us are here because of him. I can’t even bring myself to say he is late because I was there at the funeral with him and when I received a call that he had been involved in an accident, just hours after spending time with him at the funeral, we turned back and saw for ourselves the state he was in at the time,” Maphumulo told ‘The Star’.
The Star
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