Former Witsies appear on the big screen
BOY MEETS GIRL: Former Wits students Eduan van Jaarsveldt and Zethu Dlomo play Fanie and Dinky, who fall in love despite their vastly different backgrounds.
Photo: provided
TWO FORMER Wits drama students are set to appear opposite each other in the local film, Fanie Fourie’s Lobola, due out in cinemas today.
The film, which won the Audience Choice Award at the second annual Jozi Film Festival, is a boy-meets-girl story with a twist.
Eduan van Jaarsveldt, who graduated from Wits in 2004 with a BA in Dramatic Arts, plays lovable Fanie Fourie. Fanie still lives with his mother, designs custom cars that look like African animals.
LOVESTRUCK: Eduan van Jaarsveldt plays unlucky-in-love Fanie Fourie, who designs custom cars that look like animals.
Photo: provided
Zethu Dlomo, who earned her BA Dramatic Arts degree at Wits in 2011, plays the enigmatic aspiring entrepreneur, Dinky Magubane, who is tired of her father badgering her to get married.
WALKING ON SUNSHINE: Zethu Dlomo plays spunky Dinky Magubane, who dreams of owning her own business.
Photo: provided
Their paths cross at Fanie brother Sarel’s bachelor party, where Fanie is dared to ask Dinky to Sarel’s (played by Chris Chameleon) wedding. Dinky agrees, on the condition that Fanie pretends to be her boyfriend in front of her father.
Despite their vastly different Afrikaans and Zulu backgrounds, the pair fall in love and hilarity ensues.
Working opposite another ex-Witsie was something of a novelty for Van Jaarsveldt and Dlomo.
“It was great working with Zethu,” Van Jaarsveldt told Wits Vuvuzela. “She’s theatre trained so she has a great work ethic, and she’s very disciplined. With people like that, you know you’re both pulling your weight.”
“He went to Wits years before I did,” said Dlomo. “So we experienced the same degree in different ways. Got taught by different people, majored in different subjects. But it was cool to know that we both got the same degree.”
“It is so important for aspiring actors to get an education in the field of performance,” she added. “It really does make a noticeable difference when working professionally.”
The film, while primarily a comedy, touches on the serious issues of racism and prejudice, and whether or not interracial relationships are possible in modern South Africa.
Van Jaarsveld thinks that having an interracial relationship in South Africa is definitely possible, but it certainly isn’t easy. “The prejudice is still there, but it’s a global problem,” he told Wits Vuvuzela.
KINDRED SPIRITS: An Afrikaams boy from middle-class Pretoria and a Zulu girl from Brazzaville? Ex-Witisie explore love that transcend social prejudices.
Photo: provided
Dlomo is adamant Fanie Fourie’s Lobola is not a film about race and politics. “It’s about love. It’s about culture and the differences we have in our cultures, but also the similarities. It’s about seeing and acknowledging the differences and appreciating them. It’s about normal people with dreams and ambitions,” she said.
