Katleho “Katt” Ramaphakela

Most educators or literary works on the screenwriting art will be quick to tell you that a film-producer is sure to be easily blown away by a “High-Concept” idea. After all, this is in itself “larger than life” and a proven money spinner. But as far as exceptions to all rules go, I can safely come to the conclusion that South Africa is that broken law…

But is this a disillusioned predisposition on my part, living in a country with such vast stories waiting to be unleashed to the global community, or should I be content with the proven, simple fact, that “numbers don’t lie!” Truth is, I don’t even consider myself much of a writer; I guess I’m that good an actor that I’ve managed to convince so many that I can string a couple of sentences on paper. So who am I to even think I can comprehend the meaning of the term “High-Concept?”

I’m currently attempting my 3rd “unfinished” screenplay (and this time I’m striving towards a completed draft *cough-cough*). Yet even after all this “vast experience” *cough-cough* (must have something in my throat), I’m still trying to come to terms with this whole idea of “high-concept” in a South African story…

My impasse is what I call “The District 9 Dilemma.” You see, Neill Blomkamp (the-now-acclaimed-creator of this film-phenom, District 9) has managed to successfully set the global film-world alight with this South African based Science-Fiction tale; with the absence of a glorified American actor, yielding a butchered South African accent. Let’s face it, a story about a group of aliens whose spaceship gets stuck in Johannesburg and the consequences emanating from separating these creatures from humans, is as warped and as “high-concept” as you’re going to get, right?

So from this example, the sheer understanding of “High-Concept” should be quite lucid shouldn’t it? But let’s for one second, imagine that I, Katleho, aspirant writer and filmmaker, had approached every financing institution with this very same “larger-than-life” concept, of high-budget CGI and action sequences. With my relatively unknown producer in tow, the very first question a financier would want to know is: “How much is making this script gonna cost me son?” Now, not even my most deserving attempt at a Best Actor Oscar would help me pull off the line, “$30 million sir!” (Did you notice the dollar sign in front of the “30”? And that’s good-ol’-American greenback. Not to be confused with that printed by a neighbouring Reserve Bank).

Reality strikes! Unless you introduce yourself as a writer with the last name Cohen, or you’re backed by someone else whose last name happens to be Spielberg, Bruckheimer or Jackson (you get the drift) then this “High-Concept” script of yours will probably be in development “indefinitely.” You can then forget about the $30 bar South African script dream! But this is where Mr Blomkamp played his aces, with the right surname up his sleeve; his producer was little-known *cough-cough* (I really need to get this thing checked out) Peter Jackson!

Without discrediting Neil’s extraordinary achievement in the least, I think his accolades should go to the fact that he managed to turn a Hollywood Movie into a South African concept and not necessarily the other way around. (Yes, yes, I am fully aware that the film was based on his short, which was made in South Africa pre-Hollywood/Canada migration, but what qualifies it as a Hollywood film and not a South African one is that “$30 million pricetag”). If anything, this is where our lesson should be learnt from. In fact, this should be the starting point, and most of the time is, for all screenwriting lectures: Who are you writing the film for? If you’re writing this film for South African audiences, then I would think one would need to tread carefully around the “High-Concept” dance floor, but if you’re aiming to make millions internationally, then by all means be as wild and wacky as your keyboard’s desire (bearing in mind which surname you wish to have in your pack of cards).

A case in point: If Disctrict 9 was made for South African audiences, then it would most definitely go down in history as the biggest squander of Tito Mboweni signed papers on a film (and probably on any investment for that matter). As I said before, “numbers don’t lie.” Now, I’m not delusional to the fact that the film may be construed to be churning good figures at the South African Box office, having taken over R2 million in its first weekend and tallied over R4.5 million by the second weekend. But then again, when we do the maths, what are these figures (these Rand figures, I might add) being compared to? Ah! Off course! It’s recent South African hits like Tsotsi and White Wedding, which were made for about a minuscule fraction of the District 9 Budget! Or perhaps the Mr Bones sequel, which made more than District 9 in the same period on a reportedly mere 10% of this budget right?… Yes. By this stage of your film’s cycle, your financier is surely patting you on the back for the return on his investment (or perhaps his 200kg-weighing henchmen have been sent to do the patting for him).

In Hollywood, Neill Blomkamp may, after this phenomenon, be the most sought-after Director by film-studios, with his ability to recoup money on a fairly low-budget film (in Hollywood terms), within the first weekend of release. However, if this film had opened in South African theatres alone, with overseas territories only secondary to South Africa, Mr Blomkamp might have found himself on the wrong end of a producer’s favourite cliché: “You’ll never work in this town again!”

I’ll be the first to admit that the aforementioned South African flicks are far from being “high-concept” ideas. Let’s see: A small-time gangster hi-jacks a car, only to find an infant in the backseat; Two best friends take a road trip to the one’s wedding and lastly, a White Sangoma… (Well, I haven’t actually seen Mr Bones 2 to know what it’s about but I’m sure it’s not as High-Concept as I think). For the sake of transparency though, I will disclose that I saw the first one. So then what does “High-Concept” mean for a South African Film, because District 9 would suggest that I can go as wild as I want to, whereas the producers would tell me that I’ve lost my marbles…

Perhaps then, we shouldn’t be talking about “High-Concept” stories in a South African context and rather learn from simple ideas that films such as Tsotsi and White Wedding have taught us… Damn! I just realised that if that’s true, then I guess I’ll be moving on to my 4th “Unfinished” Screenplay. But then again, I’m not offering a solution really; just posing the question. Hopefully, the answer, whatever it is (Hey! I’m no guru! I’m not even a writer!) shall help South African screenwriters write films that eventually create a profitable film industry, without a film needing the South African surname Schuster to make sure that it earns its money back…

Peace, Luv and Nappiness,

“I am not a writer!” – Katt

- Tracey-Lee Dearham
Once Upon A Time in the Land of Gold, Smog and Taxi’s lived a young dreamer who decided to become a storyteller and share stories with her kingdom!
The dreamer understands that a dream without the know-how is useless and decides to learn about stories and storytelling. She pays to learn the skill with 60 000 gold coins for many, many moons of training and apprenticeship.
After her many many moons of storytelling training the young dreamer feels confident enough to travel to other lands and meet people so that she may bring back more stories to tell. This would create a better kingdom with more riches and magic and the skilled dreamer will be sharing her purpose with her beloved kingdom.

The skilled dreamer travels and works so that she learns new stories, cultivates her own stories and earns enough gold coins to feed herself on her travels across placid lakes, roaring oceans and massive shiny towers. The skilled dreamer drifts north-west away from her kingdom of gold, smog and taxi’s and meets amazing beings from other kingdoms-dwarfs, giants and even a few Americans – also storytellers who are freely telling their stories with enough gold coins to eat and drink. These are very happy storytellers and the skilled dreamer is inspired to bring back the many stories to her kingdom and share what she saw and who she met. The skilled dreamer travels back home with purpose and passion.
After many, many moons across the various stormy oceans and dry lands, she returns to her kingdom of gold, smog and taxi’s. Oh, she loves this kingdom above all because this is home and this is where she wants to share her stories. She realises that to share stories, she will need to have energy to write the story and then paint it in the magical boxes that the big, big magical tower has given to the kingdom’s people in return for the kingdom’s gold coins.
The skilled dreamer loves this new magic and is happy that the kingdom and the kingdom’s big, big tower is working together harmoniously. The skilled dreamer hears a rumble in her stomach and realises that she is hungry. With both any empty pocket and an empty stomach the skilled dreamer realises that she will need gold coins to buy the food to get the energy to write the story, then paint it in the magic box and share with the kingdom.

She decides to put her storytelling dream on hold as she continues her journey and learns more about the machinations of the magic box and becomes friends with the people of the big, big magical tower. The skilled dreamer uses her skill to become a strange thing called a production manager; another magical worker that has all the information to share with other magical workers who then correctly paint the pictures in the magical box for the big, big magical tower to entertain the kingdom in exchange for the gold coins that will feed the skilled dreamer in creating more stories for the kingdom. This is a beautiful cycle and the skilled dreamer is patient as she learns the workings of the big, big magical tower and the shiny magical box!
The seasons come and then they go and so the cycle continues when at last the skilled dreamer decides that it is the season of spring and a good time to dream again as she packs up her organiser pouch with enough gold coins saved to eat and tell stories and leaves the strange work as a production manager.
Her dream is slowly happening and she is so close that the destination seems almost tangible…so vivid, she can almost reach out and touch it!
She writes the stories, she imagines the characters and she creates the many new worlds borne from both her travels and her dreams. She loves this magic that flows from her as she writes down the words and connects the sentences in threading her stories. After her last stitch she decides to take her stories to the big, big magical tower; the place for kingdom empowerment!

The skilled dreamer sits in the hollow room with people from the big, big magical tower wanting to hear her stories. Looking around at the khakhi coloured walls and smudged windows, the skilled dreamer understands that the big, big magical tower was just a big, big tower and that her stories, just like all those other storyteller’s stories, is the magic that the tower and the kingdom needs. The skilled dreamer widens her smile and with a burst of excitement she tells her stories with passion, with truth and with complete understanding of what her stories mean for both the big, big tower and the kingdom. The stories are the magic, the gold and the life of the kingdom!

The people of the big, big tower love the stories but sadly cannot share the stories with any of the kingdom because creatures at the big, big tower stole all of the kingdom’s gold coins and travelled across oceans and lands (with family, friends and acquaintances) while pretending to part of the people from the big, big tower. These creatures went across the lands not to learn about other people, not to share with other kingdoms but to eat food that they did not hunger for and drink wine that could never quench their thirst. These creatures went across the lands with the kingdom’s gold leaving the kingdom goldless, storyless and making the big, big tower very small.
So the pained skilled dreamer leaves the big, big tower without the dream. The dreamer walks out of the gold- less big, big tower wanting to share her stories with the kingdom but how will she do this when she has no more of her own gold coins to buy food to eat and without the help of the now small, small tower. The dreamer decides to venture out into the City Of Gold, smog and taxi’s to find some more gold so that she can keep her dream alive, so that she can get to her destination because the skilled dreamer realises that she had the magic with her all the time!
By Pained Skilled Dreamer

How many screenwriters does it take to change a light bulb?
Answer:  Ten.
1st draft.  Hero changes light bulb.
2nd draft.  Villain changes light bulb.
3rd draft.  Hero stops villain from changing light bulb.  Villain falls to death.
4th draft.  Lose the light bulb.
5th draft.  Light bulb back in.  Fluorescent instead of tungsten.
6th draft.  Villain breaks bulb, uses it to kill hero’s mentor.
7th draft.  Fluorescent not working.  Back to tungsten.
8th draft.  Hero forces villain to eat light bulb.
9th draft.  Hero laments loss of light bulb.  Doesn’t change it.
10th draft.  Hero changes light bulb.

The WGSA and the TVIEC has put out a call for information regarding the financial impact the trouble at the SABC has had on writers so they can put together stats. Charl Blignaut and Desiree Markgraaff are really going the extra mile to represent writers in this capacity, so it is not just about Producers. Unfortunately we have not yet had much of a response. If you could spare five minutes and just answer the two questions below, we would be so grateful.

Your answers are confidential.

You can even remain anonymous. If you send your answers to me, I’ll collate them and send off a mail with everyone’s answers on (incl my own). With no names attached to any answers. Send your answers to: communications@writersguildsa.org

You can also submit directly to the TVIEC and send your answers to tvcrisis@gmail.com – still confidential.

Please read below…

In attempting to access rescue funding, the TVIEC needs to be able to tell the Department of Trade and Industry the extent of the job losses within the television industry. Any information provided will be confidential. Please can you answer the following questions:

1. What percentage drop in writing income have you experienced this year?

2. If you are not contracted on a SABC job within the next 3 months, what are the consequences for your career?

Please let us have these answers before the end of the week.

Thank you so much…

Natasje van Niekerk

7 September 2009

PRESS RELEASE

What started as one TV producer expressing his outrage at the SABC’s slashing of local content by going on a hunger strike has gathered unprecedented momentum. As Michael Lee enters the fifth week of his hunger strike, three new hunger strikers have entered their second week and a fifth member has joined the campaign.

This is not a media prank, nor is it a death threat. The hunger action is a carefully considered, rational statement about the starving of an industry through mismanagement, arrogance and a lack of planning by the SABC.

The media is now invited to engage with the hunger strikers and to ask questions and hear their statements as well as their personal motivations. Photographers will also be given the opportunity to document the strikers.

When and Where

Wednesday 9 September at 10am at Atlas Studios, Milpark

Of further interest, the hunger protestors have started a blog at www.hungerprotest.wordpress.com and request everyone to visit it. Furthermore, social network sites are growing with viewer anger at the SABC’s slashing of local content and its massive schedule of repeats currently running in prime time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: tvcrisis@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Although not a formal action of the TV Industry Emergency Coalition (TVIEC), we continue to offer any aid we can to the protestors and will also be in attendance on Wednesday. We have requested that all hunger strikers receive medical attention and find it most unfortunate that the strikers have been forced to continue with their action, a clear sign of the desperation of our industry’s current situation.

Continued call for Information

We are still asking for information from production companies. The TVIEC has been called upon to quantify the extent of the collateral damage of the SABC’s financial and management problems.

We need to be able to say:

1. How many production companies have closed down

2. How many have retrenched full time employees?

3. What percentage revenue has your company decreased this year as a direct result of the SABC problems?

We know that it’s difficult for companies to disclose this kind of information – but we are really trying hard to get the government to intervene in this matter and we need to have hard facts in order to convince them. So we’d be very grateful if you could send us information – and of course your names and the specific information will of course be kept confidential. If you have not yet responded, please send information totvcrisis@gmail.com.

Continued call for Funds

The TVIEC kitty is almost empty. This is an urgent appeal to companies and individuals to please make a donation to help us keep fighting for change at the SABC and to keep lobbying government. If you can spare R1 000 that would be great, but any amount will be a help. As per our last mass meeting, we are wanting to retain legal advice to look at pro bono action against the SABC. If you can help, please mailtvcrisis@gmail.com.

OUR CONTACT: tvcrisis@gmail.com

This letter is written on behalf of the TVIEC (Television Industry Emergency Coalition) which consists of: IPO (Independent Producers Organization), SASFED (South African Screen Federation), TPA (The Producers Alliance), DFA (Documentary Filmmakers Association), WGSA (Writers Guild of South Africa) as well as the CWU (Creative Workers Union).

8 September 2009

PRESS RELEASE

The TVIEC vehemently rejects the statements made by SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago in his press release dated 31 August 2009. We believe that Mr Kganyago’s response smacks of the old SABC’s arrogant and dismissive attitude to the industry and public and that this is not the spirit in which

the SABC Interim Board has been engaging its stakeholders. It is our view that the Interim Board have taken the crisis facing our industry to heart and have made genuine attempts to engage in discussions to find solutions.

Furthermore, the release Mr Kganyago issued is copied from an SABC response to the TVIEC memorandum of three months back; the repeating of old sentiments appears to imitate the SABC’s ‘repeat’ on air strategy. Mr Kganyago does not appear to be in the loop of the spirit or the current discussions between the TVIEC and the SABC Interim Board and management.

Mr Kganyago has recently articulated a view that the industry “should have been more prepared for the SABC’s financial crisis and not so dependant”. This is an intolerable statement, given that the independent industry formally approached the SABC in April this year specifically asking if the SABC was facing a financial crisis that would impact on our sector and the SABC responded with a resounding “We can meet our contractual and financial obligations to the production industry and will honour the 2008 RFPs”. As we all know, just weeks later the SABC admitted it could not meet the obligations and is currently working on a payment plan that sees the independent production industry carry SABC debts through to December 2009. The SABC gave no warning to our sector or indeed the public that it was facing a financial crisis until it was “in the crisis”.

We wish to point out that in a meeting between the TVIEC and the Interim Board less than two weeks ago (27th August 2009) there was an acknowledgment of the “pausing” of approximately R500-million in commissioning to the industry. This is not the industry asking for new work – this is work that the SABC annually commissions and that the industry has been asked to gear up for by RFPs that were posted in September 2008.

However the SABC may like to dress up this freezing of R500 000 in words phrases as “delayed procurement”, “deferrals” etcetera, the fact remains, if it is not spent in this fiscal, production companies geared to meet the requests will suddenly find themselves with no income in 2009 (and potentially through to June 2010). No company can survive this kind of swift cut. The SABC is the primary television market for content creators in South Africa.

We note that the SABC Interim Board has been proactive in seeking relief funding and we see it as governments responsibility to assist the SABC with this funding in pursuance of SABC meeting its Public Broadcast Service mandate in this fiscus. The TVIEC supports the Interim Board’s endeavours and is committed to working with the SABC on seeking ways to save the independent production industry from collapse, thereby saving tens of thousands of jobs and protecting people’s livelihoods.

However, Mr Kganyago’s press release raises many questionable and troubling issues which need to be dealt with.

1. Local content. The SABC makes a claim about how it has over the past three years grown local content from ratios of 60% international/40% local to 70% local/30% international content at present.

We reject this statement as irrelevant to – and an attempt to excuse – the

SABC’s current failure to uphold its local content commitments. Further, this statement seems to indicate that the SABC did not meet its ICASA mandate three years ago. If so, did the SABC declare this to ICASA and did ICASA investigate this matter? We refuse to accept the SABC’s local content claims at face value, both with regard to percentages and qualifying content, since ICASA has patently been unable to exercise its monitoring responsibility.

2. Industry growth. The SABC claims to have grown the local production industry from 20 companies in 2004 to 408 in 2009.

We question the facts of this statement and challenge the SABC to furnish the TVIEC with the list of 20 companies in 2004 and the list of 408 operational companies in 2009.

3. Development. Mr Kganyago makes a number of claims with regards the SABC’s investment in developing and growing the industry as if this were some form of philanthropic good will.

It is the SABC’s mandate as a 100% government owned institution to align

itself with the government’s objectives for the country. Job creation and SMMEs are high on this agenda. It is in the SABC’s interest to build a vibrant

industry. This is not some “nice to have” extra. The Student Reel Project

referred to gives the SABC cheap content while helping to meet its mandate,

thus making it a mutually beneficial project, not a one-sided “giving” from the

SABC. Mr Kganyago states preferential procurement outside of Gauteng – let the SABC state the exact programs and value it procures from regions other

than Gauteng per annum. What exactly, Mr Kganyago, is “other projects such as research and development”? Surely R&D is a normal line item on any budget in any business anywhere in the world. Any healthy business has to research and develop. ICONs is an SABC brag project not an industry development project.

4. Intellectual Property.

The sheer cheek of Mr Kganyago saying we should have been prepared for the SABC’s financial crisis and not been solely reliant on them is outrageous. The independent sector has been fighting for intellectual property rights for five years. The SABC relies on apartheid legislation to steal all intellectual property from the production sector. They do not pay an “ideas or concept” fee to local productions, or for broadcast use in the South African territory alone. Yet SABC happily pays the BBC and other foreign productions a fee for “concept” plus all script and production costs and then only keeping the rights for Southern Africa. Why does the SABC agree to foreign production companies owning their rights but not local companies at the same rates? Without IP the independent production sector will always

be beholden to the SABC.

5. Local content cuts. Mr Kganyago declares: “The industry is making an allegation that we are cutting on local content, this is further from the truth. The truth of the matter is, as part of managing our cash flow problem, we are deferring some of the programmes to a further date.”

Does Mr Kganyago not read the papers or listen to the radio? The SABC is on a major repeat schedule. The Interim Board has acknowledged that they have “paused” R500-million spend in the industry. Until it is “unpaused” the result to the industry remains simply that it is money expected that has not materialised.

6. Repeat programming. Mr Kganyago states: “It is very unfair for the Industry to give an impression that the SABC is the only broadcaster that repeats programmes. We would like to urge the public to go and verify how we compare with other broadcasters in as far as repeats are concerned.”

Why should the public verify the issue of repeats? Other broadcasters have

different strategies and are not public broadcasters. If Mr Kganyago is

referring to DSTV, then he might also consider that they have a bouquet of

over 40 channels to choose from and the very nature of a wide bouquet is

that they will repeat programming. However, we do not see MNET or ETV

repeating an entire drama or soap series on prime time. The newspapers recently reported that the SABC has up to 26 repeat programmes on one day.

In closing, the TVIEC has been working tirelessly with SABC management and the Interim Board to seek solutions jointly that protect jobs and keep companies afloat. Our members have chosen not to litigate and place the SABC under stress for the millions of rands still owed. Our members continue to deliver the shows that South Africans love watching.

The TVIEC remains committed to fighting for our industry’s survival and the

Tens of thousands of jobs and livelihoods that are at stake. Furthermore we are committed to ensuring that South African television viewers have choice and good quality content.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: tvcrisis@gmail.com

This press release is written on behalf of the TVIEC (Television Industry Emergency Coalition) which consists of: IPO (Independent Producers Organization), SASFED (South African Screen Federation), TPA (The Producers Alliance), DFA (Documentary Filmmakers Association), WGSA (Writers Guild of South Africa) as well as the CWU (Creative Workers Union).

Spring‘s finally here people! Time to fling open the parasols, fill up the picnic baskets & frolic in fields of perriwinkle! It‘s gorgeous out!

It is always empowering to know what we earn – or should earn. If your situation’s anything like mine, you’ll probably want to practice your most indignant expression before you start reading…

These are the rates that people are getting at the moment.  Every company structures their payments differently – some on a monthly basis, others on a per episode basis, others over 6 episodes.  This is what the averages work out to, excluding taxation.

The WGSA is not endorsing these rates, however we do strongly urge members to be aware of the Industry baseline and to never go below that.

Daily Dramas

Storyliners:  (Daily drama)

Storyliners Monthly fee structure

Breakdown rates (taking storylines and structuring them into episodes)

Script editor for a Daily Drama

Writing for a Daily Drama

Headwriter Daily drama – monthly

Headwriter Rates

Once again the WGSA is not endorsing these rates, this is what being paid to various people at the moment.  We do however strongly urge members to be aware of the Industry baseline and to never go below that.

How to calculate your rates:

Work on an average script of R750/min x the minutes of the episodes, times the number of episodes.  Thus 48×13 = R468 000 and scripts will cost R22000/script (average)

Take out R50 K for research and translation.  The rest should go to the writers and HW. You need to leave something for the production company’s operating costs, but that’s really small.

For a drama series, it all depends on the Headwriter’s duties. If it’s a specific contract for a particular number of eps, there’s usually a payment for each ep.

These are some baseline rates excluding any taxation:

HW Drama 48”

HW Sitcom/Drama 13 x 24 min

So the good news is we made front page, the disgusting news is SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago presented a steaming pile of you know what in response to yesterday’s protest. Barf bags at the ready please…

“They are independent producers. It’s really unfortunate that their companies are losing money when they should have planned for such situations. We are in a financial crisis, trying to settle past debts, so we can start afresh with them.” (The Times).

We at the blog fully concur with the editors of Screen Africa in labelling the comment blithe and downright arrogant! The editors go on to rightfully ask: “How were producers to realise the extent of the financial and administrative mismanagement of the previous SABC board, executives and managers? How were they supposed to anticipate that the SABC would be encumbered with debt of R800m of their own making? Were producers supposed to believe that the SABC would not honour what they owed production companies for work done? If the government bails the SABC out with R2bn, can we trust the SABC not to squander the money on management salaries, bonuses, and international jaunts as was the case before?”

The nerve of these people! We were supposed to plan for the fact that they couldn’t?!  My mind boggles…

Ryan

[FADE IN:]

There’s something ominous in the air outside SABC’s Radio Park. A crowd of bystanders  mills about in the early afternoon sun; some wield cameras, others swing booms, a few  clutch at notepads while the rest look on in heightened expectation. A sudden hush  descends as a solemn procession of mourners cuts through the crowd to form a wide circle on the tarmac. They’re clad in black and carry placards bearing similar laments… ‘SABC killing our stories, Save Our Shows, SABC killing culture…’ Nothing happens for several pregnant beats and then… a cloaked, hulking figure strides into the circle in a cloud of jaundiced smoke. Beneath the hood and flyaway hair, there are no features… only a skeletal grimace. The figure, however, is not some mythical reaper, but the SABC incarnate…

Out of the billowing smoke, a mournful rendition of ‘Senzeni Na?!’ (What have we done?!) begins and five more figures enter the circle. They too are clad in black and hold nooses above their heads. The dirge continues as they take centre stage, standing shoulder to shoulder. Individually they are: ‘Skills’, ‘Culture’, ‘Story’, ‘Jobs’ and ‘Viewers’, collectively they are the condemned. As one man, they drop to their knees, slip the nooses around their necks and await their fate…

Their executioner sets to work without reservation or hesitation. One by one the nooses are wrenched tight, one by one, their victims strike the pavement, until finally, the singing surrenders to silence and the massacre is complete…

[FADE OUT]

And that about sums up the afternoon folks! You had to be there to fully appreciate it, of course but I hope I’ve given you some idea of what you missed out on. The above scenario took about two minutes, after which, reporters went through the crowd taking statements and shooting interviews. Thanks to everyone who pitched and an even bigger thanks to those who spoke to the press, (myself included obviously, ahem, ahem… incidentally, that’s me being well hung… er… hanged in one of the opening pics if anyone’s interested… no? Oh okay, moving on…)

Although the turnout wasn’t as massive as I’d anticipated, (why are people so reluctant to get involved, dammit?! It’s your livelihoods on the line too, you know!) the day was still a resounding success in my opinion! Special thanks to director Tim Greene for putting together such a moving piece, the actors (Garth Collins, Rosie Motene, Hanli Rolfes Opperman, Sibulele Gcilitshana and Paul) who played The Executioner, Jobs, Stories, Skills and Viewers respectively, and let me play ‘Culture’ alongside them, (what giddy fun!)

Thanks also to the picketers / mourners for showing up in black and delivering brilliant performances for the cameras and of course, a big thank you to Natasje and Thandi for all their organising and hair-pulling. Finally, a special word of thanks to Charl Blignaut and the resources of Moja Movie, Karima and the resources of Curious Pictures and Carlynn from Contractors for lobbying the acting fraternity.
I know the blood sweat and tears of a lot more people went into making today happen so thanks a bunch to all of you and let’s hope we’ve made some headway… See y’all on the news tonight I hope!

Peace, lurve and death by hanging,

Ryan.