Big accolade for local production

Ayanda Films from Turffontein scooped the Best Local Film Award at the Live Your Dreams Youth SA Awards in Durban for their latest production called Ithuna The Restless Souls.

They were the best production nationally and Ayanda Films CEO Ayanda Ndimande said this is a victory for them.
“We are happy for this victory and this shows that no matter how small you are and little you have, if you work hard, God will do the rest. It is not about what you have but the step you take,” he said.

His journey in film started in 2008.

“I was a drama facilitator at Believers Care Society in Turffontein. That’s where I met two students who are now my partners at Ayanda Films. Makhosi Tladi and Yolanda Jeanem showed great potential, I then recruited them to work with me,” noted Ayanda.

Together, they have produced films, shot music videos and shows and documented people who bring change to the community.

“In 2016, we produced the film Umandulo and in 2018 it was Ithuna The Restless Souls. Among others, these two films stand out. We do shows called Legend in the making where we profile up and coming artists, The Abbaquar-San Royal House and Tour for Change, where we profile individuals who bring change in other people’s lives in areas like Rashieda Landis and Alexander Iheme.

“We have also done music videos and they are played on Channel O, they are Jealous by Judge Maso featuring Flow X and Indaba zay’zolo by Grootboom. We are also media partners with Miss Rosettenville 2021 Season 2.0 The bigger the better,” he said.

Challenges

Ayanda, Makhosi and Yolanda said they still lack equipment.

“We have one camera that we use, which resulted in poor sound quality for our productions. There are only three of us. We don’t have enough crew. “However, with all these limitations we managed to bring the award home.

We thank ward councillor Rashieda Landis for sponsoring us with a sound receiver and Alexander Iheme from BCS for helping us with three computers,” explained Yolanda.

Bigger picture and message

They see themselves enjoying a bigger space to house other productions from music, graphic design or any other media production.

“In that way, we can say we have made a difference in the South,” noted Makhosi.

The team also wants to encourage whoever is hustling to make sure they do their craft diligently to make their mark.

“No matter how little you have, you need to start with whatever you believe in. We do our production with passion and we want to visually tell the stories of the people of the South. We urge people to come to us with their proposals because working together, we can do more,” explained Yolanda.

For more information, Ayanda may be contacted on 068 202 9302.