Tembisa’s Thabang puts country on the map
Thabang Muleya made history for South African cinemas with his box office film, Happiness is a Four-Letter Word.
Tembisa-born former CityVarsity Cape Town student Thabang Muleya made history for South African cinemas with his box office film, “Happiness is a Four-Letter Word”, which earned a whopping R5-million within a month of its release.
The locally made film, directed by Thabang, is a romance based on Nozizwe Cynthia Jele’s award winning novel and tells the story of three successful friends, whose lives appear to be perfect, but lack true happiness.
The film is one of four South African productions that were showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival, on September 13, and was chosen due to the overwhelming global response it had received.
Born in Tembisa, Thabang began chasing his dreams by studying in Cape Town, at CityVarsity, the premier school of media and creative arts in South Africa.
In 2004, he graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Film and TV Production Techniques, specialising in directing.
Thabang attributes his success to his former lecturer, Tim Spring, who is Dean of Students and Senior Lecturer at CityVarsity Cape Town.
“Mr Spring taught me to be brave with my work; he was always so encouraging and pushing me further than my own limits,” Thabang says.
”Words can’t express my gratitude for the knowledge he so selflessly shared with us.”
Spring recognised Thabang’s talent immediately and explained: “I vividly remember him at the start of first year, showing me a little movie he had shot while still at school, and thinking to myself, “oh wow, what have we here? What indeed.
”During his third year I took him with me onto a set for a series I was making for SABC, called ‘Interrogation Room’, and started him off watching on set.
”Then I gave him small scenes to develop and direct and then, finally, a complete episode. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Through CityVarsity, Thabang said, he was able to discover himself as a storyteller, practice the craft and learn from peers and lecturers.
Thabang’s accolades include Vuka Awards, SAFTA Awards and an Emmy nomination.
In Happiness is a Four-Letter Word, he leads a stellar cast, including Mmabatho Montsho, Khanyi Mbau and Renate Stuurman.
In November, Thabang will attend the American Film Market (AFM) in Los Angeles, where the film will be showcased again, internationally.
This will also give Thabang the opportunity to network and get his next project off the ground.
During the movie’s local circuit run, it was the best performing film among all new releases and even soared above international releases such as 13 Hours, Secret soldiers of Benghazi, Hail Caesar!, 50 Shades of Black and Trumbo.
It was ranked at number three on the Top 10, after Deadpool and ‘Vir Altyd’.
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