Film-maker blurs black and white
Across the Colour Bar.
Nthabiseng lives in a township. She is multilingual, and she also happens to be white. Her story is the subject of the award-winning documentary, Across the Colour Bar, which is a moving story that talks about emerging social realities in a democratic South Africa.
The winner of best student film at the Jozi Film Festival is the brainchild of Nkantu Dosi and follows the story of Nthabiseng Hibbert, a white woman who left an abusive life in Limpopo and moved to a township east of Johannesburg.
Dosi described how the concept came about, saying that he wanted to do a research project that focused on an inter-racial couple, or a person moving from a suburb to a township.
“I chose this documentary because it speaks to a deeper social issue, especially 20 years into democracy in our country,” he said.
Dosi added that he met Hibbert when he was visiting relatives in Katlehong and was always fascinated by her story and choice to live in the township, but he could never gather the courage to approach her.
Eventually he did approach her; he discovered her journey to the township and her life there.
Despite challenges faced in shooting the documentary – such as getting Hibbert to open up about her life – Dosi said that it was a project he had always wanted to work on because it affected him on a deeper level.
“Doing this documentary was not about getting recognition but rather about sharing this story with other people,” Dosi added.
The director, lecturer and writer hopes to submit his work to international film festivals and to continue working on stories that speak to people’s hearts.
