CELEBRATED musician, actor and novelist, Nakhane, adds filmmaker to their cap with the première of their highly anticipated South African short film “B(l)ind The Sacrifice”.
The film was selected from four thousand submissions, to compete in the Pardi di Domani section at the prestigious 77th Locarno Film Festival, which was recently held in Switzerland.
The festival is renowned for presenting avant-garde films by up-and-coming directors, who are able to produce inventive pieces that address future directions in cinema.
On “B(l)ind The Sacrifice”, the award-winning personality teamed up with film producers, Cait Pansegrouw and Elias Ribeiro, of Urucu Media, to bring the masterpiece to life.
Nakhane, who is renowned for their captivating performance in “Inxeba (The Wound)” which was South Africa's submission for the Oscars in 2018, serves as the film’s writer and director.
Pansegrouw and Ribeiro are celebrated for their work on “Inxeba”, “Train of Salt and Sugar”, “This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection” among others.
“B(l)ind The Sacrifice” explores the masculinity, patriarchy, and power, set against the backdrop of an immutable yet contemporary world.
Nakhane said the story was sparked by the notion of the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac.
“I first came across the story of Abraham and Isaac when I was a Baptist Christian in South Africa. I couldn’t help but wonder what Isaac must have felt after his father, Abraham, had tried to sacrifice him to his God.
“In the Bible, the psychology and the consequences are skipped over. Abraham is praised as the original patriarch who obeyed God’s command and passed his test.
“My question then and now has always been: What happens to the person who can no longer trust the parent that is supposed to care and protect them and did God really speak to Abraham?” they said.
They added: “In broad brush strokes, the film is an exploration of masculinity, patriarchy and the power it wields – gone mad.”
They also questioned what would happen if the patriarchy lineage was nipped in the bud by “cutting off the head of the snake by killing Abraham”.
Nakhane hopes to make this short film into a full-length feature so that they will be able to explore not only patriarchy and the power it wields in the world, but also its contact with queerness; covert and overt.
“I wish to tell this story now and centralise the character of the son as the destroyer of patriarchy because I believe that the onus is on men to go about changing their relationship with people that patriarchy has oppressed,” said the “Brave Confusion” album maker.
Pansegrouw, who also doubled as the short film’s casting director, said it is through the reactions of cinema viewers that they have been motivated to expand this story into a feature film.
“It’s always a joy to sit in the dark and experience your film with an audience for the first time. Over 600 people were in the cinema at the premiere and they responded beautifully to our film,” she said.
Aside from its successful debut, “B(l)ind The Sacrifice” is also in the running for an award at the 60th competition Concorso Internazionale competition.
The competition features short and medium-length films as world or international premières and highlights the visionary talent of new filmmakers from around the globe.