Two years ago, actress Winnie Modise envisioned a ceremony to celebrate the soapie industry. That dream is set to materialise with the first annual Royalty Soapie Awards (RSAs) in November. Best known for her long-standing role as Khetiwe Buthelezi in SABC1’s Generations, Modise shares her journey as the founder and says the RSAs aren’t meant to rival or undermine the South African Film and Television Awards, writes Debashine Thangevelo
FILM and TV sectors around the world have a propensity to look to Hollywood for inspiration. And the plethora of awards ceremonies, from the Oscars to the Golden Globes to the Emmys, creates such hype every year that it’s hard not to be mesmerised by the slick running of it.
South Africa’s benchmark when it comes to awards ceremonies is the National Film and Video Foundation’s South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas). But, without taking anything away from past winners, it has courted controversy since its inception.
Now critics and the industry are excited to hear about the upcoming Royalty Soapie Awards, founded by Generations actress Winnie Modise.
She says: “I got the idea years back. I observed how big soapies are and I looked at the gaps in terms of the award ceremonies we have. This has been a dream of mine. As big as movies are in Hollywood, soapies are exactly the same here.
“We are also the most watched. I think it is something like over 20 million who watch the shows between 6.30pm and 9.30pm on weekdays. That is just big. I decided we needed a spectacular night for those people behind the scenes, the production teams and the people in front.”
The actress and businesswomen says she started canvassing for support for the award ceremony at the beginning of 2011.
“I met the deputy mayor of Durban (Nomvuzo Shabalala). We were just having a conversation, I said I got this idea. She thought it was brilliant and asked me to work on it. Everyone we pitched it to said: ‘Wow!’” she explains.
While the awards are touted as a rival to the Saftas, Modise rubbishes the suggestion.
“As huge as they are – they cover everything – I’m taking a specific genre. These two awards ceremonies can’t be compared for that very reason. Even at the launch I said so,” she says.
The actress says she would like this awards ceremony to be as spectacular and unrivalled as the Oscars.
She adds that the nomination list for the public votes will be out by the end of next month.
Aware of the flak the Saftas have often received for flawed nominations lists, where categories and the nominees were out of sync at times, Modise says they are dodging that bullet, so to speak, by leaving the votes to the public.
However, the technical categories will be judged by a panel of judges from the industry and media.
She says: “We felt certain characters were not honoured enough – like newcomers, villains and villainesses. We have intro- duced that in the categories. We want to involve the audience. But the technical categories will be judged by a panel. That’s because while the public may deem a soap popular, it doesn’t mean it’s the best.”
Given that she is the founder of this awards ceremony, and she wants them to be a benchmark, Modise is feeling the pressure a bit. But it isn’t anything that she can’t handle.
On the TV front, her character in Generations, who has gone through some dark moments, is returning to stir up the hornets’ nest.
She laughs: “There is a huge storyline coming up. Viewers are going to love to hate her.”
At least viewers won’t be starved for drama or entertainment.
lThe Royalty Soapie Awards will be held at the International Convention Centre in Durban on November 2.