Rebecca Jackman
A Cape Town film-maker’s first feature film has won three awards at the Durban International Film Festival.
Love the One you Love scooped the awards for best South African director, best South African film, and best actress for Chi Mhende in the international category.
Jenna Bass, the producer, director, writer, cinematographer, co-editor, production and wardrobe designer for the film, had flown back to Cape Town after her film premiered at the festival last month.
She was “urged” to fly back for the awards ceremony on Saturday night. Although the “romance of the surprise” was lost, she said, she was grateful not have been in an “agony of nervousness”.
Her film, set in Cape Town, follows the stories of a sex-line operator, a dog handler and a computer technician who “begin to suspect that their romantic relationships are the subject of a bizarre conspiracy involving family, friends, and possibly even greater forces”.
Bass said she enjoyed all the jobs she did on the film and was able to enjoy herself, despite the stress during the three months of filming and close to 10 months in post-production.
“If I’m not doing anything, I feel like I don’t exist,” she said.
Instead of waiting for funding to hire a crew, she did what she could herself.
She “had to find a way to get it made”.
Many of her favourite personalities in film had made great films in their twenties.
At 27, she want to set herself the goal of doing the same, Bass said.
“It’s kind of unnecessary pressure to put on yourself, but it helped make things happen,” Bass said.
“Who knows how long I would have waited without that ludicrous drive?”
Zimbabwean-born Mhende, who is living in Cape Town, plays sex-line operator Terri in the film. She said she was “ecstatic” and “thrilled” with her award, and felt honoured by how much attention the film was getting.
“We were just happy to be making something because we all loved the love, the project, and the work. Working with a small group of like-minded people created a quality of intimacy that made the relationships real.”