Abongwe Booi (Visual Creator and Film Director

A B O N G W E B O O I

Abongwe Booi is a visual creator who believes that it is difficult to separate photography and filmmaking. “Composition, ” he says, “is the bases of powerful imagery and without an understanding of photography and the denotive aspects of composition in storytelling, filmmaking falls flat. ” Personally he is a fan of aesthetic drama, explosions, blood, fights, kisses, and unrequited love; that’ s where he feels his strengths lie the strongest, but he also believes that filmmaking would be nothing without photography. Being a film director is a laborious job, and the vision of creating something beautiful which will possibly have an impact in society, even if that impact is one person, keeps Abongwe motivated. He goes on to say that being on set rejuvenates him, “ even after a long, hard day, I find myself recharged with an energy that excites me for the next day. And seeing something that was in your mind come to life on screen the exact way you had planned it to be is a WIN of its own and that’ s what keeps me going. ” With 2021 quickly drawing to a close, Booi has achieved some professional goals, and also has not achieved some. He is currently busy working on a number of short films, and has a 5-part webseries on its way.

What is the earliest memory you have of becoming a visual creator? As a young child, I’ ve always been drawn to stories and pictures. Growing up with an older brother, Bubele Booi, and twin sister, Aziwe Booi, we constantly found ourselves making songs and videos in our spare time, playing loudly on my dad’ s guitar or using my mom ’ s laptop webcam to make stupid but interestingly elaborate skits, although those videos shall remain in the darkest corner of the archives never to be seen again! I remember the first time my Tata came home with a video camera, I would steal it while he was at work to make horror movies and YouTube videos with my friends every Friday after school. We don ’t have to talk about when I would get caught and the hidings I would receive for these antics, but it was all worth it! And from that young age, I found myself falling more in love with storytelling every moment. What major lessons did you learn while you were studying film and screen production at the University of Cape Town? Studying film and screen production at UCT was an incredible experience. Although the assessments came very naturally to me because of my extracurricular filmmaking work over the years, I learnt so much about the importance of a team and working with people collaboratively. Collaboration is the most fundamental and beautiful part of the filmmaking experience and I found myself having to learn how to go from being a oneman band to working side by side and trusting my classmates. I was so fortunate to be in a class with some of the most creative, kind and hilarious individuals that I have come across, which made class all the more an incredible experience. Paired with the enthusiasm of my lecturers, my experience at UCT was truly an exciting first step into my understanding of what the film industry had to offer.

Which medium do you prefer between filmmaking and photography? Why? It’ s difficult to separate one from the other. Composition is the bases of powerful imagery and without an understand of photography and the denotive aspects of composition in storytelling, filmmaking falls flat. I personally am a fan of aesthetic drama, explosions, blood, fights, kisses, unrequited love and that’ s where I feel my strengths lie strongest, but my filmmaking would be nothing without photography! How does your life look like outside being a visual creator? I have been raised in a household that firmly believe that education is the most powerful tool for any chance, in and outside visual creation. I have a passion of music that was instilled in me in my upbringing, growing up in an extremely musical home. I love learning music and instruments and I’ m fortunate to be related to one of the greatest producers in South Africa right now, Bubele Booi, who has just come off major projects in LA and NYC working with the likes of Beyonce, Ami Faku, Will Linley, Manana and many more. I also have a keen foothold in finance and investment and with the expansion of investment potential and new forms of investment like cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFT, it is very exciting to look at the financial landscape, understand it and see how it can be applied in the realisation of my visual creations.

Why did you establish Artistic Intent, and how has it helped to grow your career in the film industry? I created Artistic Intent with my brother purely out of the understanding of the entrepreneurial space and my aspirations. I found myself feeling disheartened by constant rejection when applying to production companies for internships and learnership opportunities. So instead of asking for an opportunity, I decided to make my own, partnering with my talented friends and family to create beautiful stories that everyone could connect to in any space. As I neared the end of my university studied the company had developed into something I could fully invest into after studies. We went from shooting small company promotional clips to working with massive brands like Redbull and Hunters before even graduating which was so exciting. How was the experience of shooting the recent KFC campaign? The recent KFC campaign was a complete shift in paradigm in many ways. Financially, organisationally and practically. All the tools I had learnt over the years would be so essential and amplified to a larger platform. I found my experience in pitching and graphic design became extremely beneficial in ensuring everyone in the team was on the same page and that we were going in the right direction that the client desired. I got to work with my producing collaborator, Calvin Hayward, who was so essential in making the campaign come to life in every way. I had to learn so much in such a short amount of time and if it weren ’t for Calvin ’ s experience and expertise, the result wouldn ’t nearly have been as fruitful as it was!

What themes/subject matters do you pursue through your work? My passion as a storyteller is to authentically tell the unhear South African experience, reframing how the West has positions Africans in media and depicting OUR truth from OUR voice. My work is an expression of my inner thoughts, feelings and questions. I find my stories are very heavily rooted in love and loss because that is an experience I am navigating in my personal life as a black South African. I find it so freeing to be able to express and experiment with whatever feelings and thoughts I feel as I am writing especially as my work focuses mostly on people, understanding a person and why they reacted the way they did in that situation. It exciting to have projects that I can research and understand more and more about South African history, moments that I have never heard of as a South African, let alone the rest of the world. My stories are a pursuit of truth, whatever that means to the character. Please share your working process from conceptualization to editing. I have a very busy mind, but I find that when I have an idea that sticks, nothing can make it disappear. It plagues me like a virus and that’ s how I know I have to make it. I have a journal that I keep beside my bed that I keep close because some of my best ideas come from the depths of my dreams or randomly nje in the middle of the night. I also have a memo pad on my phone with some ideas that attack me when I’ m out and about. From there, I love to make synopsis and backstories for each character and their situation to give me a better psychological understanding of the character. I make extensive story maps on whiteboards that help me with my structuring and breakdown the turning points and climactic incidence that define the story. From there, once I feel confident that I can tell the story from start to finish, I throw the idea into the back of my mind and just let it stew, some could say I run away from actually making it happen but hey that’ s neither here nor there. Writing is the HARDEST part to do and most of all TO FINISH, so I have to find myself in silence and dive into the writing process. I send the drafts to my most trusted writing advisor, Danielle Champ, who ruthlessly critiques my structure and relentlessly insults my grammar. But after all the hurt and all the tears run out, we work on tightening it up and she always makes it SUBSTANTIALLY better than before. From here I work with my creative producer, Calvin into making it come to life creatively and financially. The shooting process depends on the project and finances, but I often shoot my own projects just because of my love for technical aspects and cinematography. Once we go into the editing process it’ s a back and forth until we ’ ve made something beautiful. Steps in the process change and grow as my understanding of my own filmmaking process expand but these steps are what keep the idea alive.

Filmmaking is a laborious job, what keeps you motivated? I am motivated by the prospect of making something beautiful that can impact even just one person ’ s life for a moment. It is very laborious but being on set rejuvenates me. Even after a long, hard day, I find myself recharged with an energy that excites me for the next day. And seeing something that was in your mind come to life on screen the exact way you had planned it to be is a WIN of its own and that’ s what keeps me going. Passion, love, excitement but mostly the chance to connect. How important a role does editing play in making a film? The process of editing is the final moulding of the film and in a lot of cases can be the make or break of how a story captures the viewers attention. Editing is the bases of storytelling, the glue the brings every element in the story together. Directors are very often editors themselves as they have to be able to understand how to cut the piece in order to make it come across the way they have envisioned the story. What are your views on the current state of the South African film industry? There are two sides to the South African film industry, one the is unfortunately exclusionary and another that is populated with young inspired voices. Because of the expansion of platforms, mediums and financing to the South African film industry, we ’ re beginning to see a more inclusive space in front and behind the camera. The film industry has a long way to go but I see young filmmakers all around me, telling their stories in their own unique voices and it makes me excited about the future of the industry in South Africa. I believe the next bigger movies in the mainstream are going to come from South Africa because of all the incredible untold stories we have here waiting to be told! With 2021 quickly drawing to a close, have you accomplished all your professional goals for this year? I’ ve achieved many, I’ ve failed at many. Right now in the climate we ’ re in I am grateful to just be alive and to have survived all the trauma that came with this year AND STILL managing to make the best out of it. This year has been more challenging than any year before it and I’ m proud of myself and thankful for just making it to the end, and anyone else should be too! Please tell us about your upcoming projects? I have a number of short films, and a 5 part webseries on its way but I think that’ s all I’ll share for now but much more to come! If you had an opportunity to remake a classic film, which one would you choose? Yoh. Tough question. I would say Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese although I know I could never do it justice the way he did. I think what makes these movies classics is how authentic and real to the storyteller they are. The streets of New York are not my experience or my culture the same way Scorsese wouldn ’t be able to authentically make ‘District 9’ or ‘Tsotsi’ . What advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers? The advice I would give to any young aspiring filmmakers is that “there is always a way, no one way is the right was. If you try your hardest at every point, the door will open the best way for you! Keep fighting, keep creating!”