Jayan Moodley’s chance entry into the film industry

ALYSSIA BIRJALAL

AWARD winning writer and director, Jayan Moodley entered the entertainment industry by chance – 16 years later, she’s become a force to be reckoned with.

Moodley has directed SABC3’s Sadhana and later directed her first movie White Gold, followed by the Keeping Up with the Kandasamys franchise. Her latest offering, Trippin’ with the Kandasamys received mega success after being released on Netflix in 190 countries.

Moodley says motivation and support from fans keeps her pushing forward.

“We’re told that our work brings joy, laughter and fun into so many homes. That’s motivation enough. We’re passionate about representation and extremely thankful that we’re able to show off our community in SA’s beautiful melting pot of cultures.”

While directing is a predominantly male industry, Moodley said she’s proud of how far females have come and is blessed to be a part of the change.

“The industry is changing and South Africa has made excellent strides in this arena. The world is starting to hear female voices more clearly, and there are more women entering this field. I feel very blessed to be a part of this change that is unfolding right before us. It’s exciting that the day will come when we simply say director, not ‘female director’,” said Moodley.

Her industry inspirations are American filmmakers, Mira Nair, Ava DuVernay and Canadian film director, Deepa Mehta.

“Right now there are so many amazing, talented women. My all time favourite is Mira Nair with Monsoon Wedding and Ava DuVernay with When They See Me. Both beautiful, poignant pieces of work.

“I also have a strong admiration and am in awe of Deepa Mehta’s bravery in storytelling,” Moodley said.

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic putting a strain on the entertainment industry, Moodley and her cast managed to push through for five weeks, facing many challenges, to get Trippin’ with the Kandasamys out on leading streaming platform, Netflix, where it premiered in over 190 countries.

Her expectations were well exceeded when the film landed in the top 10 spots in Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius.

“We always knew South Africans would shower us with love, and we felt this so strongly, and when this proudly KZN film gets such incredible support from so many countries, all we can say is ‘thank you’,” she said.

Moodley made the decision to release on Netflix instead of cinema with ease.

“We suddenly had the opportunity to release in 190 countries, for our little film to be shown all over the world, it was a huge win for film in Durban, KZN and South Africa. Hopefully doors will open to more opportunities for so many more filmmakers.”

Moodley said it’s an exciting time for South African stories as bigger studios are looking to Africa for content as well as using our landscapes for filming.

“I am currently in development for a few projects and am going into an exciting story room for the month of July. I cannot wait. International filmmakers have already started with co-productions and filming huge portions of their films on South African soil.

“This is an exciting chapter as we interact more with international filmmakers and they get to see just how beautiful our country is and the fantastic talent we have in SA,” Moodley said.

She said SA film is ready to compete on a global front.

“We have already had success stories and it is just the beginning. I wish all South African filmmakers the very best as we navigate the new paths offered.”