Boasting a marquee career that includes countless global anthems, a cult-like following across the continent, tours and a handful of accolades, musician Busiswa Gqulu’s story is set to shake the world with the premiere of her powerful biographical documentary.
Narrated by Her Majesty herself, ‘Busiswa: An Unbreakable Story’ takes us on a journey back in time and explores the complex conditions that thrust a modest young girl from Umtata into the boisterous voice that reverberates through our speakers alongside Beyonce Knowles on ‘The Gift’, in arguably one of the most important moments in modern music history.
A CAN DO! film, directed by Fred Kayembe and Vaughn Thiel, this grungy Pineappletop Films production, produced by ‘The Kollektive’ explores modern ideas of independence, femininity and identity, through Busiswa’s remarkable story.
It is with great pleasure that the Africa Rising International Film Festival announces Busiswa: An Unbreakable Story as the inaugural film at this year’s proceedings, on 27 November 2019.
“The focus of the Africa Rising International Film Festival this year is inclusion. With that said, we are thrilled to have a story about a powerful woman who is changing the game in more ways than one lead our opening night,” says Ayanda Sithebe.
The four-day program will include The Chi’s creator and coveted writer Lena Waithe’s dynamic thrilling feature Queen & Slim, starring Black Panther’sDaniel Kaluuya. Described as the “modern day Bonnie and Clyde” the film is directed by Melina Matsoukas, best known for her work on Beyonce’s culture-defining visual Formation. Queen & Slim is due for American release on the opening night of the Africa Rising International Film Festival.