Blackfilm.com correspondent Ellen J. Wanjiru sits down with Student Academy Award winner Phumi Morare to discuss her historic South African short film WHEN THE SUN SETS, why it was important to make it and what she learned. The short, inspired by a true story, is about a nurse negotiating her space and trying to protect her family during apartheid. Watch interview below.
Phumi is one of two Black creatives out of 17 students announced as winners of the 48th Student Academy Awards competition. Her film, “When the Sun Sets,” received a Gold medal in the Narrative (Domestic Film Schools) category. Congratulations, Phumi!
Phumi Morare is a South African writer/director who is passionate about redeeming the African and feminine identity through cinema. She’s interested in using the Black female gaze to tell personal, human stories of everyday Africans. She also loves exploring African history, mythology and folktales in her storytelling.
Phumi’s short films have played at prestigious international film festivals including Telluride Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, and Pan African Film Festival. Phumi’s upcoming short film, Why The Cattle Wait, was selected for the 2021 Berlinale Talents Durban program. Phumi completed her MFA in Film Directing at Dodge College at Chapman University. She has a background in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in London and management consulting at McKinsey & Company in Johannesburg. She currently freelances as a strategist at Statement Films, a company that incubates African women content creators.
CAST: Zikhona Bali, Aphiwe Mkefe, Thembekile Mathe, Awonke Mtonjana, Quinne Brown, Lumkile Mkwalo, Morne Van Jaarsveld, Ryan Angilly.
The Student Academy Awards is an international student film competition, established in 1972, that recognizes and honors student filmmakers who demonstrate excellence in the creation of motion pictures. Each year, college and university film students from all over the world compete for awards and cash grants, with films being judged in the following categories: Animation, Documentary, Narrative and Alternative / Experimental. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to win 12 Oscars, and receive 64 Oscar nominations. Past winners include Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Patricia Riggen, Cary Fukunaga, Patricia Cardoso and Spike Lee.
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