A local film has won a coveted award at the 19th annual Tribeca Film Festival, which showcases a diverse selection of independent films each year. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the awards were presented online this year., by South African writer/director/producer Julia Jansch, was announced as the Best Documentary Short Film at the event.
The short film tells the story of Stoan Move Galela, a dancer who uses African electronic gqom beats to motivate kids in the township of Khayelitsha to jive through their hardship and find their superpowers.According to Jansch, the award-winning film came about by chance. “I met Stoan through my co-producer, Mandilakhe Yengo. It was a random encounter as he was working behind the scenes as a choreographer on a series. “We started chatting and I asked him how long he has been a dancer for.
“To make money I sell paraffin, I choreograph bride and groom dances and other gigs that come my way, and I sell ‘#move – away from gangsterism’ T-shirts to raise awareness about fighting crime and gangsterism in the community.”Jansch said she wanted to get his story out into the world in the hope of providing a platform for him to raise awareness about his work.