A team of Free State film producers have created a movie which will only be viewed online at local and international festivals due to Covid-19 protocols. The film was shot in Sesotho and is called Leshano (The Lie), with English subtitles. The film is directed by the international award winner and University of the Free State (UFS) film graduate Mpendulo “Troy” Myeni, together with script writer Anton Fisher, and an emerging film producer Moeketsi Mphunye, who runs a film company in Botshabelo called Kasi Ya Rona Productions.

The film features a strong line-up of female actors in leading roles, and most of the cast are from the Free State. Fisher said that they filmed in the the Free State, which has become notorious for corruption, and locations used in the film are Botshabelo and the UFS campus in Bloemfontein. Meanwhile, Myeni said what fascinated him, was the script’s robust engagement with issues surrounding corruption.  

“I admire the writer’s uncompromising truth. I think, like Nina Simone stated, an artist’s duty is to reflect the times he or she is living in and that is simply what this film is, a reflection of the times we live in,” said Myeni.

Fisher said the film “The Lie” is an important boost for the film industry in the Free State and another addition to the body of work of women in the industry.  He further stated that the movie was funded by the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) in co-operation with the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi