Thoko Zulu
Read the filmmaker’s submitted proposal in this PDF file. Follow the further development of the proposal below. Click here for an overview of all proposals.
Monologue cont…
Sometimes we don’t tell the truth not because we lie but only because the truth wouldn’t be believable.Like victims of war, some women and men carry physical and psychological scars that cannot be altered. I’m the child that never played children games.
Yes, Father - l know other times we think we know people but truth is, nobody knows everybody. You don’t know me so, don’t judge me.
She said children shouldn’t ask questions - that they should respect and obey their parents. Wasn’t l an obedient child?Couldn’t you have strayed into another man’s bed? Shouldn’t you have been drawn to another woman’s child?
It must be a curse that you should drink your blood and devour your own flesh.They see angels but l see - ghosts. My silence will never buy me no gold or earn me no silver but my memoirs will sure win me my bronze.
I’m tired of carrying the weight of dead people. I want to live again so, let me go.
Monologue…
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…forgive me Father, for l have known many sins. It has been 31 years since my last confession.What should l say or shouldn’t say or, should l say anything at all? Will my silence really give me that golden glow or select me for slaughter like the innocent lamb?
In a crowd l remain invisible and from the sweat and scent of many people l grasp desperately for fresh air.You can’t see me so you can’t touch me but somehow you know I’m there. What people don’t know can’t make their wounds bleed but internal wounds are fatal so allow me to show some blood.
You see ghosts but they see angels because you’re the one who selected me for slaughter.My silence will never buy me no gold and my memoirs no bronze but my last breath will sure earn me my silver.
Living a lie is having no life and I’m sure you know because in my silence you have also suffered.Why do you look at me like that? I haven’t said anything yet. She says a girl my age shouldn’t look a man in the eye without blushing but she doesn’t know I’m no longer a girl. I’m a woman now, your woman and l can’t go back to being innocent.
On hold
It breaks our hearts to let you know that due to unforeseen circumstances imagine art after will be on hold until further notice.
summer break
We will have a summer break until September.
Feel free to update your proposals if you wish. Have a good August!
On Thabiso Mafu’s Comment…
Thank you Thabiso. Will sure make the book a movie.
What Lies Within – The Book…
Hello, Breda. It’s been a while. Hope the private opening of your 5 films at the Camden Arts Centre, on the 9th of June was a success. Writing the book will probably take me more than a year but definitely not two years.
timescale
how long will it take you to write the book you’re proposing?
film/book
Thank you, Eline. Yes, l did propose both film and book but the book is still in the initial stages. The other reason being that my strong point lies in writing for the screen after many years writing for Television.
I have been writing the film script for a couple of years now and it’s already complete but developing it further with a more experienced writer and Producer will definitely sell it to a wider market. Unlike some feature films which are adapted from books or novels, ‘What Lies Within’ will be more alluring if the film is made ahead of the book.
In some cases, films adapted from books have proved to be less appealing. I intend taking the unusual approach of adapting a book from a film.
Script
Hi Thoko - you proposed this story as a feature film and as a book. Could you envisage it developing as a film script?
What Lies Within proposal
Brief Outline
What does 13 year old Unathi know, what is she supposed to say and how does she react when her own father rapes her? What can she do if her own mother doesn’t believe her story? The only way out is to escape but, what do you expect her to do when she is forced back to her home and into her father’s arms? The only solution is to marry Thabo, a man she doesn’t love in exchange for her security. What she doesn’t know is that she will fall in love with Thabo but then again, she doesn’t know that Thabo also suffered abuse in the hands of his father. Unathi has the choice of either making the painful journey to her past so she can break free from the abusive clutches of Thabo or make peace with her fate.
Emotion Behind the Project
This book will have both drive and emotion. It is aggressively sexual and sensual. Unlike the film, this book will be able to capture the events as they happen in the beginning until a point where my sanity is regained. It will also explore the dilemma of being born of parents who have two completely different backgrounds and my struggle to find a balance with both. It will make an interesting read because it will be more involving to the reader. Undigested, our lives, our personal perceptions, our experiences communicate everything. This book will bring another dimension to issues relating to physical, psychological abuse and the power of love. This is a passionate book about love and sacrifice. It also talks about forgiveness and transformation through will power to accept the very things we have no power to change and the wisdom to know where the sleeping dogs should lie.
Principal medium: Book/film script
Location(s) of production: Zimbabwe.
Production budget indication: between £3,500-£10,000
