Acclaimed Cape Town filmmaker Weaam Willams has bagged another international award.
Her company, Tribal Alchemy Productions, won “Best Original Story” at the Florence Film Awards in Italy on Wednesday for their film, District Six Rising From the Dust.
Thursday marked 55 years since the forced removals from District Six by the apartheid government.
Due to the pandemic, there was no ceremony and the announcement was made via social media and the festival’s website on Thursday.
“The Best Original Story category wasn't just open for documentaries, but also feature films, short films and all kinds of narratives,” Weaam tells the Daily Voice.
“For a documentary like this to win, is an amazing achievement.”
Weaam says the film was six years in the making and only reached its conclusion towards the end of 2019, after she moved out of District Six.
The mother of two from Woodstock says she had no idea it would be such a great success.
“This award is great acknowledgement, it shows that this film has a shelf-life as it was produced over a period of six years.
“I really wasn't sure what the festival market would be like for District Six Rising From the Dust – but clearly it's been going very well, it’s an enormous achievement, given this is a personal and unique story in the way the documentary is made and told.”
She says the film portrays her experience of inter-generational trauma, as she relearns history from a different perspective.
“It speaks of how I begin to understand the impact of forced removals on my mother and elders.
“The dream of restitution is one still to be realised, as what I returned to was a fledgling community against all odds, surrounded by vacant land which houses gangsters and prostitutes, and a lack of political will to see a return of the people to the land.
“The spirit of community was ever present, but it was not enough to overcome the obstacles.
“It was not the place I wanted to raise my children.”
undefinedIn the film, Weaam’s mother details the expropriation of the family’s houses under the Group Areas Act, as well as the destruction of her oupa’s tailor shop, Hartley Tailors.
To date, the family has been given back only one house.
Last month, Tribal Alchemy Production company’s first fictional film, Two Hues, scooped the Best Short Film Award at its international premiere in Paris at the Beyond The Curve International Film Festival.