Simphiwe Dana Shines As “Joko Ya Hao” Gets Selected At The AfricanPanFilm Festival 2020

Simphiwe Dana Shines As “Joko Ya Hao” Gets Selected At The AfricanPanFilm Festival 2020 – Singer, songwriter and activist Simphiwe Dana has been diving deep into herself to tell a story through acting, a departure from sharing narratives through song.

Simphiwe has the opportunity to star in the film directed by Mmabatho Montsho, “Joko Ya Hao”, modelled on the life of late struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Joko Ya Hao is the first film from the 34-year-old Montsho, who has been featured in a wide array of productions, including “Happiness is a Four-Letter Word” and “Lockdown”.

Simphiwe portrays Nozizwe, a woman who leaves her village to go to Joburg in the 1950s to seek help for her people who are oppressed. “She is a widow, who has now been living in Joburg for about five years and a deeply religious woman, but her spirituality doesn’t stop her notions of freedom and activism.

“Her character is heavily borrowed from Mama Winnie’s life and, even though she strongly believes in all those ideals, she doesn’t really want to be involved in politics, but she is thrown into it,” says Simphiwe.

Now, the feature film has been selected for the prestigious Pan AfricanFilmAwrds.

This is what the caption had to say:

I say with the greatest & sincerest pride that 2 films I wrote & directed have been selected for the prestigious #PanAfricanFilmFestival2020. Big up to great performances of t cast in #JokoYaHao and #TheAwardCeremony ?
Special toast to the crew – your work speaks for itself!
Los Angeles here we come!

Wow! I take my work seriously, but I didn’t expect this. Congratulations to @montshotheblack for bringing out the best in my acting. And writing a beautiful script to boot. And thank you to Sibulele Gcilitshana and Jet Novuka for teaching me how to act