Lerato Matheka

MASERU — BAM Promotions has embarked on producing what the company says will be Lesotho’s first feature film.

The film will be titled Likhapha tsa Mali and is expected to be released in September.

Jeremiah Mosese, the writer and director of the film, said the script was influenced by local people’s trials and tribulations.

“The movie conveys three story lines in one script,” he told Xpress People.

“It’s all about portraying the hard lives of those that don’t have the chance to tell it to the world.”

Mosese said the movie will be approximately 90 minutes long.

“It is a drama thriller that will keep you engaged with a mental twist or two,” he said.

“It is the type of film that gives you the feeling of ‘gangsterism’ in action,” he said.

“It is a piece which is aimed at opening Basotho’s eyes on how water has become more precious than the human soul.

“The script was influenced by the country’s white gold (water) being pumped and sold into the neighbouring country and yet people in Lesotho are not benefiting from their natural resource.”

Mosese said a cast of 15 novice actors had been engaged for the project.

“We are working with people who have never taken part in a film or any shooting before with the aim of grooming aspiring talent in the country,” he said.

Mosese said the shooting of the film started a fortnight ago and would continue throughout this month.

“We are shooting in different parts of Maseru and the shooting would be continuing throughout July,” he said.

The filmmaker said it had taken him six months to write the script.

The film will be in Sesotho with English subtitles, he said.

Mosese recently teamed up with Hanna Stockmann from Germany to produce a documentary which was released last month.

The documentary, Good Night My White Pride, was according to the two producers influenced by Mosese’s experiences of racism in different countries.