Legendary Connie Chiume talks ‘Umama’s’ sensitivities

A film that caused much noise during the award season last year, Umama is a beautiful and sad portrayal of a truly South African story.

Directed and written by talented young South African filmmaker Talia Smith, Umama is based on her childhood memories of her personal and family’s relationship with their domestic worker, Sibongile, also known as Susan.

The short film tells the true story of how Susan, acted by Connie Chiume, finds out about her son’s disappearance. It also intertwines with the bond she has with the Smiths, her son’s internal struggles and many other layers.

We spoke to award-winning actor Chiume on the shortlisted Bafta film.

Q: In Umama you play Sibongile also known as Susan. She is a character that resonates with many South Africans, how did you prepare for the role and what made you say yes to playing her?

A: It was not difficult for me to prepare for the role since my own mother was also a domestic worker. Secondly, because I had an opportunity to meet Susan in person we sat down and she told us her story so I heard her and felt her voice very loud and clear. Another reason I did Umama is that I was touched by a young lady who is a South African, an aspiring film maker, who has chosen me from all the actresses in this country to be in her film and I thought to let it be part of my contribution towards helping a young film maker trying to make it in the industry.

To watch the full film, click here

Q: The role was acted beautifully, it has the audience in tears as we see Sibongile grapple with the loss of her son. The themes of loss, apartheid spatial planning, classism and the stark contrast between the two different worlds is clear in Umama. What would you say is the messaging from all of these themes tackled on uMama?

A: Umama addresses a whole lot of subjects and topics that we face in South Africa. The pre-apartheid and post-apartheid issues when it comes to employer-employee issues, classism, crime and all of that. It looks like a simple story when you look at it, written by a young person about her own experiences. But really it motivates us to look at ourselves as a country, as a government, as people, as to how we can tackle some of these challenges facing the people of South Africa.

Really for a person to sacrifice her own family to look after another family it’s a very big thing. Something which is happening today. I think it is a matter that should be addressed between the employees, employers, the government and unions. It’s not an issue just to tackle, because most of the people who are domestic workers are afraid to face their employers and say their views about how they feel.

It is high time that we bravely face such challenges because you leave your children at home you don’t know what is going on, there is so much crime and why is there crime? Is it because of the imbalances of our society? Those are all the things that need to be addressed. Umama is impregnated with many things that should be tackled but not only by South Africa, I’m sure by many other countries when it comes to issues with employers and employees, especially domestic workers.

Q: Working with such a young team, actors and a director who was still a student, was it a risk to do such a film for you? 

A: No I did not think it would be a risk at all, I thought it was an advantage for me to work with young filmmakers. I am not a trained actress so I thought working with young people can help me to learn one or two things from them and they can learn one or two things from me. And you know trends are changing, things keep changing every day, so I thought let me work with them and see if there is anything new they are bringing. And they were very very professional. We worked very smoothly with them. 

Follow up: What was it like working with Talia Smith and the crew from NYU?

A: Working with Talia was such a wonderful experience. She’s a very calm and relaxed director. She has written a story and gave us the opportunity to meet Susan the person who that story was about. She gave us a platform to express ourselves the way we feel.

So it was very easy and wonderful. She knew exactly what she wanted and it was a big advantage for her to make us meet Susan as a cast, to explain what she went through. So when we went into production I think Talia was relaxed because she knew exactly what she wanted and we understood it. So it was wonderful and very easy to work with her. 

Q: We have seen you in many feature films and series on television such as Gomora. Tell us how the short film format differs from the above. As an actor is your preparation for the role was it different since the film is short and does it affect character development?

A: Working on Gomora which is a telenovela that has different writers, I think the approach is different. With telenovelas, each and every episode has a different writer. It’s an ongoing story it’s almost like a soapie, it’s fiction and imaginary, anything can change anywhere, a twist can be done anywhere, at any time. So the approach is different from a short film where everything is already written and set. It’s just like that.

Especially with Umama, it’s a story of a woman, a true story so here you have to be sensitive to how you portray the story of a person who is still alive, you have met her and she has shared everything with you. So the approach is very different, you have to be sensitive to the fact that the person is still here, hurting and trying to grapple with the loss of a child she is still trying to grapple with forgiving. So I think it is totally different acting on this short film compared to Gomora where the story is imaginary and the writers are just creating the story compared to a true story that is true. So it was very different.

Q: Are there films we can expect from you in future and any directors you would like to work with? 

A: Other films yes, there are some films coming my way soon although I am not able to reveal what it is. It has to come as a surprise.