Image courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/khaboninaq
Dancer, singer and actress Khabonina Qubeko has just scored herself an international award for her role in the local movie Dora’s Peace.
Qubeko walked away with the Best Actress Award at the Boston International Film Festival for her role Dora, a fierce prostitute living in the darkness of the Johannesburg CBD.
Renowned director Kosta Kalarytis also bagged himself an award for the Indie Spirit Special Recognition Award at the festival.
Qubeka told SowetanLIVE that she was honoured to have been recognised by the international film festival and Dora’s Peace was a magnum opus.
“What I respect about these awards is that when you take your film abroad to a place like the Boston International Film Festival, they don’t know anything about the cast members. As the lead actress, they don’t know what else I’m in, what else I’m doing. All they know is what they see. They saw Dora’s Peace and they saw the performance. I also think they looked at the technicality of the performance. I think that’s what they appreciated and that means a lot to me.
“A lot of the people were crying after seeing the movie. They would send me messages saying your production team must give us a box of tissues because of the way they made us feel. I love that the movie made people feel something,” she said.
Movie critics have described her performance in the movie as unflinching and sturdy. As a result, Qubeka carried the film to the international stage. The film festival took place from the 13th to the 17th of April in America.
Dora’s Place continues to make its mark on the international stage, as it is scheduled to show at the Beijing International Film Festival this week.
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