Ntwanano, telling stories his way
The young filmmaker wishes more young people would celebrate their unique qualities.
LIMPOPO – FOR Youth Month, a young filmmaker wishes more young people would celebrate their unique qualities.
When many of his high school peers dreamt of being engineers, Ntwanano Maraji Ngoveni, a video editor from Gawula village, was a bit of an oddity.
“I often bunked maths class to go to the library to read William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. I would write poetry and stories about my childhood,” Ngoveni remembers.
Back then, he wanted to be an actor, and even though Khetho Nxumayo High School was a mathematics, science and agricultural school at the time, the school also offered drama and debating.
“I was accepted in both. We were given a chance to write our own stories and a chance to participate in debates about social issues,” Ngoveni adds.
After failing a drama audition at Wits, Ngoveni went on to Boston Media House where he learned directing, producing and editing.
“My father didn’t even understand the whole idea of this media thing until he saw my name at the end of some television programme.”
Nevertheless, his parents were always very supportive and very loving.
“An editor is just a visual storyteller, the last man standing. It is all about being able to pick up the best in a chunk of footage that you’re given. You have to have a natural eye to see a nice shot and an ear to hear the great audio parts,” he explains.
“My first job in the industry was digitising and editing the choral music programme, Imizwilili on SABC1. Other programmes I’ve worked on include The Lab, Buddies on the Move and The Big Break Legacy. I’m currently a post production supervisor and video editor at Tshedza Media.”
Ngoveni is hopeful about the future of the film industry in South Africa.
“We are doing fine as a country, what we produce is quality compared to other African countries.”
