South African social entrepreneur and filmmaker Babalwa Baartman is honoured to be part of the Realness African Screenwriters' Residency, a prestigious programme aimed at advancing the careers of African screenwriters.
Baartman has been selected as one of the five talented African screenwriters to participate in the residency programme, which will be held in Stanford, Western Cape, from July 14 to September 6.
The six weeks programme aims to mentor scriptwriters and provide them with a creative and nurturing environment to develop their feature film projects.
Baartman eagerly anticipated the next six weeks of the residency, expecting a safe and conducive environment to explore the deeper aspects of her story that she had not allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to address.
“I've always known that this residency was going to be the best place for my project,” said Baartman.
Baartman spoke highly of her previous experience with Realness, specifically the DET programme (Development Executive Traineeship).
“Last year, I did Realness’s DET programme (Development Executive Traineeship), which they have in partnership with Netflix.
“At that time, I wouldn't have been as encouraged to go full force with the story but being in the development executive programme and working with the writers and seeing the way in which the Realness story consultants pull the heart of the story from the writers made me quite excited to open up my story and be vulnerable with my story, in a space outside of my head.
“What I loved the most about being in the DET programme was witnessing two strong consultants that can get you to the places that maybe you may feel you're not ready for as a writer, or you're not in that space of vulnerability just yet.
“I watched them do that with such grace and respect for the writer and their own process.
“And that's what excites me about the next six weeks because that's exactly what I need at this point, to go into the parts of the story that I know there that I haven't allowed myself to be vulnerable enough to get into.
“I look forward to knowing that I'm going to be in a safe space that's conducive to that process.”
Baartman's project, ‘’Eziko,’’ focuses on issues affecting women in an African context. The film explores themes such as ukuthwala (forced marriage), gender-based violence, and the multifaceted experiences of being an African woman.
“The title ‘’Eziko’’ refers to a space in Xhosa culture where women gather during traditional ceremonies to peel vegetables.
“It is a place where women get together, and there's no sense of hierarchy. Everyone is there with a common goal of being present for that family.
“For me, that space has always represented a sense of freedom and voice within my culture. So, when I go into a world that tells me that as an African woman, I don't have a voice, then I always wonder in which space, in what way, don't I have a voice because as a Xhosa woman, nothing in my family happens about the voice of the woman.
“It’s really looking at these two worlds that we live in that seem to always contradict, in terms of the definition of who I am as a woman, and it can happen within my own home, and it can happen externally.
“Eziko also tries to assess and understand the state we are in where it feels like South African women and not being heard when it comes to the autonomy of their bodies and their right to their bodies.
“The story is about highlighting the complexities and nuisances of being an African woman.”
Other participants are Amartei Armar, a writer and director from Ghana, Michael Omonua, a writer and director from Nigeria.
South African screenwriter and director Chantel Clark will also be participating in the programme, along with Chadi Zeneddine, a writer and director from Lebanon.
In addition, the participants will receive guidance on effectively pitching their projects to industry partners for financing and production opportunities.
They will be mentored by story consultants Selina Ukwuoma and Thandeka Zwana and creative producer Cait Pansegrouw.