An Act Of Defiance film is one of the first screen-pieces that Mandela was played by a South African actor - Sello Motloung

We all find it embarrassing when foreign filmmakers are the ones making the biopics of South Africa’s history. A few films that focus on our historical past lack a local representation, making a huge gap because foreign stars play leads in telling our own stories. Even films about Nelson Mandela have been consistently driven by international production houses. It's a great highlight to have a local talent portraying a significant role of Mandela in An Act of Defiance film on Braam Fischer - South African lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia Trial. And today's feature celebrates contributions by one of the most talented artists, Sello Motloung. 

Sello Motloung vising my studio in 2018

Writing about An Act of Defiance biopic for channe24, Gabi said "I also think it might be one of the first times that Mandela is played by a South African - Sello Motloung - who was quite enigmatic in the role, even though he was not the star of the film. That was Fischer, played by Dutch actor Peter Paul Muller. He exudes an old-school Hollywood charm which sometimes makes him seem a little out of place with the rest of the cast. However, it helps the audience connect with his character on a deeper level - his emotions flow out of the screen with few words and brings a pivotal point in history closer to an audience that today feel far removed from it. There’s a reason it’s won multiple awards on its two-year film festival circuit, and the cast is a big part of those wins." (Gabi Zietsman) 

Jimmy Makgato (my cousin) and Sello Motloung visiting my studio 

I was introduced to bro Sello Motloung  many years ago through a TV ad that he stared in as an old man behind the counter and a little boy appeared with a steak to pay a lobola for old man's daughter monthly. This PostBank ad was one of the funniest ads I remember as a little boy. Besides this ad, Motloung has distinguished himself on the screen in a number of memorable roles. His first lead role on television was in Nna, Sajene Kokobela (I, Sergeant Kokobela, 2001), a Sesotho detective series. Sello Motloung is an actor, known for Invictus (2009), The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (2008), Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema (2008) and An Act of Defiance (2017) among others. See the list here



The first stage production that introduced me to his live performance was a play called This is for Keeps played at the Windybrow Theatre in 2013. It was a play which was adapted by Makgano Hanriet Mamabolo, Sello Motloung and Ntshieng Mokgoro and workshopped by veteran theatre producers Vanessa Cooke, Janice Honeyman and Danny Keogh. 

From then on we would often meet at theatres and art festivals and chit chat. Motloung visited my studio in Johannesburg and I got to know him well. He is a very humble man who listens very attentively to anyone who engages in a conversation with him. 

Additional information on Sello Motloung 

Theater credits include: This Is for Keeps, The Secret Ballot, Mosetlhe Season, Socks & Toothpaste, Cold Stone Jug, Master Harold... and the Boys, The Cherry Orchards and The Free State, Milestone, The Good Woman of Sharkville (VITA Award nomination, South Africa and UK tour), Beyond the Grave, The Untold Story and Broken Dreams. Film and television credits include: Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency with Jill Scott, Human Cargo (Canada), Chikin Biznis with Fats Bookholoane (M-Net All Africa Film Award nomination), Life Above All, Tirza, Isidingo, Mento Menand Jerusalem. Mr. Motloung was part of the workshop that devised Zakes Mda’s HIV/TB awareness play, Broken (The Market Theatre Laboratory), which toured to thousands of schools between 1995 and 2010. He is currently working on an adaptation of Zakes Mda’s play The Mother of All Eatings. Mr. Motloung trained with the Soyikwa Insitute of African Theatre, Moving Into Dance Mophatong and the British American Drama Academy.

Reviews on An Act of Defiance 

https://robynsassenmyview.com/2019/04/06/the-man-who-refused-to-regret-punishment/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.iol.co.za/amp/entertainment/tv/catch-this-act-of-defiance-in-latest-madiba-biopic-18205124


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