Oskido® awards in Kasiwood

Americans discovered the art of film and named a place after this art – Hollywood. Then the Indians redefined this art to suit their flair for music, dance, and a crazy length for a love story. They called their industry Bollywood. Barely a decade ago, the Africans in the North West also redefined this art to suit their constant need to have something new. And they called their industry Nollywood, after Nigeria. Before you know it, every country that finds a way to define their visual language has a ‘wood’ attached to their film language. Makes you wonder why the Chinese and Japanese never bought into this. Anyway, at this stage South Africa is on the brink of finding its own film language. Hopefully we’ll be creative about this home for our ‘wood’. Guguwood, Mamelodywood, Benoniwood, Kasiwood, or Bloemwood. From these few words and the consideration of eleven official languages, there’s a lot to go through before we can agree on one name. But that’s the trouble for another day.


I’m a film graduate of six years. I have an optimistic mind that says a film career in Cape Town can work. Experience has proven otherwise, but the mind is a tricky thing to change. I still believe, and the hustle goes on. This is the point of view I held (still do) when I met the creation of DogTail. With years of trying the likes of NFVF with no luck, and years of learning that scriptwriting jobs are as rare as a red rose in a Kasi garden, DogTail is a prayer answered.

DogTail is an independent film company designed to, among other things, define the South African film language (find a home for ‘wood’), and expand the film industry to borders we couldn’t reach before. DogTail was discovered by two scriptwriters: Tess Fairweather and Vicki Bawcombe. These two ngamla ladies came together with the idea of creating the world of film for the people by the people. They are willing to tap into an unknown territory because they believe in the vision DogTail has to offer to South Africa. They believe that if we were smart enough we would be having our film language by now. But it’s never too late.

Although the idea behind DogTail was part-motivated by Nollywood, the films we produce are inspired by scriptwriting. This guarantees the story quality and control. This fact alone is sufficient reason I have my ‘sweat equity’ invested in the work like “Amagwinya”. The reason I like the company as a whole is one interesting idea that we, the creatives, keep our intellectual property. That is, instead of producing and selling off our products, we licence the broadcasters when need be. That way they can never change our products without our consent. That is fascinating news.

Though ‘wood’ hasn’t found a home yet, the South African film industry is gaining momentum. We are learning to do something beyond being a shooting destination for other countries’ films. We are harnessing the skills that this country can provide in revolutionising the film industry of South Africa. I look at films like “Izulu lami” and identify that we are indeed gaining a platform for our own storylines, subject matters, editing styles, etc. This is why I believe that South Africa is about to learn a great deal from DogTail. I will not deny the film industry is a brutal battle field. But what’s the point of giving up before trying? Instead of complaining to deaf ears about NFVF’s lack of response, which I find terribly rude, I found a way to tell my stories through the formulas provided by DogTail. DogTail is a place that offers the platform for us, the locals, to tell the stories that will help define our own film language. I think one of these days we’ll have our own Oscar® awards. We will probably call them Oskido® awards. I imagine by the time we get there ‘wood’ would have safely found a home (hint: Kasiwood, Guguwood).

The Hustle continues

Take Care