There is no shortage of opportunities. I know I struggle with my own competitive spirit, and I’m actively working on tempering that as I get older. We succeed by lifting each other up & then tossing the ladder back down, and there’s room for all of us in the sun on the other side of that glass ceiling.
Back in August, I found out I won a competition called The Six Feet Apart Experiment. Created by Justin Baldoni & his company Wayfarer Studios, this competition selected five first-time filmmakers to produce a micro-budget feature film in 2020. Just a few months later, I was suddenly on the other end of production on my first full-blown feature film. It was absolutely surreal and an incredible pivot point in my life and career.
Oof! Probably the polarization of viewpoints based on online content. While I wish this year brought the world together against the common enemy of COVID-19… I’m sure we all know that’s not the case. I hope I get to participate in a stronger, less divided United States at some point in my lifetime. I’m optimistic. We’ll see.
A few years ago, I found out I have the BRCA-1 mutation, which takes my likelihood of getting breast cancer in my lifetime up to something like 50-85%. But knowledge is power, and I have the ability to minimize this risk through careful monitoring and prophylactic surgeries. But I bring this up because this knowledge radically effects the way I proceed throughout the next 10 years of my life. A focus on the “ticking clock” of fertility and family planning is often an inhibition for female filmmakers in this industry — and this is only exacerbated by the serious risks to my health if I don’t proceed along a certain, slightly accelerated timeline. But so it goes! We take our challenges & incorporate them into our lives. This is one of mine.
When I was little, I desperately wanted to believe that magic was real. I was always ready for secret doors and letter-carrying owls — but nothing ever came. But that degree of magic exists on screen, and I’ve been mesmerized since childhood by entertainment, storytelling, and the potential a person has to exist in an elevated universe onscreen. It’s truly incomparable.
People can find me on @Banzii_Mavuso_ on Instagram, it’s @Banzii_Mavuso on Twitter (I have these accounts deactivated though cos social media can be toxic and sets me back creatively) My Facebook page is always active though: https://www.facebook.com/BanziiMavuso/
On YouTube I have a number of channels, links below:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWmsHtMJJ2KG8by_9P1h7RA
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2TFnTMC45ajh8DrDOSiuhA
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMsONID3O-_bYtCKKYzbRHg
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSs6S5OT3jMykpQeGGMFRcg
I am currently venturing into skits and exploring comedy. I have also shot a web-series titled ‘Goatville’ I will release this in early 2022, trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-bw0vrIVCQ
I am challenging myself as a writer and director and actress in the background and I am excited about the work I will release in the next years of my life.
I am also releasing my debut album in mid 2022. You can find my music on the link below:
In November 2021 I am hosting a virtual film festival to promote independent South African filmmakers as well as to raise funds so independent film creators can have access to their own money and not rely on the Government.
The purpose of the festival is to support indie musicians and filmmakers and to create a stokvel to support indie projects as well as to aid in supporting the mental health of creatives during this pandemic,
Folks who buy tickets will get goodie bags from small businesses.
Tickets are R650 (day pass) & R950 (2 day pass) link below:
Jewelry ranging from rings and neckpieces from @theherdsa. I love looking elegant and amplifying my uniqueness and I also ensure that I support other black female entrepreneurs.
Only listen to your voice, even when the odds are stacked against you and even when the ones you love do not understand your dreams. Eventually you will make it through anything and your work will speak for you. Trust yourself.
Filming my short film ‘Gang 888’ in 2020 made me believe in my voice and helped me build my creative confidence back after years of battling trauma. I am still overjoyed about my film receiving 5 international nominations, it still feels unreal to me.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bnvUe76CTo
My other successful moment was in August 2020, I conceptualized a talk and named it ‘The Diverse Femininities’ Dialogue and I interviewed various shades of women: Trans, musicians, filmmakers and students, I wanted to give the underrepresented women a platform to share their stories and to also share mine as I facilitated the talk,
I don’t worry – I used to, also mainly because of people around me e.g: My grandmother. I have always seen opportunities in the world, even as a child and most folks never understood where my light-hearted attitude came from but I am glad I have it, it gives me peace of mind. I have no concerns about my future; only faith that my plans will reveal themselves and as a person who has always been optimistic and has had so many great things happen in her life, I believe that my destiny is written in the stars and as airy-fairy as that sounds I choose to focus on the good things in life.