Directed by Sibusiso Khuzwayo, The Letter Reader was named the Best Short Film at The Africa Movie Academy Awards and also won Best Short at the 2020 SAFTAs. It is currently available to watch on Showmax.
Inspired by Thabo Mbeki’s biography, A Dream Deferred, The Letter Reader tells the story of Siyabonga (Bahle Mashinini), a 12-year-old boy from Johannesburg who is sent to a village in KwaZulu-Natal to live with his grandmother while his parents are sorting out their marital problems. As a city boy who is not accustomed to doing household chores, Siyabonga struggles to adapt. He discovers the power of words as he reads letters that put a smile on people’s faces, until one day, a letter with bad news lands in his hands… The late Andile Gumbi, best known for playing Simba in The Lion King musical, co-stars, while multiple-SAFTA winner Lance Gewer (Tsotsi, Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word) DoPs.
Watch the trailer right here.
