Veteran South African actor Mary Twala, who died over the weekend at the age of 80, was still working despite her advanced years.
Her son, media personality Somizi Mhlongo shared the news of her passing on Instagram on Saturday saying: "Today is my late father's birthday, and my mom decided to respond to his call to join him in heaven. The tree has fallen.
"I'm shattered to the core, but I'd be very selfish if I don't release her. My mom lived to the fullest achieved beyond her dreams; it hurts like hell. I won't lie."
And while Mhlongo grieves for his mother, he can at least find a measure of comfort in the fact that she has left behind an incredible legacy.
Her swan song piece of cinematic work is the upcoming indie film This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection. Filmed last year in the remote mountains of Lesotho by Lesotho-born and Berlin-based director Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, it is already earning international acclaim.
The story follows an 80-year-old widow named Mantoa (Mary Twala) who eagerly awaits her son’s return from working in the South African mines, only to learn of his demise instead. Yearning for her own death after the loss of her last remaining family member, she puts her affairs in order and makes arrangements to be buried in the local cemetery. Her careful plans are abruptly upset by the news that provincial officials intend to resettle the village, flood the entire area, and build a dam for a reservoir. Mantoa resolves herself to defend the spiritual heritage of the community.
The Sundance Institute described the movie as “ a vivid and ethereal meditation on life, death, and the power of the human spirit. Veteran actress Mary Twala Mhlongo commands the screen, beautifully portraying a woman fighting her last and most important battle. This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection creates an ode to a way of life perhaps soon to disappear in the name of progress and guides us through a world where the dead co-exist with the living”.
Watch the trailer right here.
May you RIP Mary Twala.
