Cape Town - Award-winning director Sunu Gonera kicked off proceedings at the 2018 Design Indaba conference in Cape Town on Wednesday with a standing ovation.
Gonera, who grew up in Zimbabwe, said he has used film as an escape since he was young. The Saturday screenings of Clint Eastwood westerns and Bruce Lee movies were his way to “disappear to somewhere else”.
Today Gonera, who has a degree in organisational psychology from the University of Cape Town, is a film director with Egg Films in South Africa. His work juxtaposes the polished appeal of box-office hits with what he describes as the “realness and rawness of Africa”.
Music fans might be familiar with Gonera’s work on Khuli Chana’s impressive One Source music video sponsored by Absolut and challenged the way branded content is made in Africa.
SEE THE VIDEO HERE:
During Wednesday’s opening Gonera said he refuses to define Afrofuturism, and instead is just here to make films.
“I want to take the light of Africa to the world, that’s my heart,” he said before adding: “This is where we live, let’s stop trying to hide it.”
The filmmaker’s talk ended with a performance by Khuli Chana.
READ NEXT: Design Indaba goes free for one night only
For updates on the Design Indaba Festival 2018 and for ticketing information please visit www.designindaba.com/festival.
24.com is in partnership with Design Indaba 2018.
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