it was common practice to go “visiting people”.
neighbours, family members, friends.
sometimes we would dress up and go with our parents
other times we would dress down and go alone
as kids —
for no particular reason but
“to go and to see”
other people.
this is called ukubutha in isiXhosa
to visit, to see, to be together
Or at a deeper level, to come together
Or at an even deeper level, to remind each other that
We were never apart
today i live in harlem, new york
though my dreams are still set in South Africa
in my waking hours, i am concerned with this
state of being here and elsewhere at one time
i am always to be found at the intersections of
history, race, philosophy, spirituality and art
my work as a writer, filmmaker and cultural worker
is always in service to the restoration of that which has been lost,
and always taking note of all that is returning, or never left.
indawo yokubuthela,
a place where you can come and visit me
Here you will find work i have done
things i am busy with, projects in the works
And other trinkets i might wish to share for no reason
Postcards if you will, from where i am
As who i am
Welcome
She was Arts Editor for the Mail & Guardian's Friday section and was host and co-producer of the podcast Umoya: On African Spirituality with Dr. Athambile Masola.
Her latest work is a personal essay documentary titled MILISUTHANDO had its in competition world premier at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and selected for MoMA’s New Directors / New Films programme 2023 before opening the 2023 Encounters Documentary Film Festival among many other festivals around the world. It was nominated and won awards for its groundbreaking form, subject matter and approach to personal filmmaking.
She is an inaugural fellow of the 2020 Adobe Women at Sundance Fellowship and is currently working on her second film with collaborator Hankyeol Lee and musician DAPHNE ZAR is an experimental silent film commissioned by Neo Muyanga for William Kentridge’s Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg.
She lives in Harlem, New York with her husband Warren.