The Shore Break, a documentary film made by two South African women, is gaining international attention with its unique story based on two cousins divided by a proposed titanium mine in their village on the Wild Coast. By Lubabalo Ngcukana
Xolobeni is situated on the outskirts of Mbizana in the Eastern Cape. The proposed mining of the red Khwanyana Beach dunes has not only divided this poor community, but has pitted cousins Nonhle Mbuthuma and Zamile Qunya against one another.
Mbuthuma, an ecotour guide in the Wild Coast area that includes Xolobeni, is a fierce opponent of the mine. She was instrumental in the establishment of a crisis group opposed to the plan.
Qunya is a local businessman and a strong supporter of mining the dunes. He wants the mining investment so that it can help unlock the economic potential of the people of Xolobeni and create jobs.
It is this unique story and against this backdrop that the makers of The Shore Break decided to create a documentary based on an issue that is dividing the people of Xolobeni, with Mbuthuma and Qunya featuring prominently.
The movie, directed and co-produced by Ryley Grunenwald and Odette Geldenhuys, is proving to be an international success. It has had screenings around the world and has started a dialogue about the dilemma faced by the Xolobeni community.
The movie took three years to make and was only completed last year.
South Africa's Wild Coast is my favourite place in the world. It has a rugged, mysterious beauty, and our family has been visiting there for years. When I heard about the proposed mining and toll road through the area, I could only imagine the extent of the environmental destruction of this pristine area, Grunenwald said of her inspiration to make the film.
I met Nonhle Mbuthuma, who is a leader in her community, on one of my trips there. When I found out that her archenemy in favour of the developments was her own cousin [Zamile Qunya] and that the South African government had dethroned environmentally conscious King Mpondombini Sigcau, it felt like something out of Shakespeare. I had to make a film about it.
Grunenwald said that during the early stages of her research and in the time she spent with Mbuthuma, she was only aware of how the titanium mine and highway threatened whatever was in their pathway in the community, including the pristine environment and the community's way of life.
But when she met Qunya, she was exposed to another perspective.
He [Qunya] pointed out things that I couldn't deny: the Wild Coast's dire need for more schools, hospitals and employment. He believed large-scale development was the only hope for change. On the other hand, Nonhle wanted development that would last longer than the 25-year life span of the mine.
She believed alternative development, such as expansive ecotourism, could develop the area without the community having to give up their land and livelihood. Throughout production, I kept changing my mind as to who was more right' about the development of the Wild Coast. The complexity intrigued me and I wanted to allow the audience to see things from both sides, Grunenwald said.
The Shore Break recently won the Backsberg Audience Choice Award at the 2015 Encounters SA International Documentary Festival, and was also named best documentary at the 2015 International Environmental Film Festival in Paris.
The film will feature at the Durban International Film Festival from July 16 to 26.
It was also screened at the Sydney Film Festival last month, and has already been screened at the Millenium Documentary Film Festival 2015 in Belgium and Hot Docs 2015 in Canada.
Grunenwald said the film had been well received all over the world, including in this country, where many people are able to relate to the story because they know the Wild Coast well.
In Cape Town, it sold out shows, and extra screenings had to be added in both Cape Town and Johannesburg. I am currently in France and people can't stop talking about the film, she said.
Qunya told City Press he was disappointed that at the end of the documentary, the film makers decided to take sides.
It's a distortion of information. They are biased and selective. When the film was made, they only told me it was just for information. My views in the film are confined and restrained, while Nonhle has been given free reign to say all that she wants. Most of what I said has been edited out, Qunya said.
Mbuthuma was not available for comment.
Co-producer Geldenhuys, a human rights lawyer, said she was disappointed that Qunya felt his voice had been edited out because he had plenty of opportunities to speak out, just as Mbuthuma had.
It's not true that we took sides. I wish Mr Qunya could raise these issues with us directly. I feel disappointed and saddened he feels this way. My sense is that people don't know what goes into the making of a documentary film like this, and that when it does not come out the way they hoped, they become disappointed, she said.
www.news24.com
Documentaries
South Africa
News
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
The Shore Break, a documentary film made by two South African women, is gaining international attention with its unique story based on two cousins divided by a proposed titanium mine in their village on the Wild Coast. By Lubabalo Ngcukana
