Only art will unite us,' says Dr John Kani at kykNET Fistas 2019

At the kykNET Fi stas on Thursday, 14 February 2019, Dr Kani addressed the audience and said he grew up in a small township outside Port Elizabeth, with a desire to tell the truth, to follow stories. He shared experiences about growing up under Apartheid and added:

I always believe there's a story. And its those stories that connect us and weave a tapestry of a nonracial South Africa.

He wanted to be a lawyer but admits he would have been terrible at it because he always told the truth. Kani's paths crossed with Athol Fugard and Barney Simon, and he recalls that Fugard was messing up his revolution. He said:

And then, of course, my life began as an actor, as a storyteller, following truth, looking for justice, and looking for reconciliation and looking for human beings with some humanity. Looking for people that I could engage and talk to, and that's what theatre gave me.

He's been all around the world writing plays and the coming back. Dr Kani reminisced about meeting his wife and how she gave him a goeie klap when he told her she'd be the mother of all the children he wanted.

Proud to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from KYKNET FIESTAS AFRIKAANS AWARDS. Truly appreciated pic.twitter.com/JBkzB2Yuys

JohnKani (@JohnKani2) February 14, 2019 Reconciliation through stories Stories may unite us but we still have a long road ahead. Kani told the audience that we have been denied each other and that we need to make an effort to find each other.

We need to see how similar - and not dissimilar - we are, but that will take effort. When Kani told his son that kykNET wanted to honour him for his contribution to the film industry, his son asked:

You're are terrorist, how did they honour you? Don't they remember that you hated them and they hated you?

Dr Kani replied:

As you grow older, things get very clear. Time gets slow, you see things. These are the wasted years in this country. We talk about politics, we talk about differences, about movements, about Bosasa, about Guptas. But today, I want to go home and tell my children there's another part of my life that I'm discovering. That part of me that makes me holistically an African.

First day of rehearsals for my new play KUNENE and the King at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town- John Kani, Sir Antony Sher and he Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company Greg Doran and the Company behind. pic.twitter.com/X2OIGzhxAX

JohnKani (@JohnKani2) February 12, 2019 He added that Hollywood doesn't even know we exist, so why try making movies that go to Hollywood? Dr Kani said we may not be part of that circle, but we are part of a richer circle: the continent of Africa.

Now that we found each other, I told president and politicians, you will never achieve reconciliation, you will never achieve nation-building, you will never achieve social cohesion, but only through the arts. [ ] In the arts, we're just one big strange happy and excited family.

Fans can look forward to Dr Kani's upcoming participation in Disney's The Lion King, as he brings Rafiki to life. Kani was cast alongside Seth Rogen, Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, John Olivier, Beyonce Knowles and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Watch: Dr John Kani at kykNET Fi stas Tags: kykNETSouth Africa

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