--
Pearl Thusi on her performance in the award-winning film Kalushi --
Wed, 23 Mar 2016 11:06
--
SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: Screen Africa caught up with Pearl Thusi after the Rapid Lion Awards ceremony on 16 March where the film Kalushi which stars Thusi was up for a number of awards. Kalushi tells the story of Solomon Mhlangu, a freedom fighter who, after being falsely accused of murder and terrorism in 1977, was executed under the apartheid regime. Kalushi is a historical biopic that captures Mhlangu s legacy. Starring Thusi as Mhlangu s girlfriend, this award-winning film reminds us of the unity of Africa, and the strength of our nation. Here Thusi speaks of her part in that legacy:
1. How does it feel that Kalushi won best film at the Rapid Lion Awards?
For all of us, as a team, this is a huge achievement. And it s only a sign for things to come for the film and all of our individual careers. We ve set the bar really high and it feels so good that our hard work is being recognised. The biggest achievement, however, will be if the movie is enjoyed by those we worked tirelessly to make it for. The people of South Africa and Africa at large.
2. Your role as Solomon s girlfriend, Brenda, was nominated for best actress, at the same awards, how did that feel?
I m absolutely thrilled. It s a huge honour and it s the first time I m being nominated for a lead actress role - I ve been nominated for best supporting actress at the SAFTA s for a drama series and for other fashion and presenter related awards. This is really special.
3. What inspired you to take on this role?
The director, Mandla Dube, is so passionate and he sold it to me from the get go. He is such an inspiration. Also, to be a part of such an important story was not something I would let pass by.
4. How did you prepare for the role?
A lot of reading and rehearsals. It was hard not to be desensitised though. We ve seen so much of all the trauma and stories about those times but psychologically it was heavy to carry that story and I m so blessed to have been given the opportunity and strength to do it.
5. What aspect of making this film did you enjoy the most?
The team work. It s so awesome to work with people who are all equally invested in making something successful. The challenges created a lot of opportunities for me to grow. I love a good challenge with a great vision.
6. What was the greatest challenge while making this film?
Brenda is not a real character. All the other characters are real. So I had to create her myself with the director. Which was fun because it s less pressure to live up to a real human being. But I didn t have someone to emulate in a story where everyone else had an idea of the story of their characters.
7. This film took nine years to make, for how many of those years were you involved?
Three years.
8. Any acknowledgments of your cast and crew? They spoke very highly of you last night, what will you remember from what was said?
Everything. Last night was ethereal. Obviously Thabo s performance is impeccable. Our director was very invested not only in creating the characters but also us as actors, which was awesome. Jafta and Thabo M were also fantastic. Our DOP was also amazing, often the calm in the storm.
9. What mark do you think this movie will continue to leave? What mark did it leave on you?
It s going to educate many people who didn t know about Solomon Mahlangu and the South African plight for freedom and the huge role that the rest of Africa played in making sure we succeeded. For many they will see that there was no age limit to the amount of sacrifice and pain the struggle brought and caused. The producers were phenomenal. There are also many light-hearted moments in the film. It s a full body of work. It s beautiful.
10. Any characters you would like to play in the future, and any movies in the pipeline?
I m up for any powerful story and characters. It s all up to the man above where I end up. I m so excited for the future.
Related Articles
SA film to play at Berlin Film FestivalShepherds and Butchers has been selected as part of the 2016 Berlin Film Festival s Panorama section...
Read more...
New SA film features 50 local dancersMandela Bay Pictures has started production on Pop, Lock n Roll, a South African dance film which features a cast of over 80...
Read more...
SA Film Kalushi honours Apartheid revolutionary Solomon Mhlangu is a freedom fighter who, after being falsely accused of murder and terrorism in 1977, was executed under the apartheid regime...
Read more...
-- --
-- --
-- Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus
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
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...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
-- 
