By Seleoe Nonyane
Kevin Pule – a 27-year old film producer from Maseru who owns a production company called Pule Communications (Pty) Ltd – will soon be shooting a film titled ‘Bider City’.
Pule said the film is about crime in the communities of Maseru and will portray, among others, how crime impacts society, factors that lead to crime and how law enforcement finds itself entangled in the fight against crime.
He said the inspiration behind the film was to show how difficult life can be in urban areas, not just because of poverty but other social factors.
“The objective of the film, apart from sending a message, is also to entertain its audience because it is filled with action.
“The marketing of the film is something that we will also be working hard on, so that it reaches a wider audience in Lesotho and South Africa,” he said.
He said shooting commenced on April 29 2023 and is already nearing completion as most of the scenes have been shot.
He said when deciding on the casting of the film, they were looking for actors that were experienced and could portray gangsters and thugs although in reality that is not how they live their lives, in other words use their talent and skills to bring characters to life.
The film maker said he always knew from a young age that he wanted to be a film producer, given his creativity and love for storytelling.
“The journey has not been easy, especially being a film maker in a country where filmmaking is still underdeveloped. Because of this, no one really understood why I would want to pursue filmmaking as a career.
“I have shot nine films to date, and this does not include other productions like music videos and talk shows. In the years that I have been in the industry and shooting films, I have learned the art of visual storytelling on top of verbal storytelling, which is also part of film. Therefore, in ‘Bider City’ I tried to incorporate the shots in the way that will give the mood of the scene without using music or dialogue that could otherwise give away the mood.”
Talking about the general state of the film industry in Lesotho, he said described it as ‘very underdeveloped’, in that there are many actors but very few film producers.
He likened this to having many qualified graduates but no companies to employ them.
“I see no progress in the industry because there is no structure, framework or business model that gives filmmakers an idea of how to sell their films after production.
“An industry can only thrive when there is consistent film production, market and system of distributing films to the market. Of course we have to be conversant with the type of market we have in Lesotho,” he said.
