A Sesotho feature film, KABELO, has been officially selected to screen at the Joburg Film Festival 2026 on March 5.
The selection marks a significant milestone for this African story of identity, longing, and the cost of dreaming.
Set against the breathtaking yet unforgiving highlands of Lesotho, KABELO tells the story of a young shepherd desperate to escape a life that has boxed him in, and a South African fugitive hiding in plain sight. Their unlikely companionship becomes a mirror of shared desperation: two men from different worlds, united by the universal desire for freedom.
The title role of KABELO is brought to life by a Mosotho actor, Lebohang Ntsane, whose performance anchors the emotional soul of the film.
The film resonates with young Africans, rural to urban dreamers, migrants, and everyone who ever felt trapped by circumstances. It is a story about identity, how society defines people, how the act of dreaming itself can leave people miserable.
From his debut in ‘The Forgotten Kingdom’ to his work today, Ntsane’s artistic journey has been nothing short of inspiring.
Ntsane has collaborated closely with the writer and director of ‘KABELO’, Carl Houston McMillan for nearly a decade, developing the character of KABELO through years of exploration and performance.
This process was further enriched through collaboration with acclaimed Basotho
musician Morena Leraba, whose deep connection to Lesotho’s shepherd subculture helped ground the film in lived experience.
It features performance by Warren Masemola, one of South African’s most respected actors. He is a four-time South African Film and Television Award winner (SAFTA) and multiple award nominee, widely known for his work on acclaimed television series such as ‘The River’, ‘Tjovitjo’, and ‘Is’phindiselo’. In KABELO, Masemola delivers a layered portrayal of master, a man on the run, forced to confront his own fractured sense of belonging.
Ntsane said their creative partnership first captured audiences in 2017 with the widely celebrated improvised short film ‘Sir and Kabelo’ (Two Shepherds) a raw, authentic work that laid the foundation for this feature film. That same emotional honesty and artistic synergy now reaches full expression in KABELO.
“KABELO’s selection at the Joburg Film Festival positions the film as one of the most compelling African stories to watch in 2026,” he said.
With its universal themes of identity, belonging, false hope and longing, the film speaks not only to African audiences, but to anyone navigating the tension between where they come from and where they dream of going.
