ILIFA LOMBOKO CAPTURES HEARTS AT EASTERN CAPE FILM EXPO
- ECDC - Eastern Cape Development Corporation
- Jul 3
- 2 min read
A conversation at a parking lot between two friends in 2018 led to the development of a film documentary project which celebrates the life, contributions and legacy of Healdtown’s radio legend Sganeko Njokweni.
Screened at the third Eastern Cape Film Expo in Makhanda today, the documentary Ilifa Lomboko, tells the story of the legendary life of Njonkweni, one of the first producers of Radio Bantu in the 1970s which later evolved into Radio Xhosa, today’s Umhlobo Wenene.
Ilifa Lomboko DOP video editor Nkundla Tsolwana says his friend, producer and son of Sganeko Njokweni, Gqabi Njokweni came up with the idea after sharing his father’s legendary status in black radio “and asked if we could do a film based on his life and legacy.”
This is an important work that highlights the significance of celebrating the contributions of legends who contributed to radio today as we know it. Many pass on without being celebrated for their contributions in the struggle against apartheid through radio, and in the preservation of the isiXhosa language.
“The focus of the film is the preservation of the isiXhosa language through the broadcast medium. The documentary honours these legends of yesteryear and the legacy they left behind. We are honouring them through the lens of filmmaking,” says Tsolwana.
The film project has long been in the making, with the duo commencing work on the documentary in 2019 after securing funding from the Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council, National Film and Video Foundation, Isuzu, Tolokazi Beer, Herald/Weekend Post, Red Bull and Twizza. The research phase kicked off in 2019 with the production phase of the film concluded in 2023. The film is still in post-production although it has been previously screened at the Umtiza Arts Festival in East London in 2024.
Tsolwana says the documentary, which was shot in Healdtown, Gqeberha and Qonce, has received positive feedback from audiences and they plan to screen it at international platforms if granted the opportunity.
The takeaway from the film is that “we can never know where we are going if we do not know where we come from.”
“This body of work intends to bring awareness to who we are, and the preservation of our language. We want to build a memorial in which these legends such as Njokweni are going to be remembered with stories told about them for generations to come. Their legacy should leave an understanding of radio broadcasting as a medium, how it was during the apartheid era, and how these legends fought for our liberation behind the mic,” says Tsolwana.
The documentary is not the pair’s first foray into film, having worked together on a sitcom called Songololo which was played on eTV in 2013 where their friendship blossomed.
