Actor and musician Anga Makubalo, affectionately known by his stage name Naakmusiq, will star in a romantic drama titled Smart Casuals.
Smart Casuals is one of six micro-budget projects that are supported through a joint film fund by Netflix and the National Film and Video Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts, and Culture.
The fund’s aim was to alleviate the pressure filmmakers face to raise additional funding and boost the recovery of the creative industry from the pandemic while ensuring job-creation.
Exploration of romantic relationships
Smart Casuals, an honest exploration of romantic relationships and their many permutations, is set against the backdrop of Africa’s most cosmopolitan city, Johannesburg.
Zwo Farisani, the director of the film, said he has always preferred films that lean towards an authentic experience over those that are fairytales.
“With Smart Casuals, we have attempted to create an authentic experience by finding a sense of transparency and vulnerability within ourselves, which we hope has been infused into the film’s DNA,” said Farisani.
Two couples travel equal and opposite paths in their search to find love.
Makubalo plays the character of Taki, a photographer in his mid-30s, who has sworn off serious relationships for the time being.
He is happily playing the field, enjoying the thrills of casual relationships, until he meets Tumi, who unexpectedly rocks his world, leading to a change of heart.
Film shot on location
Mahlatsi and Bheka are in a steady, 12-year-long relationship. They have had to postpone getting married twice over the years owing to circumstances.
The couple makes their third attempt at tying the knot.
While Mahlatsi has always wanted to get married, a part of her feels that there is a reason why the wedding has never happened; however, she fears that it might be too late for her to leave and start over.
The film is shot entirely on location in Johannesburg and captures the various faces of the bustling economic hub, where the spirit and drive of the original gold diggers live on and where everything seems possible.
The film also stars Angela Sithole, Terrence Ngwila, Mandisa Constable, Nyaniso Dzedze, Nomsa Twala, and hip-hop dance pioneer Kudzai Mureriwa.
