Originally intended for youth development in rural KwaZulu-Natal, R900 000 has been controversially redirected to Gauteng in honour of the late veteran actress Connie Chiume.
The funding, originally approved by the state-owned National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) for the Umkhanyakude Student Film Festival, was later redirected by Nongelo Chiume, the late actress’ son, following a fallout with KwaZulu-Natal filmmaker Siyabonga Ndlozi.
Sunday World has seen the original proposal submitted to the NFVF.
Nongelo has since renamed the project the Connie Chiume International Youth and Student Festival and altered its concept.
A project that was intended as a platform to create job opportunities for rural filmmakers has now become a tribute event in memory of his late mother.
Allegation of protection fee
In an interview with Sunday World, Nongelo claimed that he feared for his life after allegedly receiving threats from Ndlozi, who purportedly demanded a “protection fee” in exchange for the event proceeding in KwaZulu-Natal.
“He said if I don’t pay, I shouldn’t set foot in KZN. So, I’ve decided to keep the funds and move the festival,” said Nongelo last week.
However, when asked whether he had opened a case or could provide evidence of the threats, Nongelo admitted that he had not done so.
The rebranded festival will now take place from July 18 to 20 at the Sibikwa Arts Centre in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.
In a public statement, Nongelo emphasised that the festival was created to honour his mother’s legacy and that all changes had been made with the NFVF’s knowledge.
He also denied that Ndlozi had any claim to the funding.
“When the Connie Foundation received official funding from the NFVF, Ndlozi reappeared claiming ownership of the entire idea, even though he wasn’t listed in the application, never helped manage the foundation, and played no role in submitting the proposal,” said Nongelo.
Nongelo claims that they offered Ndlozi a freelance coordinator role for the KZN leg of the project, but he declined.
“He wanted full control of the money and suggested transferring the funds to another organisation, even though he had no official stake. That was never going to happen, so we postponed the festival and severed ties.”
Nongelo did not submit an application
In contrast, Ndlozi told Sunday World that he conceptualised the festival and had been running it with local artists since 2022.
“I met Mama Connie at an NFVF roadshow and asked her to be part of the Umkhanyakude Student Film Festival,” Ndlozi said.
“She agreed and supported renaming it the Connie Chiume Student Film Festival to preserve her legacy.”
He further claimed that he applied for NFVF funding under that new name but received no feedback, only to discover later that the funds had been awarded to Nongelo.
“It doesn’t make sense. I submitted the application. Nongelo wasn’t even in the country at the time,” he said.
Nongelo has since confirmed that he did not submit the original application.
However, the NFVF has told Sunday World that Nongelo is listed as the official applicant; hence, the funds were allocated to him.
The foundation did not clarify how this was possible. The NFVF had not responded to Sunday World’s questions by the time of publication.
