Award-winning poet and actress Botlhale Boikanyo has landed a lead role in the locally produced film The Deal.
The 21-year-old, first discovered through a talent show South Africa’s Got Talent in 2012, will star alongside veteran actors including Jerry Mofokeng waMakgetha and Abigail Kubeka.
Boikanyo, who recently graduated from a film school, said she feels honoured to have been a part of a project that afforded her an opportunity to work with the thespians she grew up watching, adding that she is excited about landing the role.
“My heart is filled with so much gratitude to have been a part of this impactful project alongside thespians I grew up looking up to. This story is one close to my heart and I am so grateful we get to use art to shed light on issues affecting young people,” she said.
Boikanyo portrays Thandeka, who makes brave calls in her life trying to reach her goals.
“I am so sad and yet so hopeful to see films about girls such as Thandeka being told in this light. A lot of the times we judge young girls and women and never look beyond the circumstances that push them to make such brave calls.”
The Deal addresses the everyday issues that many communities grapple with, including gender-based violence, access to education, mental health, absent fathers, and trans-generational transactional relationships.
Other actors who are a part of the production are Matli Mohapeloa, Aubrey Poo and Lesedi Masheane. The premier was hosted at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton on Wednesday night to commemorate the youth of 1976, but the movie officially airs in August on Showmax.
View this post on Instagram
For the latest entertainment news from Sunday World, click here.
Or read the latest from Shwashwi here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
