Watch ‘MANDILAKHE – LET ME BUILD’ by Adrian Madikisa and Wonga Lucas. This film traces Mandilakhe’s life in Hout Bay’s greenbelt, capturing his struggle and resilience in the face of deep societal divides in a changing South Africa.

Mandilakhe’s story plays out in the highly contested greenbelt of Hout Bay that divides rich and poor. Mandilakhe is a young man from a rural village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. He was raised by his grandmother but when she died he had to move to the overpopulated informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay, Cape Town. Throughout the film, we are confronted by the challenges he faces on a daily basis in a society precariously built on unequal playing fields of opportunity. Filmmakers Wonga Lucas and Adriaan Madikisa both from Hout Bay poignantly capture the story of the “last man standing” on this piece of land after all the other makeshift homes that were erected during COVID are demolished.

Country: South Africa
Directed by: Adrian Madikisa, Wonga Lucas
Produced by: Lauren Groenewald
Written by: Zukiswa Pakama