Kedibone

This is a short film review of the proudly South African Netflix film, Kedibone.

An authentic South African coming of an age story told through the lens of director and actor Thomas Gumede. The 2020 feature film is centred on the life of an aspiring actor named Kedibone Manamela ‘seen it all’ (in Sotho) played by Blood and Water actress Natasha Thabane. Kedibone gets sucked into the blesser lifestyle as she navigates university life in the flashy city of Johannesburg.

Thahane's character’s central love interest is legendary Generations, Rhythm City actor Wright Ngubeni; the pair perfectly portrays the modern-day ghetto love story. Other notable love interests in the film are Kenneth Nkosi, Matli Mohapeloa and Thami Mngqolo.

The film is revered for the simplistic portrayal of the complexities that many young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds face in pursuit of their dreams.

The film is largely centred on Kedibone and Tebogo's relationship as the young couples’ love is tested by the fast-paced city world. Kedibone faces the first obstacle when she discovers her aunt invested her tertiary registration amount into township Stokvel. Township boyfriend Tebogo sweeps in to save the day by trading in his only “inheritance” and pride possession, a vintage BMW convertible so that his girlfriend can pursue her acting dreams at university. Tebogo is portrayed as a loyal loving partner that sometimes naively overlooks his girlfriend’s new lavish lifestyle and later withdraws all of his savings in hopes to marry Kedibone. His life comes crippling once he discovers Kedibone's secret life.

The film delves deeper into the complexities of the blesse lifestyle through the lens of a Kedibone. The aspiring actress is blindly led into a blesse life by a rich man and the film showcases the nature of young women groomed by older men.

Kedibone meets the father (played by Kenneth Nkosi) of a varsity friend while working in a restaurant who charms her with lavish shopping sprees and jewellery. The two enter into a sexual relationship after he gifts her with an apartment in Johannesburg, this is a significant turning point in Kedibone’s journey as she notably saved her virginity for her childhood sweetheart when she was 21 years old.

The film is largely based in a university context and displays the protagonist's assimilation into the Jozi city student life. The secondary storyline of the film is the unspoken prevalence of couch castings within tertiary drama departments. Matli Mohapeloa who plays the acting professor and initially appears as a quirky/ nerdy teacher is revealed a predator that withholds the school play lead role from Kedibone until she agrees to a sexual relationship with him.

Kedibones’ coerced sexual relationship with the older men in tertiary rapidly sends her spiralling into a world of sexual exploitation. In just 90mins the film explores all of these important social issues as a slice of real-life cinema.

Watch now on Netflix.