Where to after Silwerskerm? For 25 year-old Mikayla Joy Brown and her 30 year-old brother Jesse Brown the answer was the prestigious BFI London Film Festival.
Their film Finding Optel just started streaming on Showmax last week so Gino grabbed the opportunity to chat to co-director, writer and lead actress, Mikayla, about what inspired her, how they pulled it together and what it was like being at the London Film Festival.
The heartwarming, quirky detective story Finding Optel is all about teenager Claire Abrahams who runs a lost and found service. When the community dog, Optel, goes missing, Claire stumbles upon clues to another mystery much closer to home — the disappearance of her troubled older brother. Through quirky encounters, community secrets, and a trail of hope, Claire must solve her biggest case yet.
Mikayla chats to Gino about the inspirations behind the film and her desire to paint a different picture of life on the Cape Flats, away from the usual stories of gangsterism and violence.
“There is such beauty that exists in those communities. I wanted Finding Optel to portray a different narrative that is more hopeful than harrowing." says Mikayla.
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