Ulwandle Ushile / Meeting The Tides

The plot

NORTH AMERICA PREMIERE

Tembisa Jordaan  South Africa  2020  9:53  

This story is about the unheard voices of traditional marine fishers. On the doorstep of UNESCO-listed iSimangaliso Wetland Park – a nature lover's wonderland that attracts tourists from all over the world - are the homes of the poorest and most marginalized coastal communities who have a high dependency on natural resources for survival. In the heart of the most tranquil beaches, we follow brave village women as they conquer the harshness of the waves just to provide for their families. We take a walk in their shoes as they share in on their past and present experiences of the ocean, the generational access to marine living resources, their indigenous knowledge on the practice of mussel harvesting and what they hope for in future, especially since they were once criminalized during apartheid times for wanting to provide food for their families.

Tembisa Jordaan is an avid cook, music lover, Marine scientist and the Biodiversity Stewardship and Biodiversity Economy acting manager, at Ezemvelo KZN wildlife. She is passionate about sectoral transformation in the biodiversity space, and the improvement of conservation models to be more people oriented and improve lives. She recently starred in a 3-part marine conservation documentary commissioned by Off the Fence, called “Our Oceans” and won the N.E.W Film pitch competition at the Nature, Environment and Wildlife Film congress, to create a short documentary about the lives of marine Traditional Fishers in KZN. Her short film, "Ulwandle lushile", is a result of the work she did for many years in marine resource management with KZN coastal communities.

I honestly can't take credit for the amazing work. I had the best crew and amazing characters. The concept is something that has always bothered me about environmental or natural science films or doccies. African stories are rarely ever told by Africans, especially in this genre, and there is a dire need for that to change. I simply created a platform for 3 amazing Women to share their lived experiences of the ocean and how they have relied on marine resources for generations. I think this is one way that we can preserve and document the remnants of our indigenous knowledge systems, as Black people.

• Project Type: Documentary, Short

• Genres: Environmental, natural sciences, conservation

• Runtime: 9 minutes 53 seconds

• Completion Date: September 3, 2020

• Production Budget: 3,321 USD

• Country of Origin: South Africa

• Country of Filming: South Africa

• Language: Zulu

• Shooting Format: HD

• Film Color: Color

• First-time Filmmaker: Yes

• Age Rating General (12 and under)
• Running time 00:09:53 mins



Whats Next?

Find Screenings Newsletter Host A Screening