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Tresor making a difference
Tresor Ilunga Mukuna first heard of Visual Impact through “Runaway”, a subsidiary of the Cape Town Film Commission, while participating in a workshop on pre-production and production for film conducted by them. Tresor went on to be an intern in our Rentals department, and in May 2010, was sponsored by Visual Impact to partake in a ‘bootcamp’ for production assistants. The idea was for these production assistants (PA) to be able to assist foreign film crews that were going to be in South Africa for the Fifa World Cup.
Although the PA’s didn’t get to do much work for the World Cup, it turned out to be a blessing for this particular individual. Here’s why; the following month Tresor heard about the “My Town” short film competition, conducted by the Cape Town Film Commission, and that good films would be selected and screened at the “Encounter Film Festival”. Through persistence and dedication to his own cause, Tresor was able to convince “Visual Impact” Director, Marius Van Straaten, to lend support to his idea of a documentary on the homeless people of Cape Town. Inspired by Ryan Brown Dalton, the concept of “Cape Town - Mother City?” was further fueled by Tresor’s girlfriend Dayana Dreke, who works in the NGO sector and his own experience of living on the street for a while. “Through my own short experience, I understand what it means to be homeless and that after all, they are just normal people like you and me, but with serious problems” says Tresor.
Mentored by Marius Van Straaten, who was also the Executive Producer of the film, who saw the potential in both Tresor and his project, the film took 6 months to complete. The result? A very well received premiere at IDASA’s Cape Town Democracy Centre. This was followed by three other screenings; at YWAM (Youth with a Mission) University in Worcester, at the Institute for Social Development (ISD) of University of Western Cape, and a third screening at the LABIA.
We at Visual Impact feel proud that Tresor’s documentary film was selected for the Global Community Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, where it was screened on September 25, 2011. “Cape Town – Mother City?” received an honorable mention for the category of the 2011 (Global) Community Film Festival of Making a Difference Awards. We at Visual Impact wish Tresor much success in all his future endeavours, and are certain he’s going to make great strides as a film maker in the time to come.