SA Comedy seriously single to screen at festival celebrating the Black experience

28 January 2020

Teaser trailer release coincides with announcement that the chick flick has been invited to screen at Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) in LA

Anti-romcom ‘Seriously Single’ will screen at the 28th Annual Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) which takes place in Los Angeles from 11 to 23 February 2020. The quirky film, directed by brother and sister team Katleho and Rethabile Ramaphakela, is an hilarious take on the hurdles faced by single black women navigating the world of romance in Johannesburg.

It stars Fulu Mugovhani (Ayanda, 2015) and comedian Tumi Morake (3 Days to Go, Kota Life Crisis, Red Cake - Not the Cooking Show), as two friends looking for love and trying to define themselves as they deal with life in the real world and on social media.

PAFF showcases films that reinforce positive images and help to advance cultures, races and lifestyles, and is recognised as one of the largest, most prestigious black film festivals in the United States. Founded by actor Danny Glover, pan-Africanist Ayuko Babu and Emmy award-winning actress Ja’Net DuBois in 1992, it is the largest Black History Month event in the US and, with more than 100 00 festival goers and 40 countries involved, it’s recognised as one of the US’s 10 best film festivals. It is attended by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington and Idris Elba.

“We are absolutely thrilled that ‘Seriously Single’ has been invited to screen at PAFF,” says Rethabile Ramaphakela. “The festival is ground zero for black film and entertainment communities and it is a great honour for everyone involved in the making of ‘Seriously Single’. The film is essentially a fun look into the lives of two black women trying to navigate the world of friendship, love and relationships. There is amazing chemistry between Fulu and Tumi and they are pure magic on screen.”

The feel-good film tells the story of Dineo, who is the definition of serial monogamist. She dates to fall in love. She falls in love to get married. But she never gets married. She always ends up dumped. When she meets Lunga Sibiya (Bohang Moeko), he seems to be the man she’s waited her whole life for, a man who shares her values when it comes to love and relationships. Or so she thinks… After a messy breakup with Lunga, her commitment-phobic bestie, Noni, helps Dineo face what she dreads most: life as a single woman. Noni, meanwhile, has to deal with the fact that she might like hipster Max (Yonda Thomas) a little more than she’s prepared to let on.

‘Seriously Single’ was shot in and around the hotspots of Jozi, from Melville to Sandton to Maboneng, and is an authentic showcase of the best of the city.

Written by Lwazi Mvusi who wrote and directed the 2018 feature Farewell Ella Bella, the film is produced by siblings Tshepo, Katleho and Rethabile Ramaphakela of Burnt Onion Productions. The film was made with the support of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Emerging Black Filmmakers Transformation Fund (EBFTF)

“We are really excited about having this film on our slate for 2020,” says Helen Kuun, MD of Indigenous Film Distribution. “It’s a funny, beautiful and well told story, and it features some of the country’s top young stars.”

Seriously Single’ releases in cinemas nationwide on 1 May 2020.

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