Documentary film on Omoseye Bolaji produced
Title
‘Home away from home'
Director/ Producer/ Editor
Winnie Mokhomo (below)
Camera/Sound
Siphiwe Linda
Technical assistance
Itumeleng Swartz
Paul Freathy
Mentor
Browyn Berry
Executive Producer
Dr Melanie Chait
This documentary focuses on the Nigerian-born writer, Omoseye Bolaji who has lived in South Africa (mainly in the FS) for many years, not only publishing many assorted books, but also having a great, galvanising effect on so many other local writers.
In this documentary, there are appearances by well known writers - like Flaxman Qoopane, Pule Lechesa, Hector Kunene, and Raselebeli Khotseng. They eloquently point out how Bolaji guided and shaped their literary corpus.
Flaxman Qoopane, filmed inside his Literary Gallery, remarkably unearths many old articles and features on Bolaji and his writing dating back to over fifteen years ago. Lechesa goes into more literary detail on the awesome impact Bolaji has had in the literary field in general.
Omoseye Bolaji reads excerpts from a couple of his books, mainly Tebogo and the Haka. Books of his like People of the townships, Poems from Mauritius, My life and literature, Tebogo and the bacchae, are shown. The documentary also shows fleeting images of Omoseye Bolaji being formally honoured by the University of the Free State, bagging a Chieftaincy title, etc - all thanks to his writing career.
This is a professionally produced, informative documentary - a must for all lovers of literature.
- Review by L Giwa
