Tebogo Malebogo
2021 HEAR US Awardee
Tebogo Malebogo is a South African writer, director and producer currently based in New York. His itinerant childhood exposed him to myriad cultures which inform his work today. His work has screened at Locarno Film Festival, New York Film Festival, SXSW, New Directors/New Films, and Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. He has been awarded a Bronze Tanit from Carthage Film Festival, and a Special Jury Prize from AFI Fest.
Project
Immaterial
What we wish to explore with this film is a snapshot of a teenager's imminent removal from her neighborhood, and the shaky goodbye to her first love. Bailey has to leave her childhood home, and on the eve of this departure, her partner Trinity comes over. We learn about the stresses on their relationship, and see how traumatic events can cause teenagers to act out and at times, push away loved ones. We see two people who may be too young to understand the full scope of what's happening around them, and instead zero in on their interpersonal relations in and amongst this complicated time. Despite all this, hope emerges on the other side.
