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No-budget movie reveals the heart of Mitchells Plain

27 May 2016

Robin Van der Byl has shown that little is impossible if your desire to bring change is strong enough. Without funding, or training, the 25-year-old from Mitchells Plain has produced a movie about his home, simply titled Mitchells Plain: The Movie. Using his own savings, help from his family and borrowed equipment, he gave life to his passion, telling his own story.

His purpose is simple: "I'm going to make a change in the community through media." It's no wonder the theme of Mitchells Plain: The Movie is "Change starts in the heart".

Built by the apartheid government to house "coloured" South Africans in the 1970s, today Mitchells Plain has a reputation for poverty, violence and gangsterism. That is what Van der Byl wants to change.

Watch scenes from Mitchells Plain: The Movie:

The film premiered on 14 May at the City of Grace Living Waters Church in Belhar, Cape Town. For Van der Byl it was the greatest achievement of his life, so far.

"It's not just a great achievement for me, but everyone that was part of the project from day one," Van der Byl told radio station Cape Talk.

Media and activism combined

Van der Byl studied business and finance at False Bay College, but media has always been his passion. This passion, and his strong community activism, was the flint that sparked his movie.

"During my school and college years I used to be part of a group called CIA (Children in Action). We did holiday clubs for children in our local community and surrounding areas. I also did various youth camps for the city, but all had to stop when I started working."

A lifelong resident of the Beacon Valley neighbourhood of Mitchell's Plain, he had promised himself that at least twice a year he would make time to volunteer in his community. Instead, "I decided to make a difference by using my passion, and started writing the script."

Van der Byl began work on the script two years ago. Some of the film was shot in March and June 2015, but lack of finance brought production to a halt.

"In that time many people lost interest and left the team," he said. "We had to recast roles in August and filming resumed in September. Our last scenes were filmed in May 2016 - a week before the premiere."

'We need to stand together'

The film was shot in Mitchells Plain neighbourhoods like Westridge, Rocklands, Beacon Valley, Eastridge, Strandfontein and Tafelsig - as much characters in the movie as the 34 actors. The three main protagonists are based on people Van der Byl knows. People who, he said, "went through trials and tribulations, but rose above that. They are successful in life today."

One of the purposes of the film was to allow the people of Mitchells Plain to showcase their talents. Just as importantly, Van der Byl said, he wants his community to know: "Our current living circumstance does not have to determine our destiny as a community. There is still good in Mitchells Plain and there is still hope and bright future for us as a community. We just need to stand together."

Van der Byl hopes the film will change negative perceptions of Mitchells Plain. For this reason, he wants "everyone that can hear and see" to watch it. "I want the whole world to see it." To this end he is planning road shows, and hopes to screen his movie to audiences across the country.