Barakat: proof that SA filmmaking has a place on the global stage

If it’s accolades that entice you to watch a film, then you’ll love Barakat, now streaming on Showmax, named for the Arabic word meaning “blessings”. The local film was selected by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) as South Africa’s official submission for Best International Feature at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. (It didn’t make the final shortlist, but still.)

On the coattails of that, it made Amy Jephta the fourth woman director – she wrote the screenplay as well – to be submitted to the Oscars by South Africa, and the first woman of colour. Proud moments. Wait, there’s more: Barakat has won several international awards, including Best International Feature at the 2021 Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema and Best Narrative Feature at both the Motion Pictures International Film Festival and The Reel Sisters Of The Diaspora Festival in 2020.

On top of all that, it is our country’s first Muslim film, and told in Afrikaaps, the widely spoken Cape dialect of the Afrikaans language. A unique mixture of Afrikaans, Arabic and a smattering of English, it’s a language that many of us in the Western Cape are familiar with, even if we don’t speak it fluently. At the very least, learn to say kanalla and shukran; with the subtitles you’ll pick up even more while watching.

As niche as the setting and language is, Barakat can easily appeal to a wide audience. It’s about a Muslim widow, Aisha Davids (Vinette Ebrahim), who has found love in the form of the local doctor, Albertus (Leslie Fong), who is not Muslim. After he proposes to her during Ramadan, word quickly spreads through the community thanks to nosy neighbours and gossips. Aisha’s four adult sons pick up stompies and converge on their mother’s home, convinced she has cancer.

When they find out the truth, it seems like it’s even worse for them. They’re focused on loyalty to their late father, who they feel is being betrayed – never mind that Ma is a grown woman herself and deserves her own happiness. It speaks to the control of the patriarchy, and how Aisha will sacrifice her future for the sake of peace with her children. Of course, that Albertus is not Muslim is just too terrible to contemplate, and leads to much animosity from the sons. He has a few surprises for them, however.

This all sounds dreadfully serious, but as much as this is a reality for many families, there’s also humourous padding to soften the blow and make this a film that warms the heart. We know these characters, from the successful Joburg businessman brother to the nightclubbing playa. They too have their own personal problems and messy relationships, and the message here is not to believe everything you think or see because what’s going on behind closed doors is something else entirely.

All is played out against the backdrop of the customs of the holiness of Ramadan, Iftar and Eid al Fitr, or Labarang, which couldn’t be more appropriate for the release date of the film on Showmax on the eve of Eid al Fitr of 2022.

Joining South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) nominees Ebrahim and Fong in the cast are Joey Rasdien, Mortimer Williams, Keeno-Lee Hector and Danny Ross as the sons, and SAFTA winners Quanita Adams and June van Merch as well as SAFTA nominee Bonnie Mbuli.

“Amy Jephta’s tender-hearted film has few narrative surprises, but is illuminating as a rare feature devoted wholly to Cape Muslim society,” says Variety.

“This is the first movie ever to focus on the Cape Muslim community—and it does an excellent job at introducing global audiences to that community’s traditions through its story of a mother and her four sons,” says Cinema Escapist.

Watch Amy Jephta’s other work on Showmax:

Late Bloomer

Skemerdans

Soldaat