SYNOPSIS
A man pushes a bag of carrots out of shadows and darkness. He is enticed
by a trail of cookies that leads him to a golden orb. Greedily he grads it, fractioning himself.
Leaving him in a state of unamendable cognitive dissonance.
STATEMENT
Where is it, if not from within, that the dragon of grandiosity is born ensnared in flames of gold and greed? For it is from that perilous place, that within, our primal shadows wage their spiritual warfare, eternally clawing at us for dominance of the metaphysical self. This is the struggle of Sisyphus, the struggle of mankind’s steps toward greatness. This is foundation for Lords of the skull sized kingdom: a story of human development gone wrong. This is not human in the individual sense, but rather the Jungian Archetypal utterance of the word; the shared experience of all of our species throughout the causeway of time and space linked together by a history of inescapable suffering and frailty. The cryptic truth hidden within the pieces commentary on human progress, an antidote of sorts, is one I invite all on their odyssey into themselves to seek and hold council with.
SYNOPSIS
The film follows Ihsaan, a young man from Cape Town who wants to keep his family and community safe. Much to the skepticism of his sister Imaan, Ihsaan is part of a neighbourhood
watch spearheaded by Imaan’s boyfriend, Angelo. Ihsaan quickly falls into a cycle of violence with
the watch, which pushes his moral code to the limit. Ihsaan must find it within himself to overcome
his fears and confront those closest to him.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Violence as a whole is something I have had trouble with in the past. I want to showcase the
cyclical nature of it, and the holistic approach to solving the problem in our community. Ihsaan’s
mother and sister are an amalgamation of the women in my life who raised me. The impact of their
trauma, pain and responsibilities on my life is something I wish to put on as big a screen as
possible. Cape Town, Islam, and specifically the people of colour that intersect the two are who and
what I’d want to create films about. Our lives, our trials, our mindsets - as a “born free” I grew up
with a specific way of life and environment that is rapidly changing. I want to immortalise it on
film. I share Ihsaan’s anger, his naivety, his frustration. They come from me, and is something I
recognise in my friends and family. His character is both who I’m making the film for, and who it’s
inspired by.
