GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Seasoned local actress Kgomotso Ratsie, affectionately called ‘Motso,’ is currently in South Africa on call for her role in the award winning daily TV drama Scandal! that has been a firm fixture in people’s homes for close to two decades now.
Ratsie is shooting scenes to continue her Aunty Jemina story for the etv production that has also been one of the most watched daily soapies in South Africa that averages five million viewers per night. “I am currently continuing the Aunty Jemina story with Omphile and the Ngema family,” she told Time Out in an interview.
“From end of March to April I have been shooting scenes that will appear on TV in June. I was also helping a friend to shoot a film, working behind the camera doing performance directing and coaching the solo actor in the film to give their best performance.”
With a career spanning over 10 years, Motso has played a leading role in Colours TV Series on Btv and Moja Love DStv and a lead role in a feature movie for Msanzi Magic called “Stuck.” She has been featured in Botswana Post, FNB and Orange commercials.
In 2016, Motso played a role in a theatre production for independence opening celebration (Bots 50) and acted in a theatre production called Born Around Here that was staged at Maitisong Annual Arts Festival, as well as at Cape Town and Bloemfontein arts festivals.
It is her view that South Africa’s film industry is more advanced in terms of professionalism than Botswana’s and is a career that can put food on the table. “In Botswana there is this tendency where broadcasters give production houses a chance to do only one season before it fades into thin air without continuity,” she said. “Audiences get attached to these stories and they fall in love with characters.
“But unlike in South Africa, they are usually cut short. Look at how far Scandal! and Rhythm City have gone, for example. Muvhango was just celebrating 25 years. The nation, the government and the private sector need to accept that this is a career and an industry that can contribute to the economy and see the need to invest in it.”
The award-winning actress said she intends to spread her wings as wide as possible and soar. She mentions the likes of Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman among other industry greats who inspire her and aims to coach actors locally.
“I want to do performance directing and coaching to bring out the best in people because Botswana has amazing talent,” she told Time Out. “I applaud our industry for taking time to explore the characters. Unlike in South Africa, they are not rushed”.
Motsi won an Overall Best Actress in BOTA National Drama Competition in 2010 and Best Female Theatre Director in the same competition in 2013. She was the 2014 second runner up on Signed International Acting and Film Competition, Botswana’s first acting and film competition, and has graced television screens in South African with roles in Zibondiwe, Saints, Sinners 2 and now Scandal!